ETH In The 2020s: Ethereum Price Prediction For The Rest Of The Decade

Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and has maintained that position for a long time. The asset’s large market capitalization and popularity are due to several factors, especially its utility in the crypto world. Among other things, the Ethereum network is the blockchain behind most decentralized finance (DeFi), powering DeFi apps and facilitating thousands of daily transactions.

Understanding Ethereum

Initially conceived by Russian-Canadian programmer Vitalik Buterin in 2013, Ethereum launched in July 2015. Along with co-founders Charles Hoskinson, Joseph Lubin, Gavin Wood, and Anthony Di Lorio, Buterin created Ethereum as a decentralized network for smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum’s purpose has always gone beyond cryptocurrency. The founders designed the network to facilitate the creation and deployment of several applications and self-executing contracts that can be automated, eliminating the need for intermediaries. 

Ethereum launched as a proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain, requiring significant computational effort from miners to verify transactions and produce new blocks. Unfortunately, the PoW mechanism has a few drawbacks, including high energy consumption and reliance on expensive and specialized ASIC hardware for mining. On September 15, 2022, Ethereum went through “The Merge,” which transitioned the blockchain to proof-of-stake (PoS), a more efficient consensus mechanism that crashed the network’s energy usage by 99%.

Ethereum required gas fees as incentives for adding transactions to blocks when the network applied the PoW mechanism. Since switching to PoS, gas fees on Ethereum are now rewards for participating in transaction validation and staking Ether.

There are several use cases of Ethereum across multiple channels, even outside of DeFi. For instance, many blockchain games are built on the Ethereum network and either use Ether tokens or assets that comply with Ethereum’s ERC-21 standard. Crypto games, including games played on crypto casinos, might also use this method for users to deposit and place wagers. In crypto gambling, fees that might apply to Ethereum casinos include transfer and betting costs, both payable with ETH. Gamblers may also deliberately pay more for faster transaction processing.

Read More: Top Ethereum Native Projects By Category

Ethereum’s Price Trajectory

Over the last year, Ether climbed nearly 59%, a healthy enough price trajectory for 2023. In the last month, the world’s second-largest asset has jumped 15% and 61% over three months.

Ether’s price movement may be tied to several exciting events in the crypto industry, including activity from dApps built on Ethereum. Also, Ether has been found to sometimes follow Bitcoin’s price movements, mirroring increases in value. For instance, although Bitcoin is yet to sustain a response to the approval of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US, Ether is expected to follow Bitcoin’s rise when this eventually happens.

Ethereum price predictions generally vary depending on the analyst making the forecast and the metrics considered in making these predictions. Nevertheless, most predictions are optimistic. Analysis from last year already put Bitcoin’s price at a potential low of $2,160 and up to $3,825 for the year. The average price, at $2,871, is not very far from its current price of $2,511, according to CoinMarketCap data. If this price trajectory continues, Ethereum is expected at a potential high of $4,925 next year, with a low of $3,917 and an average price of $4,421.

These increases are expected to continue yearly, with the average for 2026 and 2027 at $5.713 and $7,246, respectively. For 2028, Ethereum’s average price is expected to double from the 2027 estimate to $14,482. By 2030, Ethereum should hit $23,563, rising nearly 24% from 2029’s $19,010. 

For some analysts, $40,000 is possible by 2030. According to Bill Barhydt, the CEO of crypto exchange Abra, ETH could hit $40,000 if applications on the network increase, resulting in more use cases for ETH.