Ethereum down from $3,900 to $22 over five years — altcoin market cap still below 2021 highs at $1T.

Ethereum traded near $3,900 at its May 2021 peak and sits around $22 today — a data point that has even long-term crypto bulls questioning the last five years. The broader altcoin market cap tells a similar story: roughly $1.5 trillion at the 2021 high, now closer to $1 trillion, and 1,600 days have passed since that peak without a sustained recovery. For context, the previous cycle's trough-to-recovery run took only 714 days.

The comparison to the Russell 2000 is worth noting: smaller-cap traditional equities are also essentially flat over the same window, pointing to a macro culprit — record quantitative tightening — rather than a crypto-specific failure. PMI readings are now ticking back above 50, which historically precedes business cycle expansion and risk-asset rotation.

The structural bear case is real: altcoins have underperformed potatoes, engagement is down, and the timeline…

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