Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, has seen its price swing wildly over the last year—hampered recently by a searing attack from Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey.
The ethereum price has lost around 43% since its peak of almost $5,000 per ether set late last year. Meanwhile, smart contract rivals BNB
BNB
, solana, cardano, avalanche and polkadot have seen similar volatility.
Now, a panel of 36 industry experts has returned an ethereum price prediction of almost $5,800 by the end of 2022—more than double its current level of $2,800.
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The ethereum price has dropped over the last year as rivals such as Binance’s BNB, solana, cardano, … [+]
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The panel, made up of 36 people from the world of crypto and put together by financial comparison website Finder, has returned a lower average ethereum price prediction for the end of 2022 than it did in January, revising down the year-end price target by just over 10% due to emerging competition from rival blockchains such as BNB, solana, cardano, avalanche and polkadot.
“Ethereum is at a very uncertain place in its journey at the moment,” Keegan Francis, Finder’s cryptocurrency editor, said in a statement. “Ethereum is currently losing DeFi market share to its competitors, although it still remains dominant by a huge margin … I don’t think ethereum will be the second cryptocurrency forever.”
The ethereum price has rocketed over the last two years in part due to soaring interest in so-called decentralized finance (DeFi)—using crypto technology to recreate traditional financial services without the need for a bank—and the ongoing non-fungible token (NFT) craze that has been adopted by the world’s of music, sport and gaming and is largely built on the ethereum blockchain.
However, a long-awaited ethereum upgrade, designed to help the network scale, reduce its sky-high fees and ease its carbon footprint, has again been pushed back—now due for late 2022.
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The ethereum price has seen extreme volatility over the last 12 months though bullish price … [+]
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“People have been waiting for [ethereum’s merge upgrade] for years,” said panel memeber and Thomson Reuters
TRI
technologist, Joseph Raczynski. “It should be far more secure, 99% more energy-efficient, and deflationary. If that isn’t the trifecta of potential, as a leading blockchain, I don’t know what would be.”
Looking further ahead, the panel returned an ethereum price prediction of almost $12,000 by 2025, around four-fold its current price.
“Until ethereum upgrades its systems and fulfills its promises to scale, I do not have long-term confidence in the network,” said Francis, but adding, “I still think people will buy the token out of hype, promise and potential.”
