Ethereum faces a critical period as institutions like Galaxy Digital and Paradigm reduce their ETH holdings. In April, Ethereum’s base-layer activity declines, with network fees dropping and inflation rising. Despite this, some whales see this as a buying opportunity. Galaxy Digital moved 65,600 ETH to Binance, reducing its ETH holdings but still higher than at the beginning of the year. Similarly, Paradigm transferred 5,500 ETH to Anchorage Digital. Ethereum’s struggles are partly due to its rollup-centric scaling approach, leading to dropping Ether burns and ecosystem fragmentation. Vitalik Buterin proposed replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine with RISC-V to enhance network efficiency. The Ethereum Foundation faces leadership changes amid concerns about the project’s direction. Standard Chartered Bank revised its 2025 Ether price estimate to $4,000 due to Ethereum’s structural decline. However, whales accumulating ETH at current levels see upside potential. Ethereum’s price dropped from over $4,000 in December but rebounded over 10% on April 23 to over $1,800. The bank still predicts a year-end target of $4,000. Ethereum’s future hinges on addressing scaling challenges and maintaining investor confidence amidst market fluctuations.