The end of the holiday week in the crypto market was marked by significant growth. Ethereum (ETH) rose above $2,400 for the first time in several months, while bitcoin (BTC) rose above $100,000. The market has entered a phase of rapid growth, and it was ether that became the focus of attention, rising in price by more than 30% in just two days.

This was the strongest daily movement for the second largest cryptocurrency since 2021 and was accompanied by multimillion-dollar losses for those who played against the market.

The sharp rise in cryptocurrency prices has caused a wave of forced liquidations in the cryptocurrency derivatives markets. According to CoinGlass, from May 8-9 alone, traders with leverage liquidated positions worth more than $1.2 billion, most of which were for short positions. Almost $ 500 million per day was lost by those who bet on the fall of ETH.

One trader lost $4.8 million in just 8 hours after going short with 25x ETH leverage on the Hyperliquid decentralized exchange. Only $310,000 remained from his initial position of $5 million, analysts at Lookonchain noted. Another trader on the Binance exchange liquidated a short position in bitcoin for $ 12 million.

Background for growth

In a comment to The Block, Bitfinex analysts noted that the growth of the crypto market this time was supported by real demand, rather than inflated by massive leverage positions. Open interest remained "high, but not overheated," and there were no abnormal inflections in the financing rates (funding) on the futures market.

In addition, according to Bitfinex experts, exchange balances continued to fall, which indirectly indicates the continued accumulation of funds by long-term holders.

Experts from the analytical company Nansen confirmed this trend, telling The Block that according to the data of the flows of funds in the blockchain, several wallets from the category of "smart money" have significantly increased their reserves of "ether" over the past 48 hours.

• Macroeconomic events in the United States have given an additional impetus. The United States has resumed trade negotiations with China and finalized a trade deal with the United Kingdom.
• At the same time, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an official clarification that American banks can now directly offer cryptocurrency services to customers.
• Statements by US President Donald Trump have increased risky sentiment in the markets, signaling a possible reduction in trade duties. Stocks reacted positively to this, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rising.

Ethereum Update

The rise in the Ethereum exchange rate this week also coincided with the release of the long-awaited Pectra update, which the developers call the most significant since the network's transition to the proof-of-Stake algorithm in the fall of 2022. The update was activated on May 7, and no problems or failures were recorded during the deployment.

Carlos Guzman, an analyst at market maker GSR, admitted in a comment to Decrypt that it was the successful launch of Pectra that helped revive interest in Ethereum. LMAX strategist Joel Krueger told Decrypt that the market is "determined to pay tribute" to ETH.

Despite the significant growth, ETH is trading well below the all-time high of $4,878 set in 2021. The bitcoin exchange rate, for comparison, is only 5% lower than its peak in January 2025. According to the analysts surveyed by Decrypt, the growth of ETH reflects a change in sentiment after a prolonged period of weak growth dynamics compared to BTC and other coins.

Greg Magadini from Amberdata noted in a comment on Decrypt that ETH volatility decreased last week, and an increase in purchases could lead to a so-called "relief rally", when the market begins to perceive negative news less acutely than before.

BRN analyst Valentin Fournier, quoted by The Block, said that the market breakout as a whole "happened earlier than expected," and now it could push BTC to a new high.

Altcoin Growth

Altcoins grew along with Ethereum and bitcoin, with several major coins showing double-digit growth. According to TradingView, in just one day, the bitcoin market dominance index decreased from 65.4% to 63.6%, indicating a flow of capital into alternative crypto assets.

A decline in BTC dominance during a broad uptrend in the market usually indicates higher relative altcoin performance.

Over the past week, Dogecoin (DOGE) has grown by almost 27%, including almost 9% from May 8th to 9th alone. The price of the main memcoin reached $0.225, the maximum value since March 2. At the same time, the DOGE exchange rate is still significantly lower than the historical maximum of $0.73 set in 2021 and the recent December peak of $0.48.

Other large tokens have also grown. Solana (SOL), Cabana (ADA), XRP from Ripple and BNB from Binance rose by 10-15% from May 8-10.