As market sentiment declines due to recent liquidations and capitulation risks, some traders are eyeing the upcoming Fusaka upgrade for Ethereum as a potential contrarian entry point. Scheduled to launch on December 3rd, the Fusaka upgrade comes at a time when fear, uncertainty, and doubt dominate the crypto landscape, leading to significant losses and breaches of key support levels.
Overall risk appetite has sharply decreased, and the anticipated tailwinds for the fourth quarter are fading, resulting in a bearish outlook for both Bitcoin and Ethereum. The timing of the Fusaka launch has sparked discussions about whether it could provide an opportunity to “buy the fear” while others panic-sell.
Despite current technical challenges, 2025 has been a positive year for Ethereum, particularly following the mid-year Pectra upgrade. This upgrade significantly enhanced the network”s speed and efficiency, especially for Layer-2 scaling solutions. The rollout in May led to a substantial price increase, with ETH surging 40% shortly after the launch, reclaiming the $2,500 mark for the first time since March.
While there has been ongoing fear, uncertainty, and doubt since the Pectra upgrade, Ethereum has maintained a value approximately 38% higher than before that upgrade. In comparison, Bitcoin is currently trading about 10% below its peak during that same period, highlighting Ethereum”s relative strength.
As the Fusaka upgrade approaches, several positive on-chain metrics are emerging. The upgrade is set to improve both backend infrastructure and user experiences. Notably, Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS) will allow nodes to verify blocks without needing to download all associated data. Additionally, the gas limit will increase from 45 million to 60 million, enabling the network to handle more transactions per block.
On the user side, Ethereum”s average gas price has dropped to just 0.04 Gwei, resulting in lower transaction costs for both decentralized finance (DeFi) users and regular transactions. This favorable environment, paired with the upcoming Fusaka improvements, could stimulate on-chain activity, similar to the rise in usage seen after the Pectra launch.
Institutional interest in Ethereum continues to grow, with $65 billion in total value locked, a $168 billion stablecoin market, and a robust ecosystem of over 1,670 protocols. This scale suggests that the Fusaka upgrade could encourage broader market engagement, especially among institutions already involved in digital assets.
Currently, 26 publicly traded companies hold ETH on their balance sheets, the highest among Layer-1 networks, while Solana follows with 18 corporate holders. Such institutional allocations often align with reliable fundamentals and credible development roadmaps.
As the Fusaka upgrade nears, the situation presents a mix of negative short-term sentiment and promising long-term fundamentals. Traders face the dual challenges of market fear and the potential for deeper capitulation, yet the Fusaka upgrade offers new scalability and cost improvements just as institutional inflows to Ethereum are accelerating.
As December unfolds, the price zone around $2,800 is gaining attention as a key area for potential buying opportunities. If the on-chain metrics react positively as they did post-Pectra, the current market weakness may be viewed as an attractive entry point rather than the beginning of a sustained downturn.
