Considered one of these chains is delivery upgrades, and the opposite is useless in the water.
Ethereum (ETH 9.39%) is already down by 25% to this point in 2026 regardless of a good run of technical successes with upgrades to its chain final 12 months. On the similar time, Shiba Inu (SHIB 8.83%) has additionally seen a pointy decline over the past 30 days, with its market cap collapsing from $4.7 billion to $3.8 billion.
Dips like these may show to be good crypto buying opportunities. However which of those two cash is value investing $2,500 in, and why?
Picture supply: Getty Photographs.
Ethereum retains getting higher at scaling
Due to a slew of upgrades over the past couple of years, the Ethereum of in the present day is not the bloated, sluggish, and expensive-to-use chain that it was in the previous. Its gas fees at the moment are far much less susceptible to spiking, and in addition far cheaper in absolute phrases. A mean swap now solely prices round $0.15 the place it as soon as price $1, and earlier than that, $15 or extra.
The community’s roadmap suggests the chain will scale additional to drive down prices and enhance speeds, with the upcoming “Glamsterdam” improve subsequent on the docket, slated for the primary half of 2026. A key enabling piece Glamsterdam will deliver known as proto-danksharding, which provides a less expensive lane for the info that Layer-2 blockchains publish to Ethereum.
As we speak’s Change
(-9.39%) $-196.87
Present Worth
$1900.09
Key Information Factors
Market Cap
$229B
Day’s Vary
$1756.73 – $2136.35
52wk Vary
$1398.62 – $4946.05
Quantity
68B
In English, small blockchains constructed on Ethereum compress many transactions into bundles, then publish that knowledge again to the principle chain (Ethereum) to completely settle the transactions. Assuming Ethereum continues to broaden the info lanes accessible to chains constructed on its spine, it might probably slender each the velocity and value gaps with speedy, low-cost opponents like Solana.
And meaning Glamsterdam will make Ethereum much more enticing for builders constructing high-throughput purposes. In different phrases, there’s quickly going to be yet one more incentive for individuals to purchase and maintain Ethereum, and that is bullish.
Shiba Inu hardly has an ecosystem in any respect
As a meme coin, Shiba Inu’s value can nonetheless spike on sentiment, nevertheless it completely lacks an actual long-term use case, which might require anybody to purchase and maintain it.
There may be, after all, the Shibarium, which is a Layer-2 chain constructed on prime of Ethereum. But hardly anyone is utilizing the Shibarium for any function in the present day. It generated roughly $1 in chain charges, and about $81 in decentralized exchange (DEX) buying and selling quantity on Feb. 1.
As we speak’s Change
(-8.83%) $-0.00
Present Worth
$0.00
Key Information Factors
Market Cap
$3.4B
Day’s Vary
$0.00 – $0.00
52wk Vary
$0.00 – $0.00
Quantity
383M
When the financial engine supposedly supposed to energy a coin’s progress is that ineffectual, the funding thesis collapses right into a hope and a prayer that one thing higher will occur down the road. And that is not actually an funding thesis in any respect.
So if you happen to’re selecting between Shiba Inu and Ethereum for an funding of $2,500, that is an extremely simple name. Purchase Ethereum, and keep away from Shiba Inu.
