Ethereum risks falling to $1,970 as Buterin challenges ETH fee-burning narrative

Key takeaways

• Ethereum (ETH) recorded a 1.3% gain on Tuesday as co-founder Vitalik Buterin prompted fresh discussion surrounding the network’s long-term economic narrative.
• Bitmine Immersion Technologies acquired an additional 9,587 ETH, bringing its reserves to 6.07 million tokens—equal to approximately 4.97% of Ethereum’s circulating supply.
• ETH faces the risk of a deeper slide toward $1,971 if the $2,101 support level breaks, with overhead resistance sitting at $2,204 and $2,250.

Ethereum (ETH) ticked higher on Tuesday, regaining some ground after facing renewed selling pressure on Monday.

The price stabilization came as market participants evaluated the cryptocurrency’s long-term value model in light of recent statements from co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

Vitalik Buterin questions Ethereum’s fee-burning investment narrative

Buterin argued that Ethereum’s investment case should focus primarily on its capacity to serve as a secure, decentralized store of value, rather than relying on transaction fee burning to diminish circulating supply.

Expanding on why I believe “ETH as store of value (SoV)” makes much more sense to focus on than “ETH as fee-burning token”.

Three primary reasons:

1. ETH as fee-burning token never was as strong as it seemed
2. Optimizing for ETH as fee-burning token would demand Ethereum and ETH function in ways that are very hard to make compatible with decentralization and capture resistance.
3. Meanwhile, optimizing for ETH as SoV is aligned with Ethereum focusing on its unique strengths (decentralization and CROPS)

EIP-1559 (including its burn) is fine and good, we should keep them. But we should not feel sad if fee burn is < 10% of breakeven indefinitely; the value of ETH comes from elsewhere.

The core idea: the big thing that people appreciate about Ethereum is decentralization and CROPS. The main pragmatic benefit that these things translate into is stability. SoV is the category where that is not an unneeded extra we merely put effort into for ideological reasons, but rather a pragmatic strength from the perspective of people putting in their assets. And in the era of AI disruption, stability will be highly valued.

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) November 8, 2026

The fee-burning mechanism has been a central pillar of Ethereum’s financial narrative since the implementation of EIP-1559 in August 2021.

That upgrade established a protocol that permanently removes the base transaction fee from circulation, effectively reducing available market supply.

During spans of intense network usage, the amount of ETH destroyed through fee burning can outpace new token issuance, rendering Ethereum’s supply temporarily deflationary.

However, in a Sunday post on X, Buterin questioned the core strength of this theory, arguing that investors have overemphasized fee burning as the primary measure of Ethereum’s underlying economic value.

He pointed out that much of Ethereum’s historic fee revenue was driven by speculative crypto-related activity, tying fee generation heavily to overall market cycles.

Buterin also warned that prioritizing high transaction fee volume could encourage higher gas costs, increased protocol spending, and more interventionist governance decisions.

Such shifts could erode the core decentralization and neutrality that separate Ethereum from traditional financial systems.

Instead, Buterin recommended anchoring Ethereum’s value proposition in its foundational design principles, particularly as artificial intelligence technology progresses.

He referenced the CROPS framework, which stands for censorship and capture resistance, open source, privacy, and security.

According to Buterin, these principles will grow increasingly vital as AI systems handle a larger share of financial transactions and digital infrastructure.

Bitmine Ethereum holdings reach 6.07 million ETH

Bitmine Immersion Technologies announced on Monday that it purchased 9,587 ETH over the past week, expanding its total treasury to roughly 6.07 million tokens.

The firm’s Ethereum holdings now account for about 4.97% of the asset’s estimated circulating supply of 122.2 million ETH.

The latest acquisition moves Bitmine closer to its explicit target of owning 5% of Ethereum’s circulating supply.

In addition to its liquid reserves, the company reported having roughly 5.227 million ETH allocated to staking through its Made in America Validator Network (MAVAN).

Ethereum price forecast: ETH bears target $1,971 support

Ethereum’s technical outlook remains tilted to the downside as the token trades beneath its major Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs).

On the daily chart, ETH stays suppressed under its 20-day, 50-day, and 100-day EMAs, which are clustered together between $2,291 and $2,371.

Trading beneath these key averages confirms that sellers control the prevailing trend, creating substantial overhead resistance against recovery efforts.

Oscillators further highlight the weak technical picture. The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) sits near 31, signaling weak demand and bringing the asset close to oversold territory.

Meanwhile, the Stochastic Oscillator registers near 9, pointing to more severe oversold conditions.

To the downside, immediate technical support lies at $2,101. A decisive break beneath this mark could trigger additional selling toward the $1,971 level, which acts as the next major support zone.

If sellers maintain momentum and $1,971 fails to hold, ETH could extend its correction down toward $1,827.

Conversely, Ethereum could mount a short-term bounce if buyers step in around current support levels.

The initial hurdle on the upside is $2,204, which bulls must reclaim to signal an early shift in momentum.

A sustained break above $2,204 would open a path toward $2,250, followed by the 20-day EMA near $2,291.

Further overhead resistance is anchored around the 100-day EMA and the $2,355–$2,371 zone, establishing a heavy supply layer.

A clear breakout above this resistance cluster would signal a more substantial technical recovery and suggest that selling pressure is abating.