The investment case for ether (ETH) is rooted in the belief that the Ethereum network will grow as a widely adopted application platform. The economics of the Ethereum protocol are designed in such a way that increased utility of the network directly benefits ETH holders.
As the network becomes more useful, hosts more transactions, and garners greater demand from users, the greater the value the ETH token is expected to amass. This expectation is based on how the supply/demand mechanics of the ETH asset have been outlined within the system. Simply put, the more users spend on transaction fees the more upwards price pressure is placed on the ETH token.
Long-term investors in ETH are therefore betting on the growth of Ethereum's utility and adoption over time, which would lead to higher transaction fees on the Ethereum Layer 1 (L1) blockchain. This value accrual mechanism links the usage success of the network to returns for ETH holders.
The more developers, businesses, and users build and interact on Ethereum, the stronger the case for ETH as an investment. Investors are banking on Ethereum's capability to expand its ecosystem, making it a foundational layer for applications, other crypto systems, and digital assets.