The digital asset market is witnessing a heated debate following the release of a short report by Culper Research, directly targeting Ethereum (ETH) and businesses dependent on its ecosystem. By presenting arguments about the collapse of the economic structure post-upgrade, Culper is not only betting against ETH's price but also warning of a potential "death spiral" threatening the world’s second-largest blockchain network’s leadership. #Colecolen
Economic Dislocation from the Fusaka Upgrade
The core of the report focuses on the Fusaka upgrade implemented in late 2025. Although expected to be a breakthrough step in optimizing data processing for Layer 2 (L2) scaling solutions, Fusaka appears to have created an unintended side effect: an oversupply of blockspace.
Culper estimates that transaction fees on the Ethereum mainnet have plummeted by 90%, directly stifling the revenue of validators. As staking yields are heavily compressed, the incentive to secure the network diminishes, creating a negative feedback loop. If actual economic value shifts entirely to L2 networks, ETH’s role in value accrual will be shaken to its core. Notably, co-founder Vitalik Buterin himself has expressed doubts about whether the network truly needs L2s to scale, and his liquidation of nearly 20,000 ETH this year is being used by Culper as strong evidence of "insider" pessimism. $ETH
BitMine and the Massive Treasury Burden
The report also targets BitMine (BMNR), a company that has bet its entire destiny on Ethereum. Holding approximately 4.4 million ETH – equivalent to 4% of the global supply – BitMine is facing a massive unrealized loss of $7.4 billion as ETH prices fail to meet expectations. The majority of these assets are staked, but with yields compressed due to low transaction fees, Tom Lee’s "ETH-based treasury" business model is viewed by Culper as a high-risk gamble amid suspicions that Ethereum's tokenomics are broken. #anhbacong
History and the Lesson of the Pioneer
Culper cites the lesson of the Dot-com bubble, where giants like Netscape or Nokia dominated before being completely replaced. Is Ethereum following in those footsteps, where technology becomes increasingly complex but economic efficiency for token holders declines?
Cautious Advice: Investors should remain calm and strictly follow the DYOR (Do Your Own Research) rule regarding short reports, which are inherently biased. Closely observe actual on-chain indicators and Ethereum’s upcoming development roadmap for an objective view. The crypto market is always full of volatility, and changes in economic structure are processes that require time to verify. #anh_ba_cong