Crypto markets have had a difficult 2025. Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is no exception. The value of this popular cryptocurrency has fallen by nearly 40% in a matter of months.
If you've been waiting to add Ethereum to your portfolio, this looks like the ultimate buying opportunity. There are two reasons in particular to get excited.
Ethereum has this advantage versus Bitcoin
When it comes to cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is by far the most popular. I've written recently about how Bitcoin's valuation -- which has also plummeted in value through the first few months of 2025 -- looks particularly attractive right now. That's due to Bitcoin's potential as a store of value. Similar to gold, Bitcoin retains a value simply for being itself. It needs no underlying business or activity to have long-term value in the eyes of holders.
Ethereum is a bit different. Instead of a basic cryptocurrency with simple rules of operation, the network was designed to be a decentralized virtual computer for running code. According to the Ethereum Foundation, "The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is a decentralized virtual environment that executes code consistently and securely across all Ethereum nodes."
What exactly does this mean? At its core, developers can build services and applications on top of the Ethereum network, with the Ethereum network executing commands and transactions in a secure, decentralized way. Today there are more than 4,000 decentralized applications (dApps) running on Ethereum -- significantly more than any competitor. And because many of these dApps function best by communicating and transacting with each other, Ethereum has an ecosystem advantage that only improves.
This ecosystem advantage makes Ethereum the strongest programmable blockchain in existence today in terms of raw adoption. With limited programmability, Bitcoin is at a major disadvantage in this department. However, like I've written in the past, Bitcoin's potential as a store of value -- essentially making it the "digital gold" of our time -- remains unrivaled.
But there's one other advantage that Ethereum has against every other competing project.
This is Ethereum's hidden superpower
As a programmable blockchain intended for other applications, services, and even other networks to be built on top of it, Ethereum's long-term value will be directly impacted by the number of developers building on top of it. In this department, Ethereum is indisputably king.
Right now, there are over 5,000 full-time developers working on Ethereum and its related projects. Solana, the next-most popular programmable blockchain, has fewer than 1,200 developers working on its network and associated projects.