Ethereum leads crypto market with 4% surge to 3-month high above $2700

Ethereum's rally showcases its growing importance in building decentralized trust.

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

Ethereum outpaced the broader crypto market over the past 24 hours, posting the strongest performance among the top 10 digital assets.

According to CryptoSlate data, ETH climbed nearly 4% during the reporting period, briefly touching $2,725, its highest level since February.

In contrast, other major crypto tokens like Bitcoin, XRP, Solana, BNB, Dogecoin, Cardano, and Tron recorded flat or slightly negative movements, with gains or losses staying within the 1% range.

Macroeconomic signals from the Federal Reserve shaped market sentiment during the period.

Valentin Fournier, lead research analyst at BRN, told CryptoSlate that the May 28 FOMC minutes struck a more hawkish tone than expected. Policymakers pointed to persistent inflation and rising unemployment as reasons for holding off on immediate interest rate cuts.

However, he added:

“Despite short-term headwinds, long-term catalysts—such as institutional accumulation and upcoming regulation—remain powerful. We maintain a heavy overweight on Bitcoin while trimming altcoin risk slightly.”

Why Ethereum price rallied

Ethereum’s price rally was fueled by renewed institutional interest and the successful rollout of the network’s Pectra upgrade.

Finalized earlier this month, the highly anticipated upgrade improved user experience, scalability, and staking flexibility. It also introduces account abstraction, streamlines data storage, raises validator staking limits, and eases withdrawal mechanics.

These enhancements have helped sustain institutional interest, reflected in inflows into spot Ethereum ETFs.

On May 28, the nine US-listed ETH ETFs posted combined inflows of approximately $85 million, marking their eighth consecutive day of net positive flow.

Over the period, these products have attracted around $395 million in total, according to SoSoValue data.

Ethereum ETFs 8-Day Inflow Streak (Source: SoSoValue)

Adding to the bullish sentiment, SharpLink Gaming announced a $425 million Ethereum-based corporate treasury initiative and appointed Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin as chairman of its board.

Lubin described Ethereum as “the protocol moment that our financial system needs,” emphasizing its role in building open financial infrastructure. He argued that Ethereum enables trust at the protocol level, allowing for more secure, efficient, and decentralized innovation.

He stated:

“What the internet did for information, Ethereum does for value. It’s not about replacing banks, but about building open infrastructure where trust is coded into the system at the protocol level. With trust in the protocol, we can reduce reliance on central gatekeepers, make coordination more efficient, fair, and secure, and unleash waves of innovation across new sectors of our economy.”

Mentioned in this article