Ethereum Surpasses Bank of America As Price Soars 48%, Stripe Integrates Stablecoins

Ethereum ETH/USD is trading at $2,654.33, having increased by 0.77% over the past 24 hours. The token grew 1.95% over the week, and has surged 48.44% over the month.The growth comes on the back of Ethereum's milestone, as it crossed Bank of America Corp BAC by market cap, while ETH Co-founder makes a large transfer. ETH reached a market cap of $327.82 billion, which is higher than Bank of America’s market cap of $326.20 billion. Bank of America has existed for more than a century, yet Ethereum has outpaced it within a decade, giving a boost to investors' confidence, and a strong sign that crypto is surpassing traditional finance on more than just technical grounds.Don't Miss: Trade crypto futures on Plus500 with up to $200 in bonuses — no wallets, just price speculation and free paper trading to practice different strategies. New to trading crypto? Get up to $400 in rewards for successfully completing short educational courses and placing your first qualifying trade on Coinbase. The Ethereum network has completed the Pectra upgrade that doubled the capacity of its layer-2 solutions. The upgrade improved validator tools, as well as smart wallets, which make products in the Ethereum ecosystem easier to use.Stripe has integrated Ethereum-based stablecoin accounts, enabling users in more than 100 countries to receive, send, and store assets like USDC. Ethereum has the potential to become the global infrastructure for decentralized finance.Ethereum co-founder, Jeffrey Wilcke, made a transfer of 78,000 ETH (around $260 million) to Kraken, raising concerns among traders. Wilcke's previous large sales have coincided with local market peaks. The timing is also right as ETH’s price has nearly doubled its recent low at $1,390, which can invite a short-term correction.Bitcoin BTC/USD saw a similar pattern, where an anonymous whale placed an $800 million leveraged long bet on the token using 40x leverage. With the Federal Reserve adding to the uncertainty with unclear policy signals, traders are now worried about a violent market shift. A post from Ethereum's official X account, formerly Twitter, showed 21 developments over the last few weeks. Along with the Pectra update and Stripe integration, names like CoalaPay, BTCS Inc BTCS, and Coinbase Global Inc COIN have contributed to Ethereum’s growing reach and technical ability. Layer-2 solutions are active, secure, and faster than ever, and the ecosystem continues to innovate in ways that traditional finance can’t keep up with.Ethereum passing Bank of America indicates that talent, capital, and attention are pouring into it, not due to hype, but because it’s providing actual utility. It’s the space for developers to build, users to spend, and a new financial infrastructure to form. More Opportunities: Grow your IRA or 401(k) with Crypto – unlock the power of alternative investments including a Crypto IRA within your retirement account. Trade, earn, and grow your crypto portfolio with Crypto.com — plus receive up to $500 worth of rewards in the most popular tokens if you're a new customer. Image: Shutterstock