Prediction: This Cryptocurrency Will Be the Biggest Comeback Story of 2025:
Ethereum is still down 20% for the year, making it one of the worst-performing top cryptocurrencies.
After a much-anticipated tech upgrade in May, Ethereum appears to have new momentum headed into the second half of the year.
Investor inflows are returning to the spot Ethereum ETFs, which could lead to new price gains.
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, has had an absolutely dreadful start to the year. It's still down 20% in mid-May, and has been underperforming the broader crypto market for months now.
However, a number of catalysts are coming together for Ethereum that could make it the comeback story of the year. In the second half of 2025, I'm expecting a big breakout for Ethereum. Here's why.
New blockchain upgrade
Another important catalyst is a brand-new upgrade of the Ethereum blockchain, known as "Pectra" (a combination of "Prague" and "Electra"). While blockchain upgrades are a dime a dozen these days, this one from Ethereum really resonated with investors. As soon as Pectra went live on May 7, the price of Ethereum started to soar.
There are several reasons why the Pectra upgrade has resonated so much with investors. The primary reason is that it reaffirms Ethereum's desire to boost its transaction processing capacity. This is one area where upstart rivals have really stolen a march on Ethereum, so it's important to show constant progress on this front. The upgrade also helps to make Ethereum cheaper and easier to use.