Samson Mow, CEO of JAN3 and a long-time Bitcoin maximalist, has surprised the crypto community by publicly expressing sympathy for Ethereum. In a recent post on X, Mow admitted that despite years of harsh criticism, he now 'feels sorry' for the network because its deterioration spans multiple fronts: weak price action, capital rotation, scaling contradictions, and mounting institutional losses.
ETH/BTC Ratio Hits Multi-Year Low as Capital Flees to Bitcoin
Ethereum is trading in the $2,000–$2,150 range, a far cry from the highs many expected. Meanwhile, Bitcoin continues to attract stronger institutional demand, widening the gap. The ETH/BTC ratio slipped to 0.027, one of its lowest levels in recent years, signaling that investor preference has decisively shifted away from Ethereum. Mow noted that this ratio decline is 'structural, not cyclical.'
Layer-2 Cannibalism: Mainnet Activity Dries Up, Gas Fees Plummet
Ethereum's aggressive Layer-2 expansion is generating what critics call 'L2 cannibalism.' Networks such as Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base now handle a large portion of user transactions, diverting demand from the main chain. As a result, Ethereum's base-layer gas fee revenue has dropped sharply. Mow pointed to on-chain data showing that mainnet daily transaction volume fell by more than 20% over the past three months, while L2s accounted for over 70% of all Ethereum-related activity.
Institutional Pain: Tom Lee's BitMine Faces Heavy Unrealized Losses
The downturn has hit institutional investors hard. Reports reveal that BitMine Immersion Technologies, founded by Tom Lee, is sitting on massive unrealized losses on its Ethereum holdings, which were accumulated at an average price near $3,850. With ETH now below $2,200, the paper loss exceeds 40%. Mow warned that 'the real pain for institutions hasn't even fully surfaced yet.'
Vitalik Pivots: Decentralization and Infrastructure Take Priority
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently outlined a new direction, stressing that the network must prioritize decentralization, improve its consensus system, and focus on reliable infrastructure. He cautioned against sacrificing security and censorship resistance for speed. The market reacted tepidly, with ETH still stuck around the $2,000 mark. Mow concluded his post by saying: 'I still don't believe Ethereum is the future base layer, but at least now its problems are deeper than anyone expected.'