if the benchmarks are only smart contracts, Eth should have exceeded ATH last year, but this is not the point.

Eth remains stable with their increasing volume, but they are also the same as altcoin who still cannot ensure an increase just because the alt market is not yet dominant. Then there is ETH 2.0 this year, many hoping there will be a price increase but realistically it will not meet the highest performance because it is still in its initial stages.