Ethereum has staged an impressive resurgence this week, marking its biggest rebound in four years. The second-largest cryptocurrency surged by 25% over the past seven days, which is its highest weekly increase since May 2021.
The rally didn’t happen in isolation. The entire crypto market heated up, and Bitcoin led the charge—holding its ground well above $100,000.
As of publication, Bitcoin was trading at $103,248, showing a daily increase of 2%. It had previously reached an intraday peak of $104,324, marking its highest level since late January, as reported.
data
from CoinGecko.
Bitcoin finished the week over 6% above where it started, marking its fourth consecutive week of gains—the first such occurrence since November. This positive trend coincided with major buyers continuing their purchases, exchange-traded funds setting new records, and broader economic updates becoming less concerning.
According
to
CNBC
, investors began to feel more at ease following the US-UK trade mini-agreement and indications of possible easing of tariffs with China, which aided riskier assets like cryptocurrency in gaining momentum.
Bitcoin takes the lead as Ether, Solana, and XRP regain lost territory.
Despite missing out initially, the overall recovery in the markets also lifted alternative cryptocurrencies, although they remain significantly lagging behind. Ethereum, which had been struggling throughout much of the year, experienced a significant uptick with a 29% increase over two days, fueled primarily by an impressive 10% surge on Thursday.
In the meantime, Solana’s token increased by 6%, with a cumulative rise of 16% over two days. Over the entire week,
Solana
It saw an increase of 14.3%, marking its strongest weekly gain since January. XRP, benefiting from the resolution of the notable SEC-Ripple lawsuit, has risen by 5.1% over the last day.
Part of Ether’s surge came after Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade went live. That network update cut fees, made staking easier, and introduced support for smart wallets. That gave traders a push to jump in, especially those who had been avoiding the token due to network congestion and high gas costs.
Despite the recent recovery, both Ether and Solana have not fully bounced back from their previous declines. This year, Ether has dropped by 31%, and Solana has decreased by 12%. In contrast, Bitcoin has gained 10% this year. Notably, XRP stands out as the sole significant altcoin that hasn’t lost value during this period.
ETF inflows strengthen Bitcoin, whereas altcoins struggle to find genuine purchasers.
Bitcoin’s structure changed fast after
spot ETFs
Introduced in 2024, the funding for this initiative is sourced from retirement accounts, large macro hedge funds, and corporate bond strategies. This type of investor base tends to be more stable as they do not engage in panic selling, providing Bitcoin with a distinct advantage.
Alternative cryptocurrencies continue to depend on conventional crypto-specific funds—capital that swiftly responds to changes in interest rates, shifts in the technology sector, and trends on social media platforms. According to Eric Chen, who co-founded Injective, alternative coins have not experienced similar levels of demand due to the present interest rate structure preventing significant growth within both the tech industry and speculative investments.
Eric likewise cautioned that without fresh demand emerging, Ethereum and other alternative cryptocurrencies could potentially decrease further in value before recovering. He highlighted their consistent supply levels and lack of significant buying support as key risks.
Over at Wolfe Research, analyst Read Harvey agreed. “There remains one singular strategy for crypto investors: stick to BTC until risk on headwinds dissipate,” Read said in a note. He added that Bitcoin is one of just two assets in their basket that’s in the green this year. The question now, according to him, is whether Bitcoin can keep outperforming other assets like stocks—or if it’s gold, not crypto, that ends up being the safer long-term play.
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