In a recent thread on X, crypto enthusiast gphummer.eth (@gphummer) fired back at last year's critics who doubted Ethereum's value based on its cash flows. Quoting a post from Token Terminal (@tokenterminal), which highlighted Ethereum's thriving economy with about $365 billion in total value locked (TVL)—that's the amount of assets held in protocols on the network—gphummer argues that viewing ETH purely as a "tech stock" misses the bigger picture.

The quoted chart breaks it down: top categories include stablecoins (digital dollars pegged to real currencies for stability), lending platforms where users borrow and lend crypto, liquid staking (a way to stake ETH for rewards without locking it up), decentralized exchanges (DEXs) for trading without middlemen, and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), which bring things like real estate or bonds onto the blockchain.

The Critique and the Counter

Last year, some venture capitalists (VCs) and influencers raised eyebrows over Ethereum's revenue streams. They pointed to rival blockchains raking in millions daily from memecoin trading frenzy—think of it as maximum extractable value (MEV), where bots and validators profit from transaction ordering. These chains felt like high-stakes casinos, especially with the memecoin hype.

But gphummer flips the script: those rivals' cash flows are now tanking as activity shifts to more centralized options. Meanwhile, Ethereum's security is backed by a whopping $160 billion in staked ETH, dwarfing Bitcoin's $5 billion. Bitcoin, often seen as digital gold, never faced the same "tech stock" scrutiny despite its own limitations.

ETH as the Backbone of Tomorrow

Here's the key insight: ETH isn't a company stock chasing quarterly earnings. It's the foundational asset for a censorship-resistant economy. In simple terms, censorship-resistant means no single entity—like a government or bank—can shut it down or alter transactions. Gphummer calls it "civilizational infrastructure for the 21st century," powering everything from DeFi (decentralized finance) to global stablecoin flows.

Ethereum dominates RWAs, with billions in stablecoins pouring in weekly. Solana's attempt at tokenized stocks? Lackluster demand. Soon, gphummer predicts, the "Ethereum economy" will just be the world economy, seamlessly integrated with blockchain tech.

Memecoins and the Bigger Picture

For meme token enthusiasts, this matters because many popular memecoins started on Ethereum or its layer-2 scaling solutions. While rivals lured memecoin traders with low fees and speed, Ethereum's robust security and ecosystem draw them back as volatility settles. The memecoin MEV gold rush on other chains highlighted short-term gains, but Ethereum's long-game dominance in assets and utility could stabilize and grow the meme space sustainably.

The ETH/BTC Ratio Opportunity

With the ETH/BTC price ratio hovering near historic lows—meaning ETH is relatively cheap compared to Bitcoin—gphummer's advice is clear: "Hop in before it’s too late." ETH trades at about 1.45 times its ecosystem TVL, signaling undervaluation amid this growth.

Replies to the thread echo the sentiment. One user notes ETH is "absorbing the global economy piece by piece," while another calls the ETH/BTC flip "just math now." Even skeptics chime in, but the overall vibe is bullish on Ethereum's trajectory.

As blockchain evolves, threads like this remind us: crypto isn't just about quick flips. It's about building resilient systems. If you're in memes or DeFi, keeping an eye on Ethereum's fundamentals could be your edge.