The price of Ethereum soared to an all-time high above $4,800 in November 2021. It has since dropped, hovering at around $3,000 up to the second quarter of 2022. The price has recently plunged below that.
While Ethereum has had a rough start this year, this kind of volatility shouldn’t freak you out – it’s the ebb and flow of the crypto market.
Ethereum Price History
Remember, Ethereum is the second-largest crypto by market cap, coming next after Bitcoin – the digital gold. But like any other cryptocurrency, Ethereum’s vulnerability to huge price swings makes it risky to invest in.
Interestingly, Ethereum isn’t just some digital currency that runs on blockchain. It’s a decentralized, open-source software platform that allows smart contracts.
In fact, most people don’t realize they’re referring to the blockchain itself when they say “Ethereum.” You use the native currency called “Ether” (ETH) to transact on Ethereum (the platform).
So, is Ether (ETH) worth buying? Perhaps we’ll wrap our heads around that once we’ve looked at its price history. Let’s get started.
2015: Early Days
The developers of Ethereum, led by Vitalik Buterin, started the blockchain in 2015, two years following the release of its whitepaper.
Curiously, Ethereum was created as a blockchain where decentralized apps (DApps) can run. The platform also had smart contracts functionality, and the DApps could be accessed through a crypto wallet. By then, Ethereum only went for $1, and crypto investors realized its potential.
2016: ETH Price Climbs Steadily & Levels Out
Ethereum surpassed $1 in the first week of January 2016. By February, it went over $2, and the beautiful trend continued up until July, when the price hit more than $12. Things began to flatten out, and ETH closed at around $8 at the end of the year.
2017: ETH Has Its First Major Spike
Investors witnessed more volatility in 2017. There was a rapid climb between April and June when ETH rose from a $40 average to a whopping $362.
ETH had a few more upswings and downswings, ultimately riding to the next all-time high of $826 in December. It would then close the year at around $772.
2018: ETH Sets an Astonishing Record
ETH kicked off January 2018 with an incredibly higher price compared to 2016. By mid-January, it peaked at a new all-time high of nearly $1,396.
The ecstasy would soon fizzle out as the price declined throughout the rest of 2018. To be fair, ETH’s price only spiked back up to $816 once, and the year ended with the price being at $141.
2019 to 2020: Peaks and Valleys
The price of ETH would then oscillate between $150 and $730, staying within a $600 margin. Of course, these fluctuations only show the considerably volatile nature of the crypto market. They were nothing compared to what followed in 2021.
2021: NFT Purchases Send ETH Price Skyrocketing
The NFT market caught everyone by storm in 2021, quickly growing into a multi-billion dollar industry.
Ethereum became the most preferred blockchain protocol for minting, buying, and trading NFTs. More people buying NFTs saw ETH’s price skyrocketing to around $4,800 in November 2021.
2022 and Beyond: What Next for Ethereum?
Since the dawn of 2022, ETH’s price has dropped to $3,000 and below. Experts believe these bearish sentiments could take temporary hold.
Understandably, savvy investors don’t focus more on these ups and downs than their bigger-picture strategy. If anything, you should take care of your downside risk and let the upside take care of itself – crypto or not.
If you’re a newbie and have settled your heart on crypto, Ethereum is a good place to start, just like Bitcoin. Since we have no complete picture of what the future really holds for ETH and the implication on its value, it’s important you invest with caution.
Financial planners strongly advise that you only risk a small percentage of your investment portfolio in crypto. Typically, you should limit this to between 1 to 5 percent of your total portfolio.