Ethereum’s ecosystem is growing fast. It has rolled out smooth upgrades and formed new partnerships. With fresh use cases emerging, Ethereum is leading Web3. It remains the base for decentralized finance, digital assets, and new applications worldwide.
Upgrades and Partnerships Driving Ethereum’s Growth
Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade launched on May 7, 2025, the largest since the Merge. It integrates Prague and Electra updates and 11 important Ethereum Improvement Proposals. Pectra doubles layer 2 data capacity for rollups, reducing costs and improving scalability.
It introduces smart account features. Wallets can bundle payments and pay gas charges without full smart contracts. Validator staking limits increased from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, facilitating large-scale staking and accelerating deposits and withdrawals.
Large-scale partnerships demonstrate Ethereum’s extent. Stablecoin accounts at Stripe operate in 101 nations, enabling individuals to hold and transfer USDC on Ethereum. Uniswap crossed $3 trillion in total swap volume. NasdaqBTCS will introduce ETH exposure on the public markets as institutional interest increases.
Ethereum’s social impact grows. Coalapay raised over $40,000 in stablecoins to aid Myanmar earthquake victims. Superstatefunds launched Opening Bell, letting companies issue public equity on Ethereum. Aave joined ANT Group to build a real-world asset marketplace, expanding tokenization.
Ethereum & Growing Activity
Developer and user base remain strong. More than 26,000 wallets utilize EIP-7702 smart account features. ZKsync achieved compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) through user-friendly Solidity contracts. MorphoLabs surpassed $1 billion TVL on Base rollup as the inaugural DeFi protocol to achieve this.
Layer 2 (L2) ecosystems flourish. Base, Kinto, Scroll, and Starknet achieve milestones. Wonder L2 went live on ZKsync on the strength of Robinhood’s acquisition of WonderFi Labs. SuccinctLabs and RiscZero developed tech demonstrating Ethereum blocks in less than 12 seconds, a 10x speed increase.
CoWSwap reached 24,000 unique traders, safeguarding consumers from covert MEV charges. World Chain boasts 12.5 million identity-verified humans on their Ethereum L2. Aztec Network opened their public testnet, progressing toward a completely private layer 2 utilizing zero-knowledge proofs.
The culture of Ethereum also expands. ETHRNSM rewards individuals who promote Ethereum’s culture. Farcaster got integrated on Coinbase Wallet, and decentralized social networking reached millions of accounts. FocusTree reached 1 million downloads on Starknet and rewards individuals for concentration.
Upgrades, collaborations, real-world applications, developer tools, layer 2 expansion, and an evolving culture affirm that Ethereum is spearheading Web3.
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