Ethereum: Blockchain enters a new dimension in 2025 – Crypto Recap

January 11, 2025

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Ethereum: Blockchain enters a new dimension in 2025 - Crypto Recap

What if Ether is about to take off? With crucial updates like Dencun and Pectra, Ethereum is positioning itself to meet the needs of the cryptocurrency space. Improved scalability, optimized collection, and lower costs are just some of the advantages that attract investors. By 2025, Ethereum could catch up to its lag in 2024. We talk about that in Cryptocurrency Analysis, following this week’s fundamental news.

Block 1: Basic news

MARA lends bitcoins

Marathe leading Bitcoin mining company, is now lending a portion of its funds Bitcoin Reserves to generate short-term returns. As of December 31, 2024, 7,377 BTC (16.4% of its reserves) have been used to obtain loans to trusted third parties to earn returns. In 2024, MARA purchased 22,065 BTC at an average price of $87,205 by issuing two convertible bond offerings and mined 9,457 BTC, bringing its total reserves to 44,893 BTC, or $4.4 billion at current prices. These initiatives are designed to offset post operating costs Ethereum ETFs (ethes ) recorded record net inflows of $2.08 billion, double the previous month’s inflows. This rebound represents a turnaround after a timid start since its launch in July. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) It topped the trend with inflows of $1.4 billion, followed by Fidelity ($752 million) and Grayscale ($274 million). The election of Donald Trump appears to have stimulated this interest, with positive flows intensifying early in November. Ethereum ETFs close in 2024 with a total of $2.6 billion in cumulative net inflows. By 2025, the offering of cryptocurrency ETFs could expand to include products that mix Bitcoin and Ether, as well as… ltc, XRP and Sol ETFs.

Flows into Ethereum Spot ETFs

Soso value

Switzerland: Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Coming Soon?

An initiative to create a strategic reserve of Bitcoin (BTC) in Switzerland has been proposed. The project, led by Bitcoin think tank 2B4CH and backed by cryptocurrency advocates like Jim Zanganeh, vice president of energy and mining at Tether, requires 100,000 signatures by June 2026 to trigger a national referendum. If passed, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) would be forced to retain a constitutionally mandated portion of its gold and bitcoin holdings. Switzerland, which is already crypto-friendly, is seeing initiatives such as Lugano Bank and local banks adopting Bitcoin.

Canada: Will Poilievre turn the country into a pro-crypto nation?

Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative Party candidate nicknamed “Canadian Trump,” is considered the most likely candidate to succeed Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation after 10 years as prime minister. A supporter of crypto, he had already announced in 2022 that Canadians should be able to use currencies such as Bitcoin in the face of the decline in the value of the Canadian dollar. Backed by Elon Musk and Michael Saylor, Poilievre is attracting attention for his pro-crypto approach. However, Canada faces regulatory challenges that have prompted players like Binance to leave the country.

Block 2: Cryptocurrency analysis for the week

Ether: The return of the crypto giant

Ethereum spent most of 2024 lagging its peers in the cryptocurrency world. But in December, it finally joined the rally triggered by Bitcoin’s meteoric rise, crossing the $4,000 mark. Despite this, its price is still below the all-time high of $4,900 reached in 2021.

In 2024, Ethereum’s value rose by 53%, a far cry from Bitcoin’s 113%. However, ether’s recent performance shows promising signs. Since the US Presidential election, Ethereum has gained as much value as Bitcoin at +42%. But 2025 could give a boost to ETH.

Ether and Bitcoin prices since Trump’s win

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Ethereum: Between Dincon and Pactra, a revolution in the making

In March 2024, Ethereum rolled out the Dencun update. the goal? To significantly reduce transaction costs Layer 2 (L2) solutions.. It’s certainly a big step forward, but the real revolution is on the horizon with the updated Pectra.

Pectra is scheduled to be released in early 2025, integrating two updates that were initially planned separately: the Prague update, dedicated to the implementation layer, and Electra, focused on the consensus layer of the Ethereum blockchain. This merger promises to transform Ethereum into a more flexible, high-performance platform tailored to the needs of its users.

