Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency, is facing a wave of negativity. Even long-time supporters are expressing disappointment with its performance and the blockchain’s growing complexity compared to networks like Solana (SOL) and Tron (TRX).

Top trader and crypto analyst on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) Eugene Ng Ah Sio pointed out that Ether has been outperformed by Solana (SOL) and Bitcoin (BTC) throughout this cycle. As per CoinMarketCap, BTC is up 134.47% and SOL is up 601.96% since August 2023 while ETH is up only 62.17% in the same period.

Ethereum was the “de-facto beta for crypto natives” for quite a few months until the approval of spot ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States, noted the analyst. However, the excitement fizzled out after the ETFs saw disappointing inflows. As per SoSoValue data, the net inflows into spot ETH ETFs turned negative with the products bleeding $458.95 million until date.

Critics point to Ethereum’s “lack of retail friendly architecture and convoluted selling points as key reasons” as major reasons for its lackluster performance. ETH has failed to break above the $2,800 to $3,000 resistance zone. The “extreme negative sentiment” and “OG whales” like Gollum selling their ETH have led to the lowest positioning on ETH in a long time, the analyst observed.

Despite the negativity, Eugene Ng Ah Sio predicts Ethereum will soon see a “hate rally,” as Solana’s appeal as a meme coin haven faces challenges. He believes that with the rejection of spot SOL ETFs, “a decent amount of SOL positioning would need to unwind.”

While this unwinding might not be enough for a huge price surge, the analyst thinks that “sometimes all you need is a small spark to ignite a bigger fire.” ETH is up a modest 2.17% in the past week, but it dropped a significant 22.62% in the past 30 days.