ethereum has become a mandatory coin owned by anyone who is in crypto
I tend to agree, though I'm into crypto and only own an amount of ETH that most people would consider dust. I probably should buy some more, but I just can't get myself enthusiastic enough about it to make the purchase.
I know what you mean. But to be honest, there aren't really that many coins that can make you feel enthusiastic nowadays, Besides Bitcoin, ofc. But even though it still has its flaws and pro problems, Ethereum would always be my second choice.
We just like to invest in ETH because it was great in the past, but look how ETH perform this year so far, it does not give a significant increase that would satisfy investors and I'm afraid sooner there will be a new coin that will rule in the altcoins market, let's try to consider Binance coin as well, they already have their own chain, might improve it to finally compete with ETH but they have the advantage as the IEO increase the demand of the BNB.