Ethereum price reclaims $250 ahead of major upgrade

Ethereum (ETH) is on the uptrend again today and has broken through the $250 threshold. The cryptocurrency is now trading at $252, after gaining 6.4% in the last day during a global, crypto market rally.

Today's bullish momentum extends more than two months of unrelenting growth for the cryptocurrency, which was trading at less than $100 at its lowest point this year. Ethereum is now up more than 166% from its 2020 low and has seen one of the most drastic recoveries of any major cryptocurrency in recent months.

Scaling further back, Ethereum is now up 25% for the week and 20% for the month, compared to 14.3% and 13.8% respectively for Bitcoin (BTC) during this same period. The cryptocurrency has now been gaining against Bitcoin since mid-May, climbing from 0.021 BTC/ETH at this time, up to 0.025 BTC/ETH today—equivalent to a 19% improvement in under three weeks.

This growth comes following news that the much-anticipated Ethereum 2.0 upgrade is still on track to go live in July. The new upgrade will see Ethereum transition to a hybrid consensus system formed of a mix between its current proof-of-work (PoW) algorithm and a new proof-of-stake (PoS) algorithm. It will also introduce much-needed efficiency improvements, potentially helping Ethereum overcome its rampant bloat issues.

The new upgrade will also add staking rewards for Ethereum holders, which according to a recent analysis by Collin Myers, head of global product strategy at ConsenSys, will allow validator nodes to earn around 4.6% to 10.3% per year in rewards. But rival project Cardano is likely to get there first—and its price is outperforming Ethereum's.