Crypto enthusiasts note that the Ethereum Initial Coin Offering (ICO) began on July 22, 2014 at a price of 2,000 ETH per unit sold per BTC in a completely hassle-free environment, devoid of the influence of venture capital or investment periods.

This course was valid only for the first 14 days. After this, the price began to gradually decrease, with each subsequent day offering less and less ETH per unit. By the end of the sales period on September 2, 2014, the rate fell to 1337.077 ETH per unit.

Today, the price dynamics have changed dramatically. Now you can buy less than 20 ETH for 1 BTC. Drake noted that over the past decade, few assets have matched the performance of Bitcoin, and even fewer have outperformed it by 100 times.

Ethereum has become a critical component of the blockchain ecosystem. To date, 4.3 million ETH has been spent on gas payments since the introduction of EIP-1559, and much more is expected to be spent with the introduction of blob transactions.

Additionally, Ethereum's staking engine now provides $100 billion in economic security, ten times that of Bitcoin, and supports DeFi and re-staking, significantly improving the economic capacity of the Internet of Value.

Ethereum's Institutional Path Begins

All eyes are on the spot Ether ETF, which Drake said further signaled the growing acceptance of Ethereum as a digital commodity, kicking off the crypto asset's institutional journey.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) will debut five exchange-traded Ethereum funds (ETFs) on July 23, pending final regulatory approval, the agency announced last week. This follows approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 23, which greenlit the listing of several Ether spot ETFs.

The five Ethereum ETFs are 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF, Fidelity Ethereum Fund, Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF, VanEck Ethereum ETF and Franklin Ethereum ETF.

To attract investors and secure their position in the market, most ETH ETF issuers plan to offer temporary fee reductions or waivers as the funds begin trading.