Is Ethereum in trouble as Samson Mow says he feels sorry for ETH?

JAN3 CEO Samson Mow has renewed criticism of Ethereum as ETH trades near $2,100 and continues to lag Bitcoin. 

In a post on X, Mow said he dislikes Ethereum as much as other Bitcoin maximalists, but added that he felt sorry for the network’s current state.

The comment came as Ethereum’s market setup remains weak. ETH was trading at $2,100 at press time, down 0.19% on the day, with an intraday range between $2,066.23 and $2,124.48, according to crypto.news data.

Samson Mow targets Ethereum weakness

Mow’s post framed Ethereum’s current position as difficult, even from the view of a long-time Bitcoin supporter. He said, “I can’t help but feel a bit sorry for how bad things are for them now.”

His comment followed months of pressure on Ethereum’s market standing. ETH has struggled to regain stronger momentum, while Bitcoin has drawn more attention from investors seeking relative strength during risk-off periods.

The ETH/BTC ratio has also stayed under pressure. The ratio recently sat near 0.027, showing that Ethereum has continued to weaken against Bitcoin in relative terms.

That weakness has fed a wider debate about whether Ethereum’s scaling path has helped the network or reduced demand for its base layer. Layer-2 networks have made transactions cheaper, but they have also moved user activity away from Ethereum mainnet fees.

Layer-2 growth raises base-layer questions

Ethereum’s rollup strategy helped the network handle more transactions through Layer-2 platforms such as Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base. That approach lowered user costs and improved access.

However, critics argue that the same model can reduce direct fee demand for Ethereum’s base layer. When activity moves to separate rollups, value can become spread across many networks instead of staying concentrated on mainnet.

Concerns also remain around centralized sequencers and large staking pools. These issues have kept the decentralization debate active, even as Ethereum developers continue to push technical upgrades.

Mow’s criticism fits that wider debate. His post did not present a detailed technical review, but it added attention to Ethereum’s current mix of weak price action, reduced relative strength, and structural questions.

BitMine and ETH treasury losses add pressure

Related market updates show that Ethereum treasury holders have also faced pressure. Crypto.news reported that BitMine’s ETH holdings crossed 5,078,386 ETH on April 27, after the firm bought the tokens at an average price of $2,369 each. At that time, the position was worth about $12 billion.

The same report said BitMine had carried an estimated $3.5 billion in unrealized losses in February 2026, while still buying ETH during the drawdown.

Other public ETH treasury strategies have also faced weak accounting results. Crypto.news reported that SharpLink posted a $685.6 million net loss in Q1, driven mainly by non-cash ETH market losses and impairment charges.

SharpLink reported $506.7 million in unrealized ETH losses and a $191.7 million LsETH impairment charge. The company said those accounting losses did not reduce its ETH holdings.

Vitalik Buterin backs smaller Ethereum Foundation

Mow’s comment also came soon after Vitalik Buterin described a new direction for the Ethereum Foundation. Buterin said the foundation will use its remaining resources to focus on long-term survival instead of expanding its activities.

Crypto.news reported that Buterin said the Ethereum Foundation will sell less ETH going forward. He also said the foundation holds about 0.16% of all ETH and should act as one node in Ethereum, not the center of the network.

Buterin’s plan focuses on censorship resistance, privacy, openness, and security. He also said Ethereum must become more impressive in areas such as safer code, stronger consensus, and fewer transaction intermediaries.