Ethereum Up 42%—Leaves Coca-Cola, Alibaba in the Dust as Crypto Flexes Market Muscle

Ethereum just moonwalked past legacy giants with a 42% surge—because apparently, digital trust now outperforms sugar water and e-commerce empires. Wall Street analysts scramble to explain how a protocol upgrade and NFT demand outpaced century-old revenue streams.

Key drivers? Institutional inflows, DeFi momentum, and that beautiful moment when tech infrastructure becomes more valuable than physical assets. Meanwhile, traditional finance bros still think ’gas fees’ refer to their Porsche fill-ups.

One rule remains: In bull markets, crypto doesn’t climb—it teleports. And your 401(k)? Probably still tracking the S&P like it’s 1999.

In brief

• Ethereum climbs 42% in five days, surpassing Coca-Cola and Alibaba in market capitalization.
• The Pectra upgrade improves scalability, staking, and user experience of the network.
• Despite some security risks, Ethereum consolidates its place as a leader in the crypto space.

When the ETH crypto surpasses traditional giants

First, the Pectra upgrade optimized the scalability of the LAYER 2. Thus, transaction fees decrease. Validators benefit from a smoother experience. Moreover, the possibility to use cryptos other than ETH to cover gas broadens the ecosystem.

Next, institutional stakers warmly welcome the increase in the staking limit, raised from 32 to 2,048 ETH. As a result, large investors can deploy more flexible strategies. They no longer hesitate to entrust massive capital to Ethereum.

Finally, the multiplication of data blobs per block strengthens the rise of layer 2 solutions. Rollups and other modular architectures gain robustness. While competing blockchains struggle to keep pace, ethereum confirms its status as a reference platform.

Moreover, this technical progress translates into numbers. On May 12, the market cap of ETH crypto reached over 308 billion dollars. For comparison, Coca-Cola tops out at 303.5 billion and Alibaba at 303.7 billion. Now, ETH crypto climbs to the 39th global rank of assets, ahead of these two giants.

Behind the meteoric rise

However, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing. Initially planned for March, Pectra lagged on the test networks. Deployment on Holesky at the end of February revealed critical bugs. Developers had to wait. They launched Sepolia on March 5. Then Hoodi, a new environment, to perfect stability.

Despite these delays, the community retained its trust. Successive audits reassured security experts. Some feared that new transactions WOULD exploit external accounts without on-chain signatures. However, these vulnerabilities were mitigated before the mainnet launch on May 7.

Furthermore, Ethereum’s rise attracts the attention of traditional investors. Technology-focused funds see ETH crypto as a SAFE haven compared to stocks. They anticipate a faster return on investment than with blue-chips frozen in their historical growth. In fact, the programmed scarcity of ETH crypto, fueled by the burning of gas fees, intensifies upward pressure.

Finally, Ethereum’s spectacular rise raises a major question: how long can this momentum last? Upcoming upgrades will target native privacy and multi-chain interoperability. If realized, Ethereum will consolidate its position as the undisputed leader. Then, Coca-Cola and Alibaba will have to contend with a new monetary order, shaped by decentralization and the power of a global network. Discover, by the way, the three scenarios envisaged by experts.

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