Ethereum has reached a major milestone. Ten years of continuous operation without a single moment of downtime.
In a digital sector where even the largest tech platforms experience outages, Ethereum stands alone in its consistency.
But this moment of celebration has also sparked familiar tensions. As the network proves its resilience, conversations about its true decentralisation and long-term vision continue to surface. Ethereum has never stopped running, but its direction is still being questioned.
Ten Years of Uptime and Still No Consensus
Ethereum’s uninterrupted track record is nothing short of extraordinary. Since its launch in 2015, the network has never gone offline.
It has continued producing blocks through bull markets, crashes, forks, lawsuits, and global uncertainty. While centralised services like AWS, Facebook, and Cloudflare have all faced outages in the past decade, Ethereum has remained online throughout.
This achievement has been widely celebrated by its core contributors and supporters. A post from an Ethereum Foundation member captured the mood perfectly, noting that Ethereum never needed saving because no one person was in charge.
The network kept going because thousands of people believed in it and worked to keep it alive. Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, reshared the post, underlining the community-first spirit that has carried the network this far.
For many users, this milestone is deeply personal. One user shared how joining Ethereum last year changed their view of decentralised technology, calling the community inspiring.
Another declared confidently that they are holding their ETH until it reaches $10,000, convinced that the best is yet to come.
Yet for all the celebration, Ethereum’s anniversary has also reignited old debates. Critics argue that the network’s core promises of decentralisation and accessibility have weakened over time.
They point to the increasing role of Layer 2 networks and claim that these systems are not as decentralised as presented. One viral post claimed that all Layer 2 transactions are effectively held in escrow and not truly final until processed on the mainnet.
Others have highlighted the continued cost of using Ethereum. Transaction fees, even on a quiet day, can still reach double digits. While scaling solutions have helped to reduce pressure, the criticism remains: Ethereum is still too expensive for widespread, everyday use.
Some revisit the 2016 DAO fork, arguing that Ethereum has not been a single, continuous chain in principle. For them, the idea of uninterrupted operation is technical, not ideological.
They believe that the network’s values have shifted, especially as it becomes more influenced by institutions and large development teams.
Despite these disagreements, Ethereum’s importance is undisputed. It has grown from a bold experiment into the foundation of an entire decentralised economy.
Whether through smart contracts, NFTs, or DeFi applications, Ethereum remains central to innovation in the blockchain space.
But the question of whether it has stayed true to its mission is one the community still struggles to answer.
Strong Market Signals but Divided Sentiment
Ethereum’s tenth anniversary has arrived at a time of intense market activity. According to recent data, ETH Open Interest has surged to a record $57.7 billion. This metric tracks the total value of outstanding derivatives contracts, and its rise suggests increased trader confidence.
Funding rates have also climbed, reaching 0.0134, which indicates that more traders are taking long positions in anticipation of upward movement.
The spike in activity came during the final days of July and reflects more than just short-term speculation. It shows that Ethereum is attracting renewed attention from institutional players.
This is further supported by inflow data. Last week alone, Ethereum investment products saw $1.59 billion in inflows. It was the second-largest weekly figure ever recorded for ETH. In contrast, Bitcoin experienced $175 million in outflows during the same period.
These inflows have helped Ethereum outperform many other digital assets in 2025. Year to date, ETH investment products have attracted $7.79 billion, already exceeding the full total for 2023.
Some analysts now believe that a new phase of altcoin interest may be developing, with Ethereum leading the charge.
Institutional behaviour is also affecting exchange reserves. Over the past month, the total ETH held on major trading platforms has fallen from 20 million to below 19 million.
This decrease suggests that holders are not preparing to sell. In many cases, falling reserves are seen as a positive indicator, reflecting confidence in long-term price movement.
One notable exception came from a wallet linked to HashKey Capital, which deposited 12,000 ETH to the OKX exchange. While such a move might imply a potential sell, the broader trend of declining reserves has remained unchanged.
Another key factor in Ethereum’s current outlook is the buildup of short positions just above the $3,950 price level. Around $1.2 billion in short contracts are set to be liquidated if ETH rises past $4,000.
If that price is reached, the forced buying required to close those positions could drive ETH significantly higher in a short period of time. This phenomenon, known as a short squeeze, could potentially push Ethereum towards the $4,200 mark and beyond.
Technical analysis also points to future targets. If Ethereum successfully breaks through $4,000, the next significant levels include $4,175, $4,380, and $4,585.
The ultimate milestone remains the all-time high of $4,877 set in November 2021. A move beyond that would place ETH in price discovery, where no previous resistance exists.
Still, there are signs that some traders are beginning to take profits. Options data shows increased positioning around the $4,000 level, suggesting caution.
Funding rates on major exchanges are also high, which sometimes precedes market corrections. Despite this, the overall sentiment remains bullish, driven by both retail enthusiasm and institutional interest.
Ethereum’s strength is not just in price movement. The network continues to lead in real usage. Its total value locked across DeFi platforms now stands at around $85.9 billion.
This shows that Ethereum is not just a speculative asset but a platform actively used to build and operate financial applications.
In terms of relative performance, Ethereum is also starting to reclaim ground from Bitcoin. While BTC continues to dominate as a store of value, ETH is gaining momentum in the areas of utility and innovation.
With exchange reserves dropping and inflows rising, Ethereum appears to be entering a phase where its value is increasingly tied to what it enables, not just what it represents.
Conclusion
Ethereum at ten is both a technical achievement and a source of continued debate. It’s a decade of nonstop uptime, showing that a decentralised network can be stable, resilient, and widely used.
Yet the community remains split on whether Ethereum has stayed true to its principles or drifted towards compromise.
At the same time, market data points to renewed belief in its future. Derivatives activity, inflows, and falling exchange reserves all suggest that Ethereum still holds the attention of serious investors.
Whether or not it breaks past $4,000 or reclaims its all-time high, Ethereum continues to lead, block by block, transaction by transaction.