Ethereum’s Pectra Upgrade Enables Native ETH Staking For Institutions

Ethereum Pectra Upgrade May 7, 2025
Blockdeamon
The much-awaited Pectra upgrade on the Ethereum mainnet arrived on May 7. It will enable enhanced scalability for Layer-2 networks, reduce transaction fees, and increase validator staking limits. Ethereum upgrades are critical for the network to boost scalability and optimize security without compromising decentralization.
The Pectra upgrade will better enable traditional financial institutions to deploy capital reserves into native ETH staking for boosted rewards. Since institutional capital has historically preferred Ethereum as a settlement layer, the Pectra upgrade will further enhance the network’s capabilities to cater to institutional capital’s demands.
The market has responded favourably to the Pectra upgrade. ETH’s market capitalization was up 42 percent by May 12, just five days following Pectra’s implementation. With a market cap of over $322 billion, Ethereum became the world’s 39th largest asset, in the good company of firms like Coca-Cola and Alibaba’s stocks.
The ETH futures market also recorded a rise in open interest from $21.3 billion to $30.4 billion, signalling increased market activity and trader engagement. Unlike most crypto tokens, ETH’s price action is bolstered technical upgrades which help set the stage for further improvements and a sustained growth of the network.
The Pectra upgrade provides a new opportunity for institutional investors to enter the Ethereum ecosystem.