Ethereum (ETH) has fallen nearly 20% in the past seven days, once reaching $1,620. Foreign media quoted digital asset analyst John Gillen as saying that the market's interpretation of this pullback as a sign that Ethereum has lost its competitiveness may be premature.

In the interview, Gillen stated that the current controversy is more like the growing pains of an ecosystem entering a new phase than a structural failure. He mentioned that the Ethereum Foundation remains focused on research and development, and Vitalik Buterin has not positioned himself as a price driver.

The price decline does not change the long-term outlook.

According to Gillen, these changes may not drive up the price of ETH in the short term, but they will make Ethereum's long-term positioning clearer. He believes that the market is currently more focused on short-term fluctuations, ignoring the actual usage of the network and whether institutional narratives are still valid.

The article also compares Ethereum's current situation with Bitcoin's early path. Gillen argues that Bitcoin's core developers did not take on a marketing role, and it was later Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor who amplified the Bitcoin narrative at the institutional level. Ethereum may also see similar external drivers.

Tom Lee is seen as a new advocate

In his view, BitMine's Tom Lee is playing a more active role as a market advocate. The report mentions that Tom Lee recently made his largest Ethereum purchase since last December, and now holds nearly 4.5% of the total supply, with approximately 80% already staked.

Gillen also mentioned Etherealize. This company is in talks with Wall Street institutions, attempting to demonstrate Ethereum's value in institutional allocation to traditional financial markets. The article argues that the emergence of such a player could help fill the gaps in Ethereum's narrative within the capital markets.

On-chain usage and staking are still growing.

Despite the weakening price, Gillen believes that metrics across multiple Ethereum networks have not deteriorated in tandem. According to him, Ethereum network usage remains high, while transaction fees are low, further lowering the barrier to entry. Meanwhile, staking queues continue to grow.

He also pointed out that Ethereum's share in stablecoins, real-world asset tokenization, and DeFi infrastructure continues to expand. If this trend continues, the current market appears more like a process of short-term funds exiting and long-term holders taking over, rather than a sign of a comprehensive weakening of fundamentals.