Catenaa, Thursday, May 15, 2025-Ethereum surged more than 20% to trade above $2,200 Thursday evening, marking its strongest single-day gain in four years. The rally followed the activation of the network’s long-awaited Pectra upgrade earlier this week.
The latest upgrade — Ethereum’s most significant since the 2022 Merge — enhances staking efficiency, streamlines validator operations and boosts Layer 2 scalability. Analysts said the improvements restored investor confidence in Ether, which had trailed behind Bitcoin for much of 2025.
“ETH is finally catching up after lagging behind BTC most of the year,” said Min Jung, a research analyst at Presto Research. She noted the ETH/BTC ratio had dropped nearly 40% this year before this week’s rebound.
According to investing.com data, Ethereum’s 20% jump is its biggest since May 2021. The rally also reflects a broader upswing in the crypto market, fueled in part by renewed risk appetite among investors and fresh optimism surrounding US -China trade talks.
Nick Ruck, director of LVRG Research, said the Pectra upgrade acted as a bullish catalyst, drawing renewed attention to altcoins. “Traders are rotating back into crypto as a hedge against macro uncertainty,” Ruck said.
Bitcoin also gained 4% to trade at $102,526 late Thursday. Analysts credited the rise to optimism surrounding scheduled trade negotiations in Switzerland between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese officials.
Ether’s price momentum follows months of underperformance and comes as broader sentiment in digital assets shows signs of recovery.
