Ethereum vs Solana: Which Will Hit
May 25, 2026
Quick Read
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Ethereum trades roughly 58% below its all-time high of $4,953, while Solana needs about 242% to reclaim its $294 peak.
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Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade is the main catalyst that could set up a rally toward its ATH, while Solana’s recovery hangs on the Alpenglow upgrade.
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Ethereum is the more likely candidate to hit a new ATH first because the institutional infrastructure is already in place and the gap is smaller, but Solana is the better bet if the market sentiment shifts into an altcoin season.
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Both Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) are far from their all-time highs, and investors want to know which one rallies back first. Ethereum peaked at $4,953 in 2025, while Solana reached $294.
Today, ETH trades around $2,115 and SOL near $86—down about 58% and 71% from their respective highs. So, which of the two cryptos would reclaim its ATH first?
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Ethereum’s Performance Since Its ATH
After Ethereum peaked at $4,953 in August 2025, it began to decline, closing the year down nearly 28.5% at $2,968. It tried to recover in mid-January 2026, gaining around 11%, but the bears took back control and pushed it to $2,702—a 45.4% fall from its all-time high.
Through February, March, and April, Ethereum stayed in the $2,000-$2,400 range, never reclaiming the $2,500 mark it last traded at in January. Its biggest upgrade of the year, Glamsterdam, is set to launch later in 2026, and it could be what turns the price back toward a new high.
What the Glamsterdam Upgrade Changes
Glamsterdam is Ethereum’s biggest catalyst this year, targeted to launch in June or by Q3 2026 at the latest. It aims to raise Ethereum’s throughput to 10,000 transactions per second and lift the gas limit from 60 million to 200 million per block.
If it launches on schedule, the upgrade could push more transaction volume onto the Ethereum blockchain, raise network fees, and help drive a rally past the $2,500 mark. A stronger run from there could open the way toward $5,000.
Solana Is Down 71% From Its ATH
Solana trades near $86 today, about 71% below its $294 ATH from January 2025. Anyone who bought at that peak is now deep in the red: a $10,000 investment at the high would be worth roughly $2,900 today.
This isn’t Solana’s first major bear cycle, though, and an earlier one was far worse. In 2021, SOL ran from about $1.50 in January to a peak near $260 in November—a gain of more than 11,000% in a single year. Then the FTX collapse erased roughly 97% of its value, dragging it to around $8 by December 2022.
Long-term holders have lived through deeper drops than this one, which is part of why many treat the current level as another phase rather than the end of the line.
Solana Needs to Rally 242% to Reclaim Its ATH
Solana is down about 71% from its ATH, which means it needs a 242% gain to get back there. Its developers are working toward that with a new upgrade, Alpenglow.
Alpenglow will completely replace Solana’s consensus layer, cutting transaction finality from 12.8 seconds to 100-150 milliseconds. It also introduces a component called Votor that speeds up the network’s voting process.
Testing is ongoing, and if the testnet holds up, the upgrade could go live in Q3 2026. A successful launch could push Solana back above $100, and if it clears the resistance above that, it could approach $300 by year-end.
Ethereum vs Solana: Which Reaches Its ATH First?
We think Ethereum is more likely to hit its all-time high first. The institutional infrastructure is already in place, and the gap is smaller—Ethereum needs about 134% to reclaim its high compared to Solana’s 242%.
However, Solana is the better bet if the market sentiment shifts into an altcoin mode. One bullish quarter of retail-driven momentum—like the run in 2021, when SOL climbed from around $1.50 to its $260 peak—could close Solana’s gap faster than Ethereum closes its own, even though SOL starts further back.
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