Bitcoin, the largest digital currency, usually commands the most attention in the cryptocurrency universe, but some crypto market observers believe another coin will be the winner this year. That pick is ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value behind bitcoin.
Cryptocurrencies broadly fell Monday with ethereum ranking as one of the worst offenders with a loss of more than 5%. Last week, ethereum was slammed amid news of increased regulatory scrutiny. Still, some market observers are bullish on ethereum.
Nigel Green, founder and CEO of the deVere Group, “said that, despite Bitcoin taking the headlines, Ethereum’s price could reach $2,500 by the end of the year,” according to Business Tech.
“He added that it’s interesting to note that even with an impressive one week jump of 11.3%, Bitcoin – the world’s largest by market capitalisation – is the worst performer amongst the biggest cryptocurrencies,” notes Business Tech.
Catalysts For Ethereum
Increased adoption of ethereum across financial networks is one catalyst that could propel the crypto higher as is the platform's increased use of smart contracts. deVere