"The market depends on one person." Experts on the price prospects of Ethereum

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In the past seven days, the price of the cryptocurrency Ethereum has risen by nearly 40%, allowing it to enter the list of the Top-15 fastest-growing assets among the Top-100 largest by market capitalization. Experts surveyed by Decrypt noted that the rebound may turn out to be hollow from a fundamental perspective and based on "the political moves of one person."

The price of the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization rose by almost 40% over the past week to $2,480 according to Coinmarketcap data as of May 13, 12:30 MSK. During the same period, Bitcoin increased to $103,300, which represents a growth of about 10%. XRP gained 21%, BNB - 10%, SOL - 20%. The total market capitalization of the crypto market reached $3.3 trillion with an increase of almost 14%.

"There is no doubt that the recent rebound in prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana reflects renewed optimism in the market," said Unity Wallet's Chief Operating Officer James Toledano.

But the expert fears that this growth is not based on fundamental factors that investors should focus on. "In my opinion, this may turn out to be a temporary rebound — the market depends on the moods and political moves of one person. Those who take cryptocurrencies seriously would prefer fundamental factors to drive the price," he noted.

Toledano refers to the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump and the situation surrounding trade uncertainty between the U.S. and other countries. Although some experts still cite fundamental factors that have been building up over the past few months as the reason for the recent price increase in the crypto market: the rising demand for cryptocurrency from large investors in the over-the-counter market, sustained inflows into crypto ETFs, and an improved news and political backdrop related to trade wars.

Experts' skepticism is also based on the weak influx of capital into (ETF) based on Ethereum. While bitcoin ETFs recorded a net inflow of about $600 million for the trading week ending May 12, Ethereum-based ETFs recorded an outflow of $55 million, according to Sosovalue.

"The scale and strength of price recovery combined with a moderate outflow of funds from Ethereum ETFs suggest that the main driving force behind the surge has been crypto investors, rather than institutional inflows," said Fineqia International analyst Matteo Greco.

Without institutional demand for Ethereum, Toledano does not see a new historical maximum for the price of ETH, but notes the possibility of prices consolidating at a high level: "We may see signs of price consolidation even without a sustainable institutional impulse and further clarity on regulatory issues before any new historical highs are tested."

Ethereum Update

Another possible reason for the rise in the price of Ethereum could be the Pectra update that took place in early May, which may indeed lead to institutional demand.

"The Pectra update went smoothly, which increased confidence in Ethereum's ability to scale and paved the way for further institutional adoption," said Sean Dawson, head of research at Derive, which focuses on insurance in the decentralized finance sector.

Ethereum developers call Pectra the most significant update since the network transitioned to the proof-of-stake algorithm in the fall of 2022. The update is also a preparation for the upcoming updates, the first of which is expected at the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026.

But there is also an opinion that the update will not affect the price and that it "is unlikely to lead to a significant increase in the price of ETH on its own," and that "Ethereum" needs to find other reasons for investors to have an incentive to hold this token, believes Edward Chin, co-founder of Parataxis Capital.

Although Bitcoin is currently trading around $103.5K, being a few percent away from the historical maximum of about $110K, Ethereum is still nearly 50% below its peak.

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