Ethereum Surges Past $4,000 For The Second Time In Its History

Investor excitement surrounding restaking remains high, with tens of billions worth of Ethereum deposited by investors across various protocols, such as Eigenlayer. Ethereum is also second only to bitcoin in market capitalisation, coming in at $US471 billion compared with bitcoin’s $US1.98 trillion market cap. As of December 18, 2024, one bitcoin will set you back $US105,000, while you will need roughly $US3,900 to buy Ether. Moreover, the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) remains above the 200-day SMA, a bullish signal, even though the gap between the two is narrowing.

“This steady burning of Ethereum continues, further supporting a potential rise in value,” Sassano adds. The upgrade also introduces improved network speed and costs through more efficient smart contract execution. For those interested in staking, the upgrade increases the validator stake limit from 32 to 2048 ETH and introduces flexible withdrawals, making the staking system more efficient and rewarding for larger investors.

Ethereum’s recent price action has been relatively subdued, with ETH struggling to stay above $3,100. However, experts suggest this may be a sign of accumulation before a major breakout. Ethereum’s relative strength index (RSI) is hovering near oversold territory at 42.17, which often signals a potential price reversal. “The market will expand rapidly with their maturity and they will get the lion’s share of all new business that is not exclusively based on speculation,” Schweifer added. Some 13% of panelists predicted solana will eventually overtake ethereum as the primary DeFi platform.

Over the weekend, it was reported that blockchain doubled its stablecoin supply to $10 billion. While the network has seen steady growth over the past year, issuance of viral memecoins, TRUMP and MELANIA, have been cited as among the most popular drivers of the network’s growth. Now, one closely-watched analyst has said he expects the U.S. to “embrace cryptocurrencies in 2022″—predicting the bitcoin price “appears to be on a trajectory for $100,000” and the ethereum price could hit $5,000. Experts acknowledge that Ethereum has a stable future due to several use cases and its unique blockchain, and it may perform exceptionally well compared to Bitcoin. However, it is considered highly unlikely for Ethereum to surpass the price of Bitcoin. Nevertheless, ETH has the potential to reach a comparable market capitalization with BTC, notably due to its uncapped supply, unlike Bitcoin.

Cryptocurrency is unregulated in Australia and your capital is at risk. Trading in contracts for difference (CFDs) is riskier than conventional share trading, not suitable for the majority of investors, and includes the potential for partial or total loss of capital. You should always consider whether you can afford to lose your money before deciding to trade in CFDs or cryptocurrency, and seek advice from an authorised financial advisor. The bitcoin price has soared by almost four-fold over the last 12 months, however, the ethereum price has rocketed 1,000% during the same period—closing the (still sizable) gap between the two biggest cryptocurrencies’ market capitalizations.

People often discuss the trending and most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, in virtual or digital assets. Still, they also closely monitor Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. ETH is undoubtedly overshadowed by the world’s largest cryptocurrency, BTC, but it has plenty to offer. The cryptocurrency industry is a melting pot of technological breakthroughs.

According to JP Morgan, institutional investors see Bitcoin as a digital alternative to gold, which has long been regarded as a conventional hedge asset. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) investment inflows have risen, while gold ETF investment has remained nearly unchanged. Various forecasts have been carried out over the years and different predictions have surfaced regarding the price of Ethereum in the future. With an ever-improving blockchain system that has secured the world’s indulgence on all fronts, Ethereum has great prospects. Thanks to its unique structure, being the first Blockchain of its kind, Ethereum’s price is likely to go very high. With so many investors and industry experts believing in Ethereum’s growth in the long term and continued interest in the blockchain’s capabilities, Ethereum can go as high as $100,000 per coin by 2030.

Just three days into April, ETH had already reached a new ATH of $2,143.23, which would be the first of many. The first version of the Berlin hard fork launched onto the Ropsten Testnet, which was designed to tinker with (and lower) ETH’s gas fees. It’s unclear whether Bailey was the first financial leader to declare Bitcoin as a scam in 2021, but he certainly wouldn’t be the last. Supply of ether could even dip below that of bitcoin, which fell under 2% this year, McGlone said.

The American AI leader Nvidia fell to its lowest intraday share price since early September this Monday. Stocks recovered some of their DeepSeek losses last week, as the S&P rose 0.5% and the Nasdaq 1.5% from Tuesday to Friday, before falling further Monday. Predicting cryptocurrency prices, Thomas Fitzpatrick, a senior analyst at Citibank, produced a study that drew parallels between the gold market in the 1970s and Bitcoin. He used technical analysis of prior highs and lows to assess a target of $318,000 for bitcoin by December 2021. JP Morgan’s crypto market forecast forecasts a huge move from gold to cryptocurrency. This makes sense, given that cryptocurrency is a technologically advanced inflation shield, while fiat currency will continue to bear the brunt of the pandemic’s effects.