In my opinion, 3 factors stood out to me as indicators that ETH is not the same kind of investment as other cryptos.
Firstly, Ethereum is designed to be a 'world computer' which will run apps that can be currency agnostic. As far as Ethereum is concerned, end user experience on applications run on it won't be tied to ETH. They can be any crypto. That means ETH is not that 'special'.
Secondly ETH is the crypto which 'oils' the internal Ethereum mechanism. It's not in the same category of other cryptos which are PRIMARILY designed for the exchange of goods and services between entities (whether that's people, robots, software programs or whatever else!).
Thirdly, ETH is inflationary. If my current understanding is correct, there will be an unlimited supply of it. Doesn't bode well for people who think of it as a long term investment that will go up in price due to its perceived 'rarity'.
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