Ethereum: Cashing Out Fears Drive Falling Ether Prices, Protocol Co-Founder Refutes Worries

The vast number of ICOs built on the Ethereum platform were seen as a catalyst for 2017's ether bull run.

As a magnitude of developers swiftly jumped on the Ethereum blockchain to raise funds, Ether quickly grew in value and reached over $1,455 in December 2017-the digital currency's all-time-high.

ICO projects' lack of solutions, coupled with Ethereum's scalability and robustness issues, have jaded investor interest, resulting in freefalling prices.

Part of the plunge has been attributed to media rumors of projects cashing out their ether.

Barring scam projects, ICO firms are likely cashing out funds to support research and everyday expenses while remaining concerned about 2018's prolonged bear market.

While Ethereum did reach 32 percent of the total market cap during its peak, Bitcoin has capitalized on the bear market and regained a market share of more than 50 percent.

If the total amount of money raised in 2017 is assumed to be $5 billion worth of ether, analysts believe it adds to retail selling pressure in the ether trading market.

Data collated by research website Sanbase purports a total of 110,000 ether sold in July 2018 alone; however, Ethereum remains the most popular platform for building blockchain products and a surge in this regard could see the price increase once more.

Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin agreed that 2017's price surge was a "Bubble," but the blockchain ecosystem continues to grow stronger despite tumbling prices.

The ConsenSys founder also added that developer activity on Ethereum has increased by "Two orders of magnitude" since the increased price action in 2017.