In a year marked by persistent slump in Ethereum prices, betting against it has emerged as the top-performing strategy in the world of exchange-traded funds. According to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, the ProShares UltraShort Ether ETF (ETHD) and the T Rex 2X Inverse Ether Daily Target ETF (ETQ) are leading all ETFs so far in 2025, with jaw-dropping gains of approximately 247% and 219% respectively. These funds offer investors leveraged short exposure to Ether, meaning they are designed to profit when the price of Ethereum falls — and fall it has. As of April 11, Ether is down about 54% since the beginning of the year. While leveraged ETFs come with risks — especially because they don’t always perfectly mirror the underlying asset — this time, the inverse correlation has played out profitably for bearish speculators. Balchunas didn’t mince words, calling the results “brutal” for Ether’s prospects in the short term. Ethereum Upgrades Come at a Cost Despite its token’s price woes, Ethereum remains the most widely used blockchain in decentralized finance, commanding roughly $46 billion in total value locked (TVL), per DefiLlama. Yet this popularity hasn’t translated into earnings. Following the much-anticipated Dencun upgrade in March — meant to reduce fees — Ethereum’s fee revenues have plunged by an estimated 95%. The unintended side effect? Ethereum’s capacity to monetize activity on its Layer-2 networks like Arbitrum and Base has been severely stunted. In fact, the entire network earned just 3.18 ETH in fees from L2 activity during the final week of March. According to Michael Nadeau, founder of The DeFi Report, Ethereum would need a staggering 22,000-fold increase in L2 transaction volumes just to return to its previous fee revenue peaks. Macro Concerns Amplify Market Gloom Broader market jitters haven’t helped either. Asset manager VanEck reported a marked drop in activity across smart contract platforms, including both Ethereum and Solana, during Q1 2025. The dip reflects cooling investor appetite amid fears of a looming trade war and fresh tariffs proposed by former President Donald Trump. With Ether caught in a perfect storm of internal challenges and external headwinds, short bets on its price have become an unlikely beacon of success — at least for now. The post Shorting Ether Reigns Supreme as Ethereum Struggles in 2025 ETF Rankings appeared first on TheCoinrise.com .
