Ether Gains Ground Against Layer-1 Rivals, Outperforming DeFi and Bitcoin in May
Ether (ETH) is showing renewed strength, reclaiming market share from competing layer-1 blockchains like Solana.
Over the past 30 days, ETH has surged 45%, significantly outperforming the broader decentralized finance (DeFi) market and Bitcoin, which have risen 21% and 13% respectively, according to DefiLlama data.
This rally is largely driven by growing institutional demand, highlighted by record inflows into spot ETH ETFs.
Earlier this year, sentiment around Ether was subdued as Solana and other layer-1 blockchains dominated headlines, fueled by a wave of memecoin launches. ETH began the year trading at $3,340 but plummeted to as low as $1,472 by early April amid uncertainties linked to U.S. tariffs.
However, as noted in a recent CoinDesk analysis by Omkar Godbole, Ether has now broken an 18-month downtrend against Solana and is steadily regaining its foothold in the DeFi sector.
A key driver of this resurgence appears to be yield opportunities. DefiLlama data shows total value locked (TVL) in Ethereum-based restaking protocols like EigenLayer and Ether.fi rising between 41% and 48% this month. Binance’s staked Ether product has also seen a substantial 63% increase in TVL.
In contrast, Solana’s DeFi protocols have lagged behind: Jupiter and Kamino saw TVL growth of just 7% and 9%, respectively, while Marinade’s liquid staking protocol recorded a 29% increase.
Ether’s recent upward momentum marks a notable recovery from earlier setbacks this year, fueled by heightened institutional interest and robust growth in Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem.
