- Ethereum (ETH) is still far from its $4,891 all-time high (ATH) at its current price around $3,700.
- Key events and developments in its ecosystem could trigger a new historic high of up to $5,000 this year and $6,500 by 2025.
- Long-term HODLers could be rewarded with values popping at $20,500 by 2030.
Ethereum continues to ride upwards today as the prime cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC), just came short of tapping its all-time high by just a few dollars. Since Ether is generally seen as a mere second fiddle to BTC, traders and investors are treading with caution as they believe a potential “sell the news” event could happen on the way to the fourth Bitcoin halving, and it could also tank the price of their ETH holdings.
Ethereum Now
As of this writing 12:30 PM UTC, Ethereum is trading at the $3,700 mark with over 7% gain in the 24-hour chart. The transaction volume of the cryptocurrency rose by 79% within the same timeframe as $32.41 billion worth of ETH moved between wallets and exchanges. Ether is currently the third most-traded crypto asset, trailing Tether (USDT) and Bitcoin on the CoinMarketCap index.
The same period saw Ethereum prices pivot between a low of $3,471.02 and a high of $3,741.61. The rising price led to the total valuation of all 120.127 million ETH in circulation to pump to $452.47 billion.
Compared to Bitcoin, which is now inching closer to reclaiming its all-time high, Ethereum is still more than 24% away from its historic peak of $4,891 achieved on November 16, 2021.
Future Trajectory of ETH
Ethereum is expected to move in tandem with Bitcoin as the latter’s halving event draws near. However, some analysts are optimistic that its prices could blow off the roof as the Dencun upgrade scheduled on March 13, 2024, approaches.
In a nutshell, Dencun embodies two major upgrades within the Ether ecosystem. The initial phase is “Cancun” which focuses on improving the efficiency of transactions within the network. The next phase is “Deneb” which centers on enhancing the consensus layer of the chain.
Another milestone expected within the ETH community is the pending resolution of Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) filed by BlackRock, Fidelity, VanEck, and others. These big names are the same financial institutions presently issuing spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US.
Experts and Ethereum holders eagerly await the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) verdict on these new financial instruments by May this year. They expect these to gain massive traction in the market upon approval similar to the performance of their Bitcoin ETF counterparts.
Although there are potential “sell the news” incidents occurring within the dates of these key events like what happened upon the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US and what is about to come during the fourth BTC halving, analysts see the long-term play of ETH possibly pumping around $5,000 by this year, and between $4,500 to $6,500 or at an average of $5,000 by 2025. A peak of $20,500 is also foreseen by the end of the decade.