Ethereum’s True Value? Lower Than You Think

Bitcoin maximalist Samson Mow has doubled up on his value criticism of Ethereum’s price, asserting ETH is still overvalued despite Bitcoin’s price almost quadrupling since 2022. The JAN3 CEO referred to the glaring disparity in performance between the two top cryptocurrencies over a near three-year span.

Price Gap Grows As Bitcoin Rises

According to data, Ethereum now sits at $1,558, essentially the same as its August 2022 price of $1,600. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has climbed from $21,500 to $82,302 – an eye-popping 270% rise. The widening gap has only served to bolster Mow’s contention that Ethereum’s price does not correlate with its fundamentals.

Mow re-tweeted his August 23, 2022 post this week to emphasize his steadfast stance. His criticism focuses on supply variations between the cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has less than 21 million overall coins, while Ethereum boasts 122 million circulating tokens.

#Ethereum is overvalued.

1 BTC = $21.5k
1 ETH = $1.6k

21M BTC supply (actually less)
122M ETH supply (72M premined)

Adjusted for unit bias (ETH price at 21M units) one ETH would be $9.3k.

So some people are paying $9.3k per unit of something that’s 60% printed from thin air.

— Samson Mow (@Excellion) August 23, 2022

‘60% Minted Out Of Thin Air’ Claim Targets Ethereum’s Origins

Based on Mow’s quotations, about 72 million ETH tokens (approximately 60% of the supply) were premined at the time of Ethereum’s launch. Token creation before the start of public mining has been quite an issue for purists in cryptocurrency for some time.

Possibly, the Bitcoin maximalist suggested that if 21 million coins were all there would be in supply for Ethereum like in Bitcoin, then each ETH would be valued today at around $9,300. Mow is again targeting investors in Ethereum, saying they are paying too much for an asset whose supply is exaggerated.

Sensitive To Macroeconomic Forces

Ethereum recently fell to a multi-year low of $1,380 on the back of global tariff trade war tensions. The cryptocurrency bounced back immediately to $1,680 on April 9 after US President Donald Trump declared a three-month tariff tariff hike pause on various countries, with China being the exception.

These movements illustrate how both cryptocurrencies are still sensitive to macroeconomic forces even as they have different value propositions and market performances.

Long-Standing Campaign Against Ethereum Continues

This is not Mow’s first time criticizing Ethereum. He has been vocal against ETH for years. In November 2024, he cautioned investors that the fate of Ethereum could be the same as their favorite tokens.

Mow, who forecasts Bitcoin to hit $1 million this year, has told investors to sell everything, including Ethereum, and invest in Bitcoin instead.

The debate underscores deep-seated differences in cryptocurrency investment philosophies. While Bitcoin maximalists such as Mow focus on scarcity and Bitcoin’s “digital gold” status, Ethereum supporters highlight the platform’s smart contract abilities and wider applications ecosystem.

As the price differential between the two leading cryptocurrencies continues to expand, these debates regarding relative value and suitable pricing models draw greater interest from investors and market analysts in common.

Featured image from Reuters, chart from TradingView