Ethereum has seen renewed attention after the unveiling of ERC-8004, a new AI-focused standard aimed at giving autonomous agents on-chain identity, reputation, and validation. On the surface, it looks like the kind of innovation that should lift sentiment. Post that, the Ethereum price was up almost 2.5% over the past 24 hours.
But the market reaction tells a different story. While large holders have stepped in and the price has stabilized, sentiment remains deeply depressed. The gap between structural progress and market confidence is now the key tension shaping Ethereum’s next move.
ERC-8004 Price Impact? Why Ethereum’s AI Upgrade Might Not Drive A Rally, Yet
ERC-8004 is designed to support decentralized AI agents by giving them a portable on-chain identity, reputation history, and validation. In simple terms, it helps machines trust and transact with each other without centralized platforms. That is a meaningful step for Ethereum’s long-term role in AI coordination.
However, sentiment data shows the market is not reacting the way it did to Ethereum’s last major upgrade cycle.
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When the Pectra upgrade went live on mainnet in May 2025, positive Ethereum sentiment jumped sharply. On the day of launch, the positive sentiment score sat near 259. Within three days, it surged to 610, a gain of roughly 135%. That expansion in sentiment preceded Ethereum’s multi-month rally into late summer (August), when the price eventually peaked after sentiment later reached yearly highs near 749.
The contrast today is stark. During the ERC-8004 rollout, Ethereum’s positive sentiment score is sitting near 18, the lowest reading of the past year. Compared with the Pectra launch baseline of 259, current sentiment is down more than 90%.
The reason lies in the nature of the upgrade. Pectra was a protocol-level improvement tied to scalability, efficiency, and network fundamentals that directly affected users and fees. ERC-8004, by contrast, is more like an application-layer standard. It is structurally important, but its benefits are early-stage and not yet visible to most market participants.
In short, ERC-8004 matters for Ethereum’s future. But sentiment data makes it clear the market isn't pricing in that future yet.
While sentiment remains weak, on-chain behavior shows a different layer of positioning. But first, the price chart needs to be looked at!