Ethereum (ETH) Pectra update closes the first quarter of 2025 with the worst profitability since 2018

For a long time, Ethereum has been a topic for memes with a touch of sadness. The network closed the first quarter of this year with the worst profitability

For a long time, Ethereum has been a topic for memes with a touch of sadness. The network closed the first quarter of this year with the worst profitability since 2018. During the first three months of 2025, Ethereum faced a record number of sales. Despite all this, ETH remains a key player in the cryptocurrency world and the second-largest token after bitcoin with a market capitalization of $235.87 billion.

Despite the wave of popularity of other blockchains, such as Solana (due to the speculative hype around memecoins), Ethereum continues to demonstrate stable development. Its strengths are powerful Layer 2 projects, an active developer community, and a reliable reputation.

Should we expect a powerful jump in Tuzemun after the Pectra update, which finally took place on May 7? This is the largest network upgrade since The Merge in 2022 (and the 19th overall). It promises technical improvements, new opportunities for businesses, investors, and users.

Finally. It has come true!

Update the Ethereum blockchain network's Pectra (short for Prague and Electra) is a two-layer upgrade that simultaneously improves the Execution Layer and Consensus Layer of Ethereum. It consists of 11 major Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) aimed at improving the efficiency, security, and scalability of the network.

The most important changes:

* The introduction of account abstraction (EIP-7702) allows users to pay gas fees with any token.

* The update will combine small assets into one transaction and process a package of actions (for example, deposit, loan, and exchange in one block; EIP-8049).

* Recovery of a crypto wallet will be possible without a seed phrase, for example, using biometric authentication (EIP-6893).

* Decentralized applications (dApps) can now set spending limits (EIP-7875).

As a reminder, in 2022, along with The Merge update, the network switched from the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism to Proof-of-Stake (PoS). Unlike PoW, in which validation is performed through complex mathematical calculations, i.e. mining, in PoS, the creator of the next block is selected based on the amount of cryptocurrency he or she owns.

In general, the new changes optimize the network and make Ethereum more attractive to corporate clients. Previously, Ethereum Foundation (EF) restructures leadership and announces planned Pectra update on May 7. This has led to an increase in blockchain activity.

What’s wrong with Pectra?

Pectra was supposed to be implemented in March. But during testing, Ethereum encounters technical problems on the Sepolia network. An unknown attacker discovered a serious vulnerability, so the update was postponed for two months.

One of the main features of the Pectra update is account abstraction (EIP-7702). This functionality allows paying gas fees with alternative tokens. However, users are concerned about a possible decrease in the security of smart contracts and wallets. Users will have to double-check several times when signing transactions on the Ethereum network.

This applies not only to this blockchain, it is a general recommendation. But every time, owners lose huge amounts of money because they sign without looking and checking the message. It is also worth switching to wallets with advanced security measures.

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of the Cardano blockchain network, who also co-founded Ethereum, believes that despite all the steps, Ethereum will not last more than 15 years. In his opinion, the network has the wrong accounting model, the wrong virtual machine, and the wrong consensus model. Hoskinson also criticized second-tier solutions, which, according to him, have become parasites of Ethereum.

Analysts see the positive

Pectra won’t make the ETH price 10x tomorrow, but it will have a positive impact eventually.

Over the past 24 hours, the network's token price has increased by 6.56% — to $1,956. This is not much and is far from the record high of $4,891. However, this is already a noticeable rise after a long stay in the $1,500-$1,800 zone.

Last year, JPMorgan experts noted that the Pectra update will strengthen Ethereum's operational efficiency, provide greater institutional adoption, and retail adoption. UX improvements and simplification of smart contracts will attract new projects to the Ethereum ecosystem. EIP-7742 and EIP-7691 will reduce costs and improve rollup performance, which is essential for network scaling.

CryptoQuant analysts emphasize that ETH is extremely undervalued compared to BTC. This is the first time since 2019. Usually, this indicator would lead to Ethereum outperforming bitcoin. However, supply-side pressure