Ethereum’s native token Ether (ETH) has soared 42% in just five days, propelling its market capitalization past household giants Coca-Cola and Alibaba, following the successful deployment of the long-anticipated Pectra upgrade on its mainnet.
As of May 12, Ether was trading around $2,550, with its market cap exceeding $308 billion, according to data from 8marketcap. The sharp rally vaulted Ethereum into the 39th position among the world’s largest assets by market capitalization, overtaking Coca-Cola, which sits at $303.5 billion, and Alibaba at $303.7 billion.
The dramatic price action came in the wake of Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, which introduced several improvements aimed at enhancing validator operations, smart account functionality, and layer-2 scaling efficiency. Initially scheduled for March 2025, the upgrade faced months of technical delays before successfully launching on the Ethereum mainnet on May 7.
Pectra was first tested on the Holesky testnet on February 24, but failed to finalize, triggering a round of debugging and internal reviews. When developers rolled the upgrade out to the Sepolia testnet in early March, a combination of internal bugs and external interference from a malicious actor led to the mining of empty blocks. These issues prompted core developers to create a dedicated testnet, dubbed “Hoodi,” to ensure a smooth final deployment.
Following the successful implementation, Ethereum introduced significant changes. Among them, externally owned accounts (EOAs) can now function as smart contracts, allowing users to pay for transactions using tokens other than ETH—improving wallet usability and lowering friction for new users. The upgrade also raised the validator staking cap from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, streamlining staking for institutional participants and large node operators.
Additionally, the upgrade increased the number of data blobs per block, providing greater throughput for layer-2 networks and improving overall network scalability. The market responded swiftly. Ether, which had traded near $1,786 on May 7, surged to as high as $2,550 within days. Analysts credit the structural enhancements from Pectra, along with bullish momentum across broader crypto markets, for the sudden spike in valuation.
Despite the optimism, the upgrade has not come without concerns. Security researchers have flagged potential vulnerabilities introduced by the Pectra changes. Specifically, experts warn that a newly added transaction type could allow attackers to exploit externally owned accounts through offchain signed messages, bypassing traditional onchain approval mechanisms.
Ethereum’s explosive price movement and rising market cap mark a milestone moment for the second-largest blockchain network. The Pectra upgrade signals Ethereum’s commitment to greater scalability, institutional readiness, and improved user experience—even as it navigates new security challenges in a rapidly evolving ecosystem.
