Ethereum (ETH), the second-ranked crypto by market capitalization, has recorded enormous gains in recent years both from a price level and development activity. The decentralized nature of the ecosystem has seen a section of the market align Ethereum with flipping Bitcoin (BTC) in the future.
With the asset also viewed as an investment vehicle, proponents have placed several growth targets that can be achieved as the crypto space matures. Indeed, one of Ethereum’s most monitored metrics is the price action that has corrected over the last year in line with the overall crypto market downturn. One of the most watched price positions is the $10,000 spot.
Is $10k possible for Ethereum?
There is no doubt that the price of Ethereum may touch $10,000, but the main question remains when? It is worth pointing out that several factors have influenced Ethereum’s past price rallies. In the current state, cryptocurrency sector dynamics differ from what was observed during the decentralized finance (DeFi) token’s previous skyrocketing periods.
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However, there are necessary conditions for Ethereum to reach a value of $10,000. One crucial factor would be the continued restoration of investors’ trust in the crypto market, which needs to be widespread to establish a conducive atmosphere for Ethereum’s substantial and sustained growth.
Ethereum has rallied in 2023, aiming to exit the bear market from last year. In this case, the market rally is led by assets like Bitcoin. Historically, when Bitcoin records gains, it tends to pull the rest of the market along, with Ethereum in line to benefit.
Impact of network development activity
On the other hand, Ethereum’s ongoing blockchain upgrades that peaked with the shift to the proof-of-stake (PoS) will remain influential in the asset’s prospects. Analysts have also opined that the impact of the Merge upgrade will be felt in the future, with the asset reducing energy consumption while attempting to entice institutional investors.
Based on this aspect, market participants believe that once investors start accessing their staked Ethereum, it might have a bullish sentiment for ETH. Notably, accessing staked ETH is slated for 2023 Q1 after the Shanghai upgrade goes live.
Regarding network upgrades, the asset might also benefit from sharding, which is set to improve scalability and reduce transaction fees. However, delays in the estimated 2023-2024 upgrade could hinder Ethereum’s progress, while an on-time upgrade could be a significant catalyst for the cryptocurrency.
Ethereum competition
Elsewhere, Ethereum also faces the threat of not realizing its full operation, considering the number of competitors joining the market. Networks such as Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL) are also emerging as possible ‘Ethereum killers.’
Ethereum is, however, commanding the lead mainly due to the size of the network, as evidenced by the number of active smart contracts, decentralized apps (dApps), decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and support for non-fungible tokens (NFT).
Additionally, investors need to keep an eye on the regulatory aspect of how Ethereum might be impacted in the future. In this line, the United States regulator has recently launched a crackdown on staking, factors that could affect Ethereum.
Overall, the ability to hit $10,000 is backed by several projections. For instance, the text-based artificial intelligence (AI) platform ChatGPT stated that Ethereum will likely trade in the $5,000 – $20,000 by 2030.
Ethereum price analysis
To hit $10,000, Ethereum still has several price levels to clear, with $5,000 as a critical resistance position considering ETH had hit a record high of about $4,800 over a year ago.
In the meantime, Ethereum has been attempting to hold above $1,600 as the asset targets reclaiming $1,800. By press time, Ethereum was trading at 1,666.
From a technical analysis perspective, ETH’s one-day gauges on TradingView are dominated by mixed signals. A summary is for neutrality at 8, while moving averages recommend buying at 8. Oscillators are for ‘sell’ at 2.
Generally, like the rest of the crypto market, Ethereum’s prospects remain uncertain.
Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.
