ETH Surges 20%, Biggest Gain Since 2021 as Pectra Upgrade Helps Restore 'Confidence'

Ethereum's ether ETH led the market in early Asia hours as traders reacted favorably to the protocol's recent Pectra upgrade, sending the token up nearly 20%, the biggest gain since 2021, and trading above $2100 according to market data from CoinDesk.The move comes amid a broader crypto market rally that coincided with bitcoin BTC soaring past $100,000 for the first time in three months. Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, its most substantial overhaul since the 2022 Merge, represents a sweeping protocol hard fork, as CoinDesk previously reported.The upgrade consolidates validator operations by raising the staking limit from 32 to 2,048 ETH (via EIP-7251), advances wallet usability through account abstraction mechanisms allowing temporary smart contract functionality (via EIP-7702), and implements nine other Ethereum Improvement Proposals source: https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/05/08/eth-surges-20-biggest-gain-since-2021-as-pectra-upgrade-helps-restore-confidence