The world’s largest altcoin Ethereum (ETH) has faced major challenges with investors showing disappointment over its recent price performance. On the other hand, its Layer-1 competitor Solana is gaining much traction among investors amid strong DeFi activity. Popular economist Alex Kruger explains that ETH is no more a Trump trade and why he has stopped betting on the altcoin altogether.

Shifting Focus from Ethereum to Other Solana

Despite the strong chances of a Donald Trump presidential win, renowned crypto analyst Alex Kruger advises betting against Ethereum. He speculated that although the broader altcoin market would turn positive following Donald Trump’s victory, ETH has less chance of a rally.

“When an asset is supposed to go up and does the opposite, that’s the market telling you something,” said Kruger. Unlike other altcoins, ETH hasn’t much participated in the market rally over the last year. Furthermore, the launch of spot Ether ETFs hasn’t done enough to garner institutional interest in Ether.

Noting Ethereum’s multi-year downtrend against Bitcoin (ETH/BTC) and shifting on-chain activity away from ETH, Kruger has removed ETH from his election strategy.

Betting on Trump’s victory prospects, Kruger had previously initiated longs for both, ETH and SOL. However, he recently dropped ETH from his core assets and said that he would rather focus on Bitcoin and Solana. He pointed to Solana’s recent performance and growth in the Layer 2 and Bitcoin ecosystems as better opportunities. To keep up with Solana’s growth, Vitalik Buterin suggested a few measures to boost TPS on the Ethereum blockchain.

Furthermore, amid the recent AI meme coin frenzy, Solana overtook Ethereum in terms of daily revenue. Kruger stated that following the Trump victory, SEC Chair Gary Gensler might be ousted. This would open the chances for spot Ether ETFs to stake their ETH.

But in such a situation, Kruger predicts that Solana ETFs would make their way to the market, which would again keep SOL in the leading spot.

Trader Withdraws Long ETH Long Positions

Popular trader James Fickel is withdrawing his long positions on ETH/BTC as the trading pair drops to its lowest since April 2021. A few hours ago, Fickel converted 2,000 ETH ($5.06 million) to 74.75 wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and deposited an additional 20,000 ETH ($50.6 million) on Coinbase Prime.

Moreover, Fickel’s ETH/BTC position has seen a significant paper loss, with over 23,000 ETH, worth a staggering $58 million. Thus, the crypto trader has been aggressively reducing his position on ETH in recent days.

James Fickel (@jamesfickel) appears to be accelerating the reduction of his ETH/BTC long position!

8 hours ago, he swapped another 2,000 $ETH ($5.06M) for 74.75 $WBTC and deposited 20,000 $ETH ($50.6M) to #CoinbasePrime.

He still has 980.2 $WBTC ($65.4M) in debt on #Aave.… https://t.co/rftJT0vxFU pic.twitter.com/BU5HzuxAEU

— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) October 26, 2024

On the other hand, co-founder Vitalik Buterin has defended the recent sell-off from the Ethereum Foundation. His comments came while explaining Helios’s role in multi-chain Ethereum scaling.

One user asked that while he has been pushing for key development on the blockchain, why has been the Ethereum Foundation selling aggressively? Responding to this, Buterin said that they need to pay developers and other contributors within the ecosystem.

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Bhushan Akolkar

Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast with a keen understanding of financial markets. His interest in economics and finance has led him to focus on emerging Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency markets. He is committed to continuous learning and stays motivated by sharing the knowledge he acquires. In his free time, Bhushan enjoys reading thriller fiction novels and occasionally explores his culinary skills.

Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.