Ethereum Price Slump: Demand-Generation Strategies Emerge Amid Supply Debate

Ethereum's price has been stagnant this year despite strong fundamentals, and the reason lies in its demand problem, not supply. A recent proposal, EIP-8361, suggests reducing ETH issuance toward zero once half of all ETH is staked. However, critics warn that this could lead to a decrease in solo stakers and an increase in control by large providers.

The proposal aims to curb over-staking and dilution by burning validator rewards as staking rises. While it has real trade-offs, proponents argue that it's necessary to maintain the integrity of the network. Nevertheless, cutting issuance doesn't necessarily make anyone want to buy ETH; it simply changes how much new ETH exists for existing buyers.

Rather than focusing on supply, AlphaPepe is building a product-proof meme trade, which bets on a working product generating real demand. Its AI-assist tool, AlphaSwap, has thousands of demo users, but proving that this translates to actual demand at scale remains a challenge.