This may be the most confusing question in many investors' minds recently. After all, Ethereum $ETH's strong rise recently was not without signs, but many attributed this wave of market action to the 'Pectra upgrade,' which may in fact be mistakenly treating 'patching' as a 'major breakthrough.'


Technical 'embroidery' can't support this surge?


Let's first review the misunderstood 'Pectra upgrade.' It is actually a follow-up enhancement after the Cancun upgrade. Specifically, the EIPs (Ethereum Improvement Proposals) covered by Pectra include:


  • EIP-7044: Standardizing state expiration to enhance network predictability;


  • EIP-7524: Redefining fuel limits to optimize Gas usage;


  • EIP-7697: Improving transaction pipelines to enhance packaging efficiency;


  • EIP-6789: Adjusting mining difficulty curves to optimize synchronization experience.



These improvements, while important, are fundamentally lower-level optimization operations that address the technical leftovers from the last Cancun upgrade, rather than creating new narratives or breakthroughs. In the crypto market, only 'stories' and 'capital' can ignite the market; these types of 'patch-up' upgrades often struggle to stimulate market sentiment.


So, what is driving this rise of Ethereum?


The truth: ETH has not 'fallen out of favor'; the market just 'misread' it for a while.


In the past few months, Ethereum has faced an unprecedented wave of skepticism:


  • Layer2 liquidity dispersion is interpreted as ecological 'splitting';


  • Comparisons with Solana's performance have sparked a technical route dispute;


  • The slow expansion of the Layer2 ecosystem raises doubts about its actual value capture capabilities;


  • Narratives around Restaking, modularization, zk, etc., have fallen into the dilemma of 'talking but not being understood, doing but not being seen.'



These voices once put pressure on ETH prices. But the real problem is not the collapse of fundamentals, but the 'emotions being overly amplified,' with FUD spreading leading to prices deviating from their true value.


Returning to the data: the current total locked value in DeFi is still as high as $119B, with Ethereum remaining the preferred platform for the vast majority of RWA, PayFi, and foundational financial protocols; and the reduction in Layer2 costs brought about by the Cancun upgrade is gradually releasing its actual dividends.


Institutions are starting to position themselves: 'Value restoration' is the true reason for the rise.


The smart money in the market is obviously calmer than we are.


In early May, Abraxas Capital established a position exceeding $560 million (242,652 ETH), becoming the most intuitive signal light in the market. According to on-chain data, during the period from May 9 to 14, large transfers (single transactions >$1M) surged, and the balance of ETH institutional wallets significantly increased—this is a typical, systematic positioning behavior, backed by thoughtful investment logic.


What they are focused on is precisely the misalignment between market sentiment and value—FUD has gone too far, while ETH remains the leading asset with real value support.


So how should ordinary people view this?


The market has risen, and FOMO sentiment is back. But rather than passively chasing highs and lows, it's better to learn to 'see through' market appearances with data and logic.


For example, utilizing Mlion.ai's multidimensional features, many institutional behaviors and market changes have actually long been traceable:


  • Price predictions and on-chain data analysis: helping you discover institutional transfers and large fluctuations in advance;


  • AI-generated news flash deep analysis and sentiment analysis: dismantling emotional traps in the market;


  • Data dashboards and AI daily reports: aggregating various news, KOL movements, and on-chain changes every 24 hours, ensuring no significant fluctuations are missed.



The recent rise of Ethereum is not 'sudden,' but a 'return to value,' and those who understand this earliest are often not retail investors, but players who speak with data and logic.


When the market falls into chaos again, perhaps calmly viewing FUD and trends is where the real winning rate lies.


#ETH

Disclaimer: The above content is for information sharing only and does not constitute any investment advice! The market has risks, and investments should be made with caution.