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The Ethereum price has dropped -6.5% overnight, falling back under $3,000, and looks set to close a disastrous 2025. ETH USD began the year at $3,900 but dropped below $1,500 by April before a brief rally brought a new all-time high of $4,900 in August.
That move was short-lived, and Ethereum is now trading -40% below those highs, with many in the community worried that another test of $2,000 is coming. To add further misery for ETH holders, Ripple has announced it will expand RLUSD, its billion-dollar stablecoin, to Ethereum Layer-2 networks.
Is Ripple’s Stablecoin Expansion onto ETH Layer-2s Good or Bad for the Ethereum Price?
On the surface, a liquid stablecoin expanding to Ethereum L2 networks may seem beneficial. Still, there is a concern that Ripple could steal volume from more Ethereum-native stablecoins, such as USDC, which could then be returned to Ripple and its XRP
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$863.79M
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Ripple announced in a press release yesterday (December 15) that it will expand its RLUSD stablecoin to Layer-2 networks on Ethereum next year to support its growth.
The stablecoin, which first debuted on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, will now be tested on Optimism, Coinbase’s Base, Kraken’s Ink, and Uniswap’s Unichain, the firm said.
🚨 BREAKING: The Ripple Ecosystem is going Multichain.
Ripple just confirmed that $RLUSD is expanding beyond the XRPL and Ethereum Mainnet. They are targeting the heart of the DeFi economy by launching on 4 major Layer 2 networks.
Here is the breakdown of the news and more… pic.twitter.com/cZxO3tvP9N
— Jungle Inc Crypto News (@jungleincxrp) December 15, 2025
With RLUSD already live on the Ethereum mainnet and soon to be tested on its largest L2s, it is another example of development and enhancement of the Ethereum network without adding any value to the ETH price itself.
The RLUSD stablecoin has seen impressive growth in 2025, with a market cap of over $1.3Bn and daily trading volume regularly exceeding $100M. These numbers will be expected to rise further with the expansion to multiple Ethereum L2s.
XRP is down 5.5% over the past 24 hours, trading at around $1.88, making Ripple the fifth-largest digital asset by market cap at $113Bn. It has a daily spot trading volume of $3.67Bn and more than $6Bn in perp volume, according to CoinGecko data.
DISCOVER: The 12+ Hottest Crypto Presales to Buy Right Now
Is Ethereum Price to $2,000 a Real Possibility as Market Share Increases While ETH Continues to Dump
Ethereum has gained a substantial market share in many areas of the crypto industry. It has consistently dominated the DeFi sector and continues to do so, with nearly $ 140 billion in assets and a 76% market share. Solana, the second-largest chain, has just $18.9 billion in total value locked, according to DeFi Llama data.
Ethereum also holds a leading market share in the stablecoin industry, with over $166Bn in assets, which will only grow as more stablecoins, such as Ripple’s RLUSD, expand onto its network. The Ethereum market dominance of stablecoins is around 53%. The same is true in other areas, such as GameFi and NFTs.
However, a tale as old as time for the Ethereum price: no matter how much the network grows, the chart is forever lagging behind the chain’s increasing market share.
Analysis suggests that the Ethereum price may have further downside in the coming weeks after losing the key $3,000 level once again. It has slowly formed an ascending channel in the past few days. This channel is part of a bearish flag pattern, which often signals further downside.
Ethereum’s price has also remained below the Supertrend indicator, indicating the bearish outlook persists. It has also plunged below the 50% Fibonacci Retracement level, while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has pointed downwards.
Therefore, the most likely scenario is that the coin continues to fall as sellers target the key support at around $2,600, which also marks the November low. A move below that level will signal further downside, potentially to the psychological $2,000 level, which many within the Ethereum community are growing increasingly concerned about.
At the time of writing, the Ethereum price is $2,930, giving ETH a market cap of $354Bn and cementing it as the number two digital asset, for now. Ripple’s aggressive expansion of its RLUSD stablecoin onto the Ethereum mainnet and its many L2s could be a sign that XRP is coming for Ethereum’s market share.
BONUS: PepeNode Closes in on $2.5M in ICO Funding as the Clock Ticks Down to the Explosive PEPENODE Token Launch
PepeNode (PEPENODE) is an innovative new meme coin and utility hybrid that revolutionizes presale processes, allowing investors to start earning rewards on their investment from the outset.
The project offers an innovative mining simulator designed to make entry into the mining industry more accessible, lowering both the technical knowledge required and the associated costs.
Users can quickly create virtual nodes to start earning rewards immediately, which can compound for even greater benefits. Furthermore, 70% of the tokens spent on upgrades are burned, enhancing the token’s deflationary nature and supporting its long-term value.
With its unique combination of mining, staking, and progressive funding rounds, PEPENODE is considered one of the best new memecoin presales of 2025, with analysts predicting it could raise $10M or more.
It is these lucrative features that have landed the PepeNode ICO over $2.35M in funding to date, with just 23 days left until the presale comes to a close, making it one of the most exciting token launches to kick off 2026.
The PEPENODE token is currently trading at $0.0011968 during the presale, with just 23 days until the window slams shut, and those who invested during the presale will lock in profits before the public PepeNode launch.
EXPLORE: Best Meme Coin ICOs to Invest in 2026
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