How Have Network Upgrades Affected Ethereum’s Long-Term Value?

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We can talk all we want about Ethereum’s (ETH) network upgrades and its long-term value, but we first want to talk about how the Ethereum price is making a massive comeback.

At the time of writing, ETH is valued at 2,301.53, a 5.18% increase in 24 hours and a 26.87% increase over 5 days. We won’t go further back than that; it doesn’t look the best, but the positive to take from this is that ETH is back on the up.

Now, back to the upgrades and the long-term value. We mentioned the current climbing value because, only last month, crypto pundits were predicting an almost all-out crash to below $1,000. Interestingly, it’s one of the latest network updates that’s caused the 20%+ jump in value.

The ETH blockchain network has had many updates over the years, so we’ll look at how they’ve impacted its long-term value.

The Latest Upgrade: Pectra

The latest savior in Ethereum’s long-term value future is Pectra, and ETH holders will be so happy this one was out.

Pectra was long-awaited, and it finally activated on Wednesday, the 7th of May, 2025. Without a doubt, it’s the biggest upgrade to the network since the ‘Merge’ update in 2022, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The Pectra update will streamline stakes, improve wallet functionality, and generally improve the efficiency of the network. What made this change so impactful is that it’s a ‘hard fork,’ meaning older versions of the ETH network are now totally invalid.

The main change people are going crazy for is staking. The upgrade changes the stake potential from 32 to 2,048. The result should be a more streamlined approach to the operations of the network. Layer 2 scalability will also improve, helping with the development of the main ETH applications on the network.

The result of this upgrade is the 26%+ increase in ETH value in the last five days (maybe more by the time you’re reading this). Before the update, ETH confidence was at an all-time low, a 40% reduction year-to-date at 0.02 on ETH/BTC.

Relating back to the topic, upgrades like this do have a massive impact on the long-term value of ETH. Before this update, the market sentiment was in the dirt, and as we mentioned, predictions were that ETH could drop below $1,000 in 2025.

What About Other Updates?

We mentioned it for a second there, but there are some other notable network upgrades worth talking about. One of the best was the Merge upgrade in 2022. One of the main features of the Merge upgrade was a shift to a proof-of-stake. Before the upgrade, ETH was running on the highly expensive and inefficient proof-of-work consensus. And as more blockchain networks started to form, ETH was quickly left behind. These networks were faster and cheaper, and naturally, blockchain projects preferred these networks over ETH.

There was also the Shanghai update in March 2023, another hard fork update that positively impacted the ETH’s value. One of the main features of that update was giving access to staked ETH to users, something that stopped with the Merge update.

Are Updates a Positive or Negative Influence?

It wasn’t all hunky-dory, as the saying goes. Some of the ETH updates were less than favorable for the network and its long-term value. One of the worst has to be the EIP-1559 upgrade of August 2021. The upgrade should have improved transaction fees and the overall efficiency of the network. Whilst it did do that, it raised massive questions for miners because of the potential consolidation of mining operations.

Still, most of the time, ETH upgrades do well for the network. Generally, the upgrades always focus on improving the efficiency of the network and helping to support its growth. Whenever a network upgrade comes out, there’s always a spike in value and, most often, a positive shift in the market sentiment.

Ethereum in 2025

Looking back, ETH network updates have always impacted its long-term value, the recent Pectra update is an example. But the impact isn’t always immediate. For example, with the Merge update, the value of ETH fell 8%, but that was because it was a massive change that locked away access to staked ETH for users. It did recover, and the faster, cheaper network became more popular again, and so the value increased.

Now we’re seeing something similar with Pectra. After initial uncertainty, ETH surged over 26% in a few days. But that’s short-term hype. What’s really interesting is what analysts predict for long-term growth.

According to the latest Ethereum price predictions from industry experts, ETH could reach an average of $6,124.39 by the end of 2025. And it doesn’t stop there. These forecasts show Ethereum may touch $12,316.77 by 2027 and skyrocket to $184,074.59 by 2040. Of course, that’s assuming continued development, demand, and global adoption.

The ETH blockchain isn’t just recovering; it’s evolving. With a current Fear & Greed Index showing “Greed” and a 53% green day trend over the past month, confidence is clearly building again. Combine that with strong moving averages, and it paints a bullish long-term picture — even if short-term dips still come.

Ethereum’s long-term value has always been tied to its ability to evolve. Whether it’s Pectra, Merge, or what comes next, each upgrade nudges ETH closer to becoming the backbone of decentralized finance. Price predictions don’t mean much without real-world use and developer trust, but Ethereum still has both.