Ether Recovers in May, Outperforming the Broader DeFi Market After Early-Year Lows

Ether Outpaces DeFi and Bitcoin, Regains Strength Amid Layer-1 Blockchain Rivalry

Ether (ETH) is making a powerful comeback, climbing 45% over the past month and outperforming both the broader decentralized finance (DeFi) market and Bitcoin, which have risen 21% and 13% respectively, according to DefiLlama.

This resurgence is largely driven by renewed institutional interest, with record inflows into spot ETH ETFs helping to fuel the rally.

Earlier this year, ETH struggled as competitors like Solana captured attention through a wave of memecoin launches. Starting the year at $3,340, Ether’s price plummeted to $1,472 by early April amid geopolitical uncertainties related to U.S. tariffs.

But recent data shows Ether has broken an 18-month downtrend against Solana, signaling a shift in market dynamics as Ethereum begins reclaiming dominance in the DeFi space—a trend highlighted in a recent CoinDesk analysis by Omkar Godbole.

Yield incentives are playing a key role in this recovery. Total value locked (TVL) in Ethereum restaking protocols such as EigenLayer and Ether.fi has surged between 41% and 48% this month. Binance’s staked Ether product has also seen a significant 63% rise in TVL.

In comparison, Solana’s DeFi projects have lagged behind, with Jupiter and Kamino increasing TVL by only 7% and 9%, while Marinade’s liquid staking protocol gained 29%.

Ether’s rebound marks a turning point, backed by strong institutional demand and vibrant growth within Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem, setting the stage for renewed competition among leading layer-1 blockchains.