The value of cryptocurrencies, including Ether, declined sharply in late February as Russia's attack on Ukraine resulted in investors shifting their funds to safer assets (risk-off) amid growing concerns over macroeconomic conditions. The price trend briefly increased in early March in response to a US government executive order to regulate the cryptocurrency, but has since fallen back to around $2,500.
However, the story might be different at the end of March because together with other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether was able to reverse the trend. Where is the direction of ETH price movement predicted by analysts and forecasting sites, and what factors will shape Ethereum predictions? In this article, we summarize some of the latest short-term predictions and long-term outlook.
Ethereum Price Predictions
CoinCodex short-term ETH price analysis suggests a bullish run at the time of writing (28 March), with 26 technical indicators signaling bullish versus six indicating bearish. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 83 has moved into overbought territory. An RSI of 70 and above usually implies that the asset is overvalued and a trend reversal may occur. The altcoin is still trading below the R1 resistance level of $3,343 above the three and five day moving averages.
Wallet Investor's long-term Ethereum forecast is also bullish, projecting the price could rise to $5,149,080 by the end of 2022, then reach $7,427,550 by the end of 2023. ETH predictions from this algorithm-based forecasting site suggest it could surpass $10,000 by 2025 and ended the year at a price of $12,001.5. In 2027, the price could rise to $14,282.20.
The Ethereum price prediction going forward by Gov Capital sees this coin trading at $4,634 by the end of 2022 and $13,636.11 by the end of 2025. Then, the price is expected to rise to $17,640.23 in March 2027.
DigitalCoin's Ethereum coin price predictions, which are based on historical data, suggest that the ETH price may remain volatile over the next few years. The average price could be $4,303.63 in 2022 and $4,779.05 in 2023, then increase to $6,507.62 in 2025, but then decrease to $6,016.11 in 2026. ETH cryptocurrency price prediction from this site indicates that the Ethereum coin is likely to gain momentum and reach $15,281.67 by 2030.
According to Ethereum forecast for 2022 from PricePrediction, the price of ETH could rise to $3,811.12 this year before moving to $45,483.92 in 2023. Based on technical analysis assisted by artificial intelligence, the ETH price prediction from this site indicates that the average likelihood is it averages $11,463.68 and soars to $74,965.10 in 2030.
When studying ETH coin price predictions, it is important to remember that the cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile. That makes it difficult to accurately predict the price of a coin in the next few hours, let alone make long-term estimates. So, be aware that analyst predictions and algorithm-based forecast sites can and have been wrong.
If you are considering investing in cryptocurrency tokens, we recommend always doing your own research. Pay attention to the latest trends and news, technical and fundamental analysis and expert opinion before making any investment decisions. Remember that past performance does not guarantee future profits. And never invest more money than you can afford to risk.
Waiting for "Merge"
Following the successful launch of Ethereum “Merge” on the Klin testnet on March 15, the Ethereum network is one step closer to moving towards proof-of-stake (PoS). This would mark the end of proof-of-work (PoW), a protocol that requires extensive energy consumption and has been criticized for leaving a carbon footprint.
According to MacroFive, this switch will reduce Ethereum's energy consumption by up to 99.95% making it a more environmentally friendly cryptocurrency, and mitigating Environmental, Social, and Governance issues associated with altcoins. In turn, this will spark investor enthusiasm, both from the retail and institutional sectors.
This “merge” would also switch block rewards to staking yields of Ether, thereby reducing the net issuance of coins in circulation and turning Ether into a deflationary coin.
Bear February market
Previously, the price of Ether had to go through a bearish trend along with other cryptocurrencies. The altcoin plunged from $3,000 in mid-February to $2,308.91 on January 24. Financial markets sold-off as tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated.
“Following the fear and panic caused by the news of the war and the price drop that followed, sentiment turned negative just as prices started to rise. Bitcoin recovered, then jumped quickly and hit a +27% gain in the next six days after dipping to bottom when the official news of the war was first announced,” Santiment analysts note in their monthly report.
ETH price was able to return above $3,000 on March 1 after the sell-off, but fell again to $2,455.59 on March 7 before the executive order from the Biden administration.
The order invites the crypto industry to consider “the implications for the development and adoption of digital assets and changes in financial market and payment system infrastructure”, including the potential for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDS). The US Department of the Treasury responded with a statement from the Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, saying, "This approach will support responsible innovation that can generate substantial benefits for countries, customers and businesses."
The response from the crypto industry was very good, and the price of Ether followed Bitcoin's rise from $2,455.59 on March 7 to $2,761.80 on March 9. However, the gains could not be sustained and the ETH price slumped again to $2,503.89 on March 13.
The future price of Ethereum depends on the continued adoption of the cryptocurrency, and a number of other factors. The Ethereum coin has been named the second largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin (BTC). As one of the first blockchain projects to offer smart contracts to allow developers to create decentralized applications (dApps), Ethereum owns 55% of $197.69 billion Total Value Locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications across all blockchains, according to DeFi Llama.
Ethereum-based applications and services are increasingly attracting venture capital investors. Arcane Research says:
“The massive capital increase has pushed the valuations of some crypto companies to unicorn levels. Layer 2 Ethereum developer StarkWare reaches $2 billion valuation; Ethereum NFT game startup project Immutable reaches $2.5 billion valuation; and digital real estate platform Roofstock closed the round at a $1.9 billion valuation.”
The use of Ether, along with Bitcoin and stablecoins, as an alternative to cash is increasing sharply in Ukraine and Russia, according to data compiled by James Butterfill, research lead at CoinShares.
"When combined, Russia and Ukraine experienced an increase in trading volume of US$80 million per day. Mostly paired with USDT and BUSD, the most common US Dollar stable coins, but we also see Bitcoin and Ethereum widely used… We believe cryptocurrencies are utilized as a hedge against falls in value and currency portability domestic money, which is especially important for Ukrainian refugees, so they can cross national borders without risk of confiscation/theft of assets.”