$ETH rises nearly 40% in a week; what is the explanation?

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Blockchain update is among the factors that unlocked the value of the cryptocurrency.

Those who follow the cryptocurrency universe have had an exciting week. In addition to bitcoin consistently above $100,000, ethereum, the second-largest crypto in the market, has recorded a 38% increase in the last seven days. And, on Monday (12), it reached a peak of $2,600, according to data consolidated by CoinMarketCap along with the major exchanges.

Several factors are driving the strong rise in the currency's quote. The first also affects bitcoin, which benefits from the prospect of a decrease in the U.S. interest rate starting in July. And, more recently, the temporary agreement between the U.S. and China to minimize the impacts of the trade war waged by the two powers.

But bitcoin rises 9%. Ether jumped nearly 40%. And the reason for this discrepancy is the update in the ethereum blockchain, a process long awaited by the crypto community and implemented last week, which was considered successful. Named Pectra, the update marked the most significant overhaul of the blockchain since 2022.

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What is happening with ethereum today?

The update, in short, made the ethereum blockchain more intuitive and efficient.

The Pectra consisted of 11 major code changes or "Ethereum Improvement Proposals" (EIPs), as explained by the Ethereum Foundation, a Swiss organization responsible for leading the blockchain.

The most sensitive change was the enhancement of the staking experience on the network.

Staking is the name given to the process of locking a certain amount of ethereum in a smart contract to help validate transactions on the network where the token operates.

In other words: it is a way to lock cryptocurrencies to support the ethereum blockchain network. In return, the investor receives a reward in the same crypto, which can vary according to demand but generally hovers around 2% per year.

Tight competition...