Ethereum Surges Beyond $3,000 as Institutional Demand and ZK Proofs Drive Growth
11/7/2025
Ethereum (ETH) has surged past the $3,000 milestone, propelled by strong institutional interest in spot ETFs and significant breakthroughs in its technical infrastructure.
At writing, ETH was trading at $3,012, marking an 8.22% increase over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical model. The broader crypto market, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index, also advanced 6.39% during this period.
Institutional Backing and Major Protocol Upgrades
A recent report titled “Blockchains as Emerging Economies” by one of the world’s top asset managers highlighted ether’s expanding role as both a medium of exchange and a store of value, reflecting growing institutional adoption.
Additionally, the Ethereum Foundation announced plans to integrate zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs throughout its ecosystem, starting with a Layer 1 zkEVM upgrade. This will enable validators to verify multiple offchain execution proofs from different zkVMs without re-executing blocks, enhancing security via client diversity with minimal changes to the protocol.
While adoption will start small, trust in ZK proofs is expected to increase, allowing Ethereum to raise gas limits and eventually shift to proof verification as the default mechanism. To facilitate this, the Foundation is defining strict “realtime proving” standards for zkVM developers — including low latency, robust security, compact proofs, open-source code, and reasonable hardware requirements — aimed at enabling decentralized, home-based proving alongside cloud options.
This innovation is set to accelerate ahead of Devconnect Argentina, positioning zkVMs as critical infrastructure for Ethereum’s future.
Market Dynamics and Technical Highlights
Blockchain analytics firm Glassnode recently noted a rare milestone: for a brief period, ether’s 24-hour futures volume surpassed Bitcoin’s, reaching $62.1 billion compared to Bitcoin’s $61.7 billion.
Between July 10, 09:00 and July 11, 08:00, ETH climbed from $2,789 to $2,976, gaining 7.1% within a $266 range. The most significant move occurred at 21:00 on July 10, when ETH jumped sharply on volume nearly four times the daily average.
Resistance appeared near $3,028, but strong institutional support formed around $2,818, helping ETH consolidate above $2,950 and setting the stage for further gains.
Ethereum’s blend of robust price action and cutting-edge zero-knowledge upgrades highlights its increasing prominence as a top blockchain asset, driven by a combination of market demand and innovative technology.
