Ethereum (ETH), the world‘s second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin (BTC) in terms of market capitalization, is expected to be worth $4,596 by the end 2021, according to the average forecast from experts in Finder’s Ethereum prediction report.
Finder surveyed 42 crypto experts, with more than 25 providing ETH price predictions for not only the end of 2021 but also the end of 2025 and 2030. While the panel on average sees ETH ending 2021 at $4,596, those projections get even juicier going forward, with the average projection for 2025 hitting $17,810, and 2030 cresting $71,763.
As far as 2021 is concerned, Allnodes CEO and founder Konstantin Boyko-Romanovsky gives an above-average EOY prediction of $5,000 and says ETH‘s move to a proof-of-stake (PoS) model is just one driver behind the coin’s price.
“Upgrading to a deflationary type of asset, level-2 networks, institutional adoption, mass utilization, DeFi [decentralized finance] and DApps [decentralized applications] continuous development and rise – are all contributing factors to Ethereums future price appreciation,” he said.
Morpher CEO Martin Fröhler is the most bullish on the coins short-term value, predicting the coin to hit $10,000 by the end of the year because, according to him, “Ethereum has the potential to power the future global financial infrastructure.”
University of Canberra senior lecturer John Hawkins is the lowest on the coin, believing that ETH is a bubble waiting to burst.
“I think Ethereum is a speculative bubble and will get dragged down by Bitcoin,” he says.
Over the long term, the head of blockchain at RealFevr, Pedro Febrero, is the most in on the coin, believing it has the potential to be worth $1 million by 2030.
Fröhler, BitBull Capital COO Sarah Bergstrand, and Trade the Chain co-founder Ryan Gorman are also all in on ETH, with Fröhler saying the coin should close 2030 at $200,000, and Bergstrand and Gorman seeing the value hitting $100,000.
Gorman sees Ethereums value being linked to DeFi.
“DeFi projects and other applications we have not yet even considered will continue to be built on the Ethereum blockchain and see rapid growth. This will, in turn, lead to ETH eventually overtaking Bitcoin as the worlds most valuable crypto asset,” he says.
Is the flippening coming？
The flippening, the hypothetical event in which ETH overtakes BTC as the biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, is probably in the cards according to 68% of the panel. But when that will happen is a whole other question.
A quarter of panelists see the flippening happening in 2023, with 15% believing itll happen in 2022, and another 15% expecting it to occur in 2025.
However, 32.5% of panelists dont think the flippening will ever happen.
One of the most bullish on the flippening coming this year is Pedro Febrero. However, he doesnt think it will be permanent.
“The flippening will happen, although momentarily,” he says, adding, “just like other altcoins will flip ETH.”
According to Forrest Przybysz, a senior cryptocurrency investment analyst at Token Metrics, Ethereum‘s move to a PoS model will turn ETH into a better store of value, which is why Przybysz believes ETH will surpass BTC’s market cap next year.
“Ethereum‘s move to proof-of-stake later this year or early 2022 will result in Ethereum’s supply becoming deflationary and will be equivalent to multiple Bitcoin halvings, in terms of supply restriction,” Przybysz says. “This will make it a better store of value than Bitcoin, in addition to all the utility it provides that Bitcoin does not have.”
It‘s not all rosy, with Banz Capital CEO John Iadeluca saying that ETH’s market cap will never exceed that of BTC.
“Ethereum will most likely eventually become more widely transacted than Bitcoin, but I do not see any scenario where Ethereum becomes worth more than Bitcoin,” he says.