Ether Could Run to $10,000 or Higher This Year on Numerous Catalysts: Bitwise

Ether

(ETH)
has
been
“largely
overshadowed”
by
bitcoin

(BTC)
for
the
past
several
months,
but
the
laggard
could
more
than
double
in
price
in
2024,
according
to
Juan
Leon,
crypto
research
analyst
at
asset
manager
Bitwise.

“[Ether]
could
very
well
go
above
$8,000,
$10,000
this
year,
maybe
even
higher,”
said
Leon
in
an
interview
with

CoinDesk
Markets
Daily.

“Bitcoin
has
sucked
up
all
the
attention
with
the
bitcoin
ETFs
launching,
but
[ETH]
has
at
least
two
major
catalysts
that
will
come
into
focus,”
Leon
noted.

This
month’s
Dencun
upgrade
will

make
transactions
cheaper
on
layer
2
networks,
which
will
bolster
activity
and
even
attract
mainstream,
mass
consumer
demand
for
the
Ethereum,
he
explained.

“Most
of
the
positive
sentiment
will
happen
weeks
and
months
after
the
upgrade
as
the
effects
take
place,”
he
added.

Read
more:



Ethereum’s
Dencun
Upgrade
Could
Mean
Near-Zero
Fees
for
Layer-2
Blockchains:
Fidelity
Digital
Assets

Another
catalyst
are
the
spot
ether
exchange-traded
fund
(ETF)
applications,
with
a
regulatory
decision
deadline
approaching
in
May.

The
odds
for
an
approval
are
not
as
clear
as
were
in
the
case
for
the
spot
bitcoin
ETFs
earlier
this
year,
the
Bitwise
analyst
said,
but
the
possibility
will
bring
excitement
to
ether.
He
gave
a
50%-60%
chance
for
an
approval,
but
said
it
will
happen
“sooner
or
later.”

A
potential
approval
would
boost
ether’s
appeal
among
more
conservative,
institutional
investors,
just
as
the
new
spot
bitcoin
ETFs
launched
in
January
attracted
strong
investor
demand,
amassing
nearly
$9
billion
net
inflows.

Ether’s
deflationary
supply,
the

restaking
boom
led
by
EigenLayer,
and
increasing
decentralized
finance
(DeFi)
activity
also
support
higher
prices
for
ETH,
broker
firm

Bernstein
said
in
a
report
last
month.

While
BTC
already
notched
a

new
all-time
high
this
week,
ether
has
been
lagging,
still
some
20%
lower
than
its
2021
all-time
high.

This
is
similar
to
how
the
previous
market
cycle
unfolded,
with
bitcoin
–
being
the
oldest
and
largest
market
cap
cryptocurrency
–
leading
the
market
recovery
from
the
bottom,
with
ether
and
smaller
cryptocurrencies
lagging.

Late
November
2020,
BTC
was
knocking
at
its
all-time
highs
at
$19,000
in,
while
ETH
was
hovering
below
$600,
some
60%
lower
than
its
2018
peak.
A
few
weeks
later,
when
BTC
decisively
broke
above
its
former
record
price,
ETH
embarked
on
a
multi-month
rally
to
eventually
hit
a
$4,400
peak
in
May.

If
history
is
any
indication,
bitcoin
first
has
to
surpass
the
$69,000
level
for
ether’s
shot
to
new
all-time
highs.

Recently,
ETH
changed
hands
at
$3,850,
advancing
14%
over
the
past
seven
days,
outperforming
bitcoin’s
9%
gain.
The
broad-market
CoinDesk
20
Index
(CD20)
was
up
13%.