Pectra went live — why didn’t ETH price rally?

Despite ETH’s modest 5% price increase, the response from the market has been muted. What’s holding ETH back?

EthereumETH() implemented the Pectra update on 7 May, but the reaction of the market was disappointing. On the day the upgrade was implemented, ETH started at $1.849, and ended at $1.811, a slight 2% decrease. At the press time, ETH has risen 5% from its initial opening price of $1,849 on May 7, to trade at $1,936.

The subdued response can be partly attributed to macro headwinds — most notably, uncertainly in global trade due to the ongoing tariff war. However, Ethereum’s underperformance The current risks in the market are not predated. ETH has lagged behind the broader market in recent months as Ethereum continues to perform below other layer 1s when it comes to user growth.

Ethereum’s addresses active (the key indicator of the network’s utility and growth) have largely ranged from 400,000-600,000. The contrast is stark between competitors like Tron.TRXThe number of active addresses has risen to more than 2.5K.TONSince then, Ethereum has outperformed it in terms of the number of users.

Ethereum leads the Total Value Locked at present $52.6 billion. The institutional players’ trust in Ethereum and its long-term sustainability is evident. Lower address activity indicates a lower demand by retail investors. This is often what drives bull runs.

Then, Pectra upgrade introduced meaningful upgrades—such as lower blob fees and enhanced wallet usability—it falls short of addressing the key barrier to user growth: the difficulty of bridging assets and data across Ethereum’s fragmented Layer 2 ecosystem.

In order to determine the price of ETH, investors will likely require clear evidence that network adoption is growing in terms of growth of users, as opposed to just TVL, which is locked. Bridges are key.