Ethereum (ETH) Price Surges Past $2,000 as Trump's Trade Deal and Pectra Upgrade Ignite Bullish Momentum

Ethereum price surged above $2,000 on Thursday to hit a 120-day peak, boosted by multiple bullish macro pointers. ETH now trades around $2,000 with a 10% daily gain

The price of ether (ETH), the native token of the world-leading smart contract network, surged past the $2,000 mark on Thursday, marking a 120-day high. The broad crypto market also joined the rally, with Bitcoin price adding around 3% to trade just below the $101,000 level.

The rapid rise in ether price can be attributed to a confluence of bullish macro and internal network updates. As Trump announced a landmark trade deal with the UK, signaling more trade agreements are on the horizon, and authorities in China confirmed talks with the Trump administration over ongoing tariffs.

Simultaneously, the Ethereum network underwent its long-awaited Pectra upgrade, leading to a brief pause in ETH withdrawals by centralized exchanges like Coinbase and Binance. This move limited retail sell pressure at a time when bullish momentum returned to the market, creating a unique supply squeeze that pushed ether to outperform Bitcoin.

In the last 24 hours, traders placed more than $1.8 billion in bets on several Ethereum tokens, according to CoinGecko. The aggregate market cap of these tokens approaches $55 billion.

Among the notable price performers in the last 24 hours:

PEPE price surged 17.0% to $0.00006, driven by memecoin momentum and a resurgence in whale accumulation patterns.

Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) price advanced 21.0% to $1.62, likely fueled by speculative inflows targeting emerging DeFi infrastructure projects.

Chainlink (LINK) price climbed 9.4% to approach the $15 mark, supported by rising cross-chain transactions, demand for tokenized assets, and increased investor attention due to its association with Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI).

AAVE price displayed a 10.6% rally to breach the $187 level, signaling renewed institutional appetite for Ethereum-based lending and borrowing protocols.

Beyond market trends, US domestic policy took a favorable turn for crypto. In the past 24 hours, Arizona, Oregon, and New Hampshire passed state-level cryptocurrency investment bills, providing legal clarity for retail and institutional investors.

The breakout of ether price above the key psychological level of $2,000 marks a significant development in the cryptocurrency market.