I think ethereum took a bad hit from this situation. Ethereum loses a lot of value compared to Bitcoin. How long this situation will continue is very important. Or is ethereum going out of date?
Losing a lot of value doesn't mean losing the trust of its investors because I believe investors still hold on to ethereum and can still wait for the price to increase again. It is only a matter of time to tell when the price of ethereum will start to rise and gain a rally. Ethereum is not out of date, and due to the current bear market, there is still a reason that the price of ethereum has not been able to increase again. In addition, the price of bitcoin has also not been able to rise higher, causing other coins, including ethereum to remain at a low price.
You should not just expect ethereum to only increase after the merge. Before that, there were mixed opinions, some people thought that it would go up to 2k1 $ or higher, but there were also investors who thought that it would lose value right after the merger. Just because it doesn't grow as you expect, you shouldn't jump to the conclusion that it's outdated.
Before the merge, we also saw the market drop because of the news related to the CPI so it is difficult for ethereum to have a chance to shine in its big event. It's a pity but I believe ethereum won't stay silent forever, let's wait and see.