Pectra is not a simple improvement, but a real bundle of innovations. Among the Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) that will be integrated, here are the most notable:

EIP-2537: Faster and Cheaper Digital Signatures: This EIP improves processes related to BLS12-381 digital signatures, a type of advanced cryptography used by Ethereum validators to secure the network. Thanks to pre-compilation – a technical improvement that reduces complex calculations – these operations become much faster and cheaper. This allows auditors to work more efficiently, making their role easier and less expensive.

EIP-2935: Storing hashes for better data verification: This change involves saving digital fingerprints (or hashes) of previous blocks in specific storage locations. This makes it easier to verify data on Ethereum, especially for validators who work without storing all the information locally (stateless execution). The result: increased efficiency and improved network reliability.

EIP-7002: More flexibility for auditors with partial withdrawals: Currently, auditors can only withdraw their stash funds under certain strict conditions. This EIP offers the ability to perform partial or full withdrawals directly via their implementation layer withdrawal credentials. This allows for more flexible fund management, preferable reallocation (reinvestment of funds) and integration with staking pools.

EIP-7251: Reducing the number of validators thanks to higher balances: Today, each validator must stage 32 ETH, doubling validators to secure the network. This EIP increases the maximum validator balance to 2,048 ETH, reducing the total number of validators required. This simplifies network management and reduces computing load.

EIP-7594: Faster Transactions on Layer 2 Solutions: Thanks to a technology called Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS), this EIP improves the way Layer 2 solutions, like Arbitrum or Optimism, handle data. This increases its ability to process transactions quickly and efficiently, making Ethereum-based applications more seamless and affordable.

EIP-7702: Temporarily Convert Your Wallet into Smart Contracts: This EIP introduces a new type of transaction that enables an Externally Owned Account (EOA), like a Classic Wallet, to temporarily act as a smart contract. In practical terms, this means that users will be able to access advanced functionality (such as conditional payments or complex interactions) without having to create a custom smart contract. This greatly enhances the user experience.

EIP-7692: Overhaul for More Efficient Contracts: This EIP, which brings together 11 other improvements (Meta EIPs), comprehensively overhauls the object format in the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). The new format makes the deployment and execution of smart contracts faster and less resource-intensive.

Ethereum is more powerful and accessible

In short, with Pectra, Ethereum will open up a wider range of applications and needs:

Standard accounts will become programmable, providing smart contract-like functionality. Layer 2 solutions will become less expensive and more robust. Smart contracts will become more efficient. Validators will have greater flexibility to manage their operations.

These improvements put Ethereum in a strong position to handle growing adoption, integrate more effectively with other networks and deliver innovations that strengthen its leading role in the on-chain ecosystem.

And after bacteria?

Attention is already turning to Osaka’s update, planned after Pectra, which could include the long-awaited Verkle trees. What are Berkeley trees? Verkle trees are advanced data structures designed to replace the current Merkle tree system. Their goal is to significantly improve data management on Ethereum, especially for validators. Here’s why it could revolutionize the network:

Validators without bulk storage: With Verkle Trees, validators will no longer need to store massive amounts of data locally to participate in the network. We’re talking about stateless clients here, able to operate with almost zero disk space. Obviously, validation nodes will be able to sync with the network almost instantaneously, which greatly simplifies their use.

Improved storage experience: By eliminating the need for huge storage space, Verkle trees make storage easier for individual validators (or single contributors). This can attract more participants, making the network more decentralized and flexible.

Greater efficiency for the entire network: By reducing the amount of data each node has to manage, Verkle trees lighten the overall load on the network, improving its speed and scalability. This is an important step towards making Ethereum a platform ready for mass adoption.

As Vitalik Buterin says: “Verkle trees will provide a much better individual signature experience, with lighter and faster verification nodes.”

Ethereum wasn’t created in a day, but with each update, it gets a little closer to its ultimate ambition: to become a global, sustainable platform for cross-chain innovation.