Are DeFi and Layer 2 chains squeezing the juice out of Ethereum: Deep dive on the downfall of ETH

Bitcoin posted one of its worst Q1 returns in 2025, Ethereum performed even worse, with over 45% drawdown in its price. Ethereum’s price has been in a decline since the Dencun upgrade in March 2024. Ethereum’s downfall seems driven by the Layer 2 protocols amassing large transaction volume and passing on the fraction of the revenue to the ETH chain.