Ethereum (ETH-USD) has spent most of 2026 doing what it has done for the two years prior: underperform Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and frustrating anyone who thought the spot ETF launch in mid-2024 would deliver the same kind of structural rerating it gave BTC. Fool me once, as they say. ETH is now trading at ~$2,250, down significantly from its peak of ~$5,000 back in September. The recent breakout attempt has just failed, with ETH unable to hold its 50-EMA, and the bulls are now on the defense without an obvious macro catalyst to lean on in the near term. The question now is whether the next leg of support holds or whether ETH heads back to $2,000 and then $1,800-1,750 below that, below the price of many buyers of the last few years.