Analyst: Ethereum is caught in a "dilemma between two narratives," as staking transforms Ethereum ETFs into income-generating products

According to Forbes, over the past few weeks, the price of Ethereum has continued to fluctuate narrowly around $2,000. Several market observers have pointed out that this reflects Ethereum being caught in a "narrative gap."

Analyst Callan Sarre stated, "For the past few years, the story of Ethereum has been simple—L2 carries the scale, while the base layer remains lean and secure. Now, L2 has processed billions of dollars in weekly trading volume, with fees dropping over 90%, but the question is where long-term value accumulates." The market is pushing zero-knowledge technology and privacy features closer to the base layer, "for traders clinging to old models, it feels like the ground is shifting beneath their feet."

Sarre emphasized the contradiction between transparency and institutional demand: "Today, every Ethereum transaction is completely public and transparent, which doesn't work for CFOs managing corporate treasuries or funds deploying nine-figure positions. If Ethereum is to attract trillions in institutional capital, privacy must be built into the protocol layer."

Grayscale began distributing staking rewards to U.S. Ethereum ETF holders in January, and BlackRock has also applied for its staking ETH fund. PrimeXBT senior market analyst Jonatan Randin stated, "This changes the nature of Ethereum ETFs—not just price exposure, but income-generating products." He emphasized that the growth of the options market is reshaping the asset's volatility characteristics, "the options market around spot ETFs introduces dynamics like covered calls and dealer hedging that didn't exist two years ago."