Ethereum's price is soaring again, hitting $2700. We watch as the flashing front page cries out about institutional investment and bullish divergences. And meanwhile, financial behemoth BlackRock is loading up on ETH hand over fist. Analysts are bandying about amounts $3100, $3600, $4200, creating the picture of these gains as a foregone conclusion. Before you jump on the bandwagon, ask yourself a simple question: who actually benefits from this rally?
It’s tempting to drink the cool-aid, the excitement, the promise of a get rich quick scheme. Let’s get real. While the big players are celebrating, are the everyday people who were promised a decentralized future seeing any of this wealth?
Are Ordinary People Seeing Rewards?
Think about it. Who is pocketing the profits? Or, is it the small business owner in Nigeria that’s using Ethereum to escape a corrupt banking system and receive payments directly without an intermediary? Or is it the short-seller hedge fund manager putting another zero on their already bulging bonus bank account?
This is evident in the surge in price, which is being driven by institutional investment. In specific, BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) has poured in $500 million in ETH. Though this further legitimizes the Ethereum platform and ecosystem as a viable asset class, it certainly puts a horde of wealth into the few hands. The increased staking on the Beacon Chain, which holds over 30% of the total supply, sounds decentralized. Whales, people or entities who own large quantities of ETH, dominate and control the network. Their tight control makes one ponder the centralization of power within it.
We’re told that the surge is simply a sign of “growing confidence in the market.” Confidence from whom? Confidence from the institutions that manipulate markets? Or confidence from the single mother trying to send money to her family back home, now facing even higher gas fees due to network congestion driven by this very surge?
Ethereum was supposed to be different. A democratizing force. An alternative to accessing the traditional financial system and empowering local businesses. As housing costs skyrocket, are we making that vision a reality? Have we allowed wealth to stack up for the wealthy again? At the same time, we see those at the bottom being pushed down, barely able to tread water.
The Price of Progress: Who Pays?
The technical analysis points to a potential rise to $3,100-$3,600. Great for those already invested. What do we do about those who are forced out of the market completely? Not to mention, what happens to the people who can no longer afford the ever rising, exorbitant gas fees to interact with Ethereum’s ecosystem. It’s our people who are paying the price of this so-called “progress.”
There's a dark irony here. A big altcoin rally is expected once it moves past the $2,700-$2,800 resistance zone. This means that those who are heavily invested in altcoins will significantly profit from this rally. It’s a very convenient, self-fulfilling prophecy of wealth creation for the rich.
By the way, I’m not suggesting that the recent price increase is a bad thing. All that said, we should be truthful about who is winning. This should lead us to reflect: is the promise of a decentralized future being buried? Concentration of wealth is one of those urgent realities we can no longer ignore. So, are we collectively building a system that maximizes everyone’s potential or just the lucky few?
Let’s put those disparate dots together in an unusual way. Now, consider what has been happening with generative AI over the last year. It’s powered by the need for that computing power, which in turn requires that energy consumption. Similarly, Ethereum—especially with its long-awaited transition to Proof-of-Stake—is generally expected to be much more energy-efficient. These sustainability goals could be undermined by the same financial incentives fuelling the current price surge, which could unintentionally stimulate additional, even more resource-intensive activities.
Beyond The Numbers: The Real Impact
This is the kind of stuff we should be arguing about. Not even the price targets and technical indicators—this is the human cost of this technological revolution. What about the environmental impact? What about the ethics of developing a system that will deepen current inequities?
So the next time you read a headline about Ethereum shooting up to the moon, stop and ask yourself what’s really driving these prices up. Consider always who is the one gaining an advantage and who is the one suffering the disadvantage. Because the other side of the story is always the one you need to hear most. It’s time to hold them accountable to more than just profits. It’s time to advocate for a smarter system that allows all of us, not just the well-connected, to prosper.
The next time you see a headline about Ethereum's soaring price, remember to look beyond the numbers. Ask yourself who is really benefiting, and who is being left behind. Because the untold story is often the most important one to hear. It might be time to demand more than just profits, to demand a system that truly empowers everyone, not just the privileged few.
