2025 Retrospective: Ethereum hits record high, gains improvements, and conquers Wall Street

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: Retrospectiva 2025: Ethereum hits record, gains improvements, and wins Wall Street Original Link: Ethereum experienced in 2025 one of its most remarkable years since launch, combining price records, institutional explosion, and significant technological advancements.

The second-largest cryptocurrency in the world — behind only Bitcoin — started the year trading at US$ 3,353.50, after a strong performance in 2024. On August 24, 2025, ETH finally broke a four-year drought and set a new price record, reaching US$ 4,946.

Conceptualized by Vitalik Buterin and launched in 2015, Ethereum redefined what blockchain could be by introducing smart contracts and paving the way for decentralized finance (DeFi).

Since then, it has also become the fastest asset to reach US$ 500 billion in market value: less than six years, surpassing the time it took giants like Google, Amazon, and Apple to reach the same milestone — and twice as fast as Bitcoin, which took 12 years.

Price movement and institutional strength

The approval of spot Ethereum ETFs in 2024 only demonstrated its true strength in 2025, when exchange-traded products recorded record inflows. Under new leadership, the SEC stopped labeling ETH as a security, removing one of the biggest regulatory uncertainties weighing on the asset.

Ethereum treasuries also drew attention. Companies like BitMine may end the year with at least 3,860,000 ETH in cash. Meanwhile, SharpLink Gaming, a marketing company for the betting sector, accumulated 863,000 ETH during 2025, according to available data.

For some analysts, Ethereum had hit its “bottom” in early December, which would explain its aggressive buying strategy.

Even traditionally skeptical investors contributed to the positive climate: in October, Robert Kiyosaki officially added ETH to his “store of value” list, alongside Bitcoin, gold, and silver.

Ethereum network advancements: Pectra and Fusaka

Ethereum also advanced technically. In 2025, two major upgrades were completed: Pectra, on May 7, and Fusaka, on December 3.

Pectra introduced structural changes that pave the way for scalability improvements and greater operational efficiency, while Fusaka focused on data availability and increasing block capacity.

The two upgrades complement each other, reinforcing Ethereum’s trajectory toward a faster, cheaper blockchain capable of handling massive transaction volumes — especially with the expansion of second-layer blockchains (L2s).

Stablecoins, payments, and dominance as a settlement layer

The growth of stablecoins in 2025 transformed Ethereum into a critical pillar of the global financial infrastructure. In the last quarter, on-chain transfer volume with stablecoins reached US$ 6 trillion, surpassing the combined quarterly volumes of Visa and Mastercard (US$ 4.3 trillion and US$ 4.6 trillion, respectively).

According to experts, Ethereum has solidified itself as the main settlement layer for “digital dollars,” benefiting from the dominance of stablecoins like USDT and USDC, and the advancement of financial applications based on smart contracts. The network left competitors behind and expanded its lead in the segment.

Improvements for Ethereum in 2026

Closely monitoring all actions, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said in early November that the network will undergo a significant strategic change in 2026.

In a series of publications, Buterin stated that the network is ready to leave behind the “scale everything at once” phase and enter a new cycle focused on “targeted optimization”.

The proposal, according to him, is to abandon broad adjustments that impact multiple parts of the infrastructure and adopt more specific interventions aimed at enhancing overall blockchain performance without overloading validators.

The main measure suggested by Buterin is to increase the network’s gas limit by five times, while also raising the cost of more intensive on-chain operations by five times.

Combining institutional adoption, technical improvements, and dominance in the stablecoin market, 2025 solidified Ethereum as one of the main pillars of the digital economy.