2025-12-24 19:23:28

Observing market trends, there is a phenomenon worth pondering: while retail investors are still struggling with minor losses, professional institutions like Trend Research are making a bold move by investing 1 billion USD to buy more Ethereum, despite still showing an unrealized loss of 140 million USD on their books. This behavior is not simply about having ample funds; it sends a clear signal through action—the long-term value of Ethereum far exceeds short-term fluctuations.

So, the question is: why do institutions like Trend Research continue to increase their ETH holdings even while experiencing losses? The answer lies in Ethereum's inherent competitiveness.

From the perspective of ecosystem completeness, Ethereum has established the largest and most mature application ecosystem in the crypto market. In DeFi, lending, exchanges, and yield farming; in NFTs, issuance, circulation, and trading; and in Layer2 scaling solutions—Ethereum holds an absolute central position. Statistics show that over 10,000 active projects are built within the Ethereum ecosystem, with user numbers surpassing tens of millions. This ecosystem-level moat is something that other public chains currently cannot shake.

From the network effect perspective, as the earliest mature smart contract platform, Ethereum has formed a positive feedback loop among developers, users, and capital. More high-quality projects choose to deploy on Ethereum, further attracting users and funds, creating a self-reinforcing cycle. The concentration of leading DEXs like Uniswap and lending protocols is a testament to this.

Of course, we should not overlook the potential of technological iteration. From the Merge upgrade ensuring energy efficiency, to Dencun reducing transaction costs, and future optimizations—Ethereum’s technological innovations are far from reaching their ceiling. These upgrades directly impact the network’s usability and cost competitiveness.

Perhaps this is why institutions are willing to continue increasing their positions despite short-term unrealized losses—they are betting on the depth of Ethereum’s ecosystem, the strength of its network, and the growth potential of its technology. In comparison, short-term price fluctuations are merely noise.

ETH-0.36%

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MelonField

· 2h ago

Institutional unrealized losses are still疯狂 adding positions, this is true confidence. On the other hand, retail investors are busy worrying about small fluctuations in price. --- Honestly, seeing this kind of operation makes it clear that Ethereum's ecosystem moat is indeed there. No wonder they dare to push such large positions. --- But to be fair, not many can stay calm and not buy the dip with an unrealized loss of 140 million. That mindset is truly admirable. --- The ecosystem sounds impressive with thousands of projects, but how many are truly usable? This still requires personal discernment. --- So, the difference between long-term believers and short-term traders is that one looks at ecosystem depth, while the other just looks at K-line charts. --- I believe in the potential of technological iteration, but when the market will react is another matter. --- Let the noise be noise. As long as my account is green, I can't sleep—no matter how thick the ecosystem is.

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VitaliksTwin

· 2h ago

Institutional money burning to replenish positions, to put it simply, is a gamble on ecosystem depth. While retail investors are still watching K-line charts, they’ve already looked ten years ahead. --- 1.4 billion in unrealized losses and still dare to invest 1 billion? This is not a matter of confidence; it’s about knowing how deep the moat really is. --- Honestly, after seeing so many of these news stories, I feel like I’m playing a small game while institutions are playing a grand chess match. --- The concentration of the ecosystem is indeed difficult to manage. Uniswap has absolute dominance. --- Wait, are they saying that Ethereum’s technology still has such significant room for optimization? Should I recalculate my figures? --- It sounds like institutions are voting with real money, while we’re still arguing in the group about BTC vs ETH.

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ApeDegen

· 2h ago

Damn, institutions are risking 1 billion even while losing money, and I, as a retail investor, want to cut my losses at 5%. The gap is really huge.

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0xTherapist

· 2h ago

While institutions are still increasing their positions, retail investors need to think clearly about whether they are investing or gambling. The difference is huge. --- Basically, it's about being optimistic about the long term. Not afraid of a floating loss of 140 million, we should learn this mindset. --- The integrity of the ecosystem is indeed impressive, but will it be snatched away? Sol has been watching closely over the years. --- The term "noise" sounds reasonable, but the problem is, can we retail investors hold on? Haha. --- The Merge and Dencun upgrades definitely boosted confidence, but technological innovation ≠ price increase. That logic is a bit painful. --- Spending 1 billion USD is a signal. Once you understand it, you can pay less tuition. --- The most comfortable time to see institutions bottom-fishing is when you don't know if they truly believe in it or are just holding on. --- The ecological moat is a moat, but I'm worried that one day it might be broken by new species. Who can say what the future holds?

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