 
 
Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, reached new heights in 2025. Whereas the token’s value is on monitor to limp into the brand new yr, its record-setting climb is unlikely to proceed given the prevailing situations for Bitcoin (BTC), in accordance with crypto strategist Benjamin Cowen.
No New Highs For ETH Subsequent 12 months?
“If Bitcoin is really in a bear market, which is what it looks like, it will be type of exhausting for Ethereum to go up there,” Cowen stated on a Tuesday interview with the Bankless podcast.
The prediction comes after Tom Lee’s asset administration agency Fundstrat Capital projected a “significant drawdown” within the first half of 2026. Particularly, Fundstrat expects Bitcoin to drag again 35% to the $60,000-$65,000 zone and Ether to $1,800-$2,000.
For Cowen, Ether efficiently breaking above its present $4,946 all-time excessive, which it registered in August 2025, might simply be a basic bull lure setup, a short-lived rally that lures traders again to the market earlier than a serious downtrend that will ship the asset again to $2K.
ETH is altering palms at $2,963 as of press time, in accordance with information from CoinGecko. Reclaiming its all-time excessive would signify a roughly 40% progress from its present degree. However analyst Cowen thinks Ether can rating new ATHs in 2026, although he doesn’t count on it to spark a domino impact throughout the broader crypto market.
 
“The one altcoin that I’m even contemplating this for is Ethereum. I feel numerous the opposite altcoins are type of cooked at this level for the cycle,” he posited, explaining that it’s unlikely they’ll hit new report highs this cycle in the event that they haven’t already.
In the meantime, Tom Lee, who’s the chief funding officer at asset administration agency Fundstrat Capital and the chief chairman of BitMine Immersion Applied sciences, not too long ago shared a conflicting Ethereum outlook. Lee advised that ETH discovered its backside after the second-largest crypto plummeted beneath the psychologically necessary $3,000 mark.
He’s extra enthusiastic about Ethereum’s future over the subsequent 10-15 years, particularly as Wall Avenue has adopted the layer-1 community and because it performs a rising function in the way forward for finance.
