With the United States and China agreeing to lower tariffs, the virtual asset market is experiencing a warm breeze once again. Bitcoin has recovered to $100,000 for the first time in three months. Most altcoins (virtual assets excluding Bitcoin) are also rising, with Ethereum, the second-largest virtual asset by market capitalization, increasing by nearly 40% in a week.
According to global virtual asset market tracking site CoinMarketCap, as of 1:30 p.m. on the 13th, Bitcoin recorded $102,537, an increase of 8.46% compared to a week ago. At the beginning of this year, Bitcoin surpassed $109,000, setting an all-time high price, but due to the impact of President Trump's tariff policy, the preference for risk assets decreased, causing it to drop to around $70,000.
Fortunately, concerns about the recent tariff war have eased, and the virtual asset market is thriving once again. The United States and the United Kingdom recently signed a trade agreement. This is the first agreement made about a month after the United States announced its country-specific mutual tariff policy. Notably, last weekend, a tariff agreement between the U.S. and China was reached, with the two countries significantly reducing mutual tariffs to 10%, which will be applied for 90 days starting on the 14th.
Not only Bitcoin, but the overall virtual asset market has entered another boom phase. At the same time, Ripple recorded $2.46, an increase of 2.7% from the previous day and 16.25% over the week, while Solana also increased by 16.78% compared to a week ago, reaching $169.22. The highly volatile meme coin representative, Dogecoin, has risen by over 30% in a week.
However, the virtual asset attracting investors' attention is Ethereum. Ethereum is currently trading at $2,448, up 35.61% from a week ago. The previous day, Ethereum was traded at $2,529, recording a weekly increase of 39.2%. On the last Sunday, the 11th, it briefly surpassed $2,580.
Industry experts attribute Ethereum's surge to changes in the external trade environment and technology upgrades. The recent network upgrade for Ethereum, termed "Pectra," includes over ten Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs). Looking at the major proposals, the maximum limit per validator has been significantly increased from 32 to 2,048 Ethereum, improving both operational costs and efficiency.
Additionally, this upgrade focuses on reducing transaction fees and enhancing network efficiency by improving data replication speed within the Ethereum network. As the practicality of virtual assets becomes a hot topic, there are growing expectations for the activation of Ethereum transactions.
Experts forecast that the reduction of Layer 2 transaction fees and the enhancement of smart contract functionalities for Ethereum could positively impact not only short-term price increases but also long-term growth potential. Layer 2 refers to solutions built on top of the Ethereum mainnet (Layer 1) that improve the scalability of the Ethereum network. However, it remains uncertain whether the effects of this upgrade will lead to actual increases in network usage or on-chain transaction expansion.
Eom Sang-hyun, head of Dispread Gross, noted that "Ethereum's price has been positively influenced by the base effect from previous sluggishness and the leadership change at the Ethereum Foundation, along with the announcement of its vision and the successful upgrade, which help to restore trust." He added, "Investors planning to invest in Ethereum in the long term should watch for the approval of Ethereum staking exchange-traded funds (ETFs)."