Ethereum Price Hit 2021 Levels After Five Years: Is It Time to Sell ETH?

Ethereum is back near a price level many investors remember well. On April 28, 2026, the Ethereum Price USD trades around $2,290, almost the same level seen in April 2021, near $2,328. After five years of rallies, crashes, upgrades, and market hype, ETH has nearly returned to where it started.

That has created frustration among long-term holders, asking, “Should I sell my ethereum” or is this just a pause before the next move?

Ethereum Price Returns to Old Levels

Crypto trader Ash highlighted the weekly ETH/USD chart on Coinbase, which surprised many traders. From 2021 to 2026, Ethereum saw huge moves. It climbed near $4,950 in 2025, then fell to around $880 in 2022 before recovering again.

Now, in April 2026, ETH has returned close to where it started. A white horizontal line on the chart marks the $2,300 level from five years ago, and the current price is sitting almost at the same point.

Ash summed it up on X by saying, “Successfully wasted 5 years holding ETH.”

The frustration is easy to understand. Ethereum’s price is back near the same level after five years, while inflation has reduced the real value of that $2,300 by around 20% to 25% during the same time.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is up around 13.2% over the five years, while ETH is down about 41.9%.

Ethereum Network Growth Sees Strong Fundamentals

While the price has gone nowhere, the actual Ethereum network has improved dramatically over the same five years. The Merge transitioned Ethereum from energy-intensive proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. The Dencun upgrade slashed transaction costs.

Even Ethereum gas fees have dropped 90% to just $0.01, making the network cheaper and more efficient.

Recent data shows that Ethereum now processes around 1.3 million daily transactions, with about 32% of supply staked and nearly $55 billion locked in DeFi.

But this creates a gap between the Ethereum price in USD and real usage, often seen as a sign of undervaluation.

Whales Are Still Buying ETH

Even whale activity has picked up sharply. On-chain data from Arkham Intelligence shows wallet 0xE5eB withdrew 4,383 ETH worth $10 million from Kraken after three months of complete inactivity. 

Almost simultaneously, a newly created wallet 0xA605 pulled 2,000 ETH worth $4.58 million from Binance within a single hour. 

Also recently, Tom Lee’s Bitmine just staked 101,901 ETH worth approximately $214 million. Bitmine now holds a total of $8.45 billion in staked ETH, representing 9.5% of all staked ETH on the entire Ethereum network and approximately 4.21% of Ethereum’s total circulating supply.

How Low Can ETH Price Go In 2026?

Looking at past trends, traders are now asking how low the ETH price could go in 2026.

Crypto analyst Borovik noted that ETH found a bottom near $1,750 in 2026. If market weakness returns, some traders believe it could fall back to the $1,368 level, which was an important support in the past.

But history also shows strong recoveries. After a similar low in 2025, ETH surged 3.5x within months. If that happens again, the next Ethereum price prediction could take ETH above $6,000.

Ethereum Price Prediction: Buy or Sell?

As of now, Ethereum’s short-term direction depends on market sentiment, Bitcoin’s strength, and ETF flows. Recently, U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs recorded a net outflow of $50.48 million, showing some caution from investors.

Still, Ethereum remains a leader in DeFi, staking, and smart contracts.

For investors asking whether it is better to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum, Bitcoin is often seen as the safer choice, while Ethereum may offer higher growth potential but with more risk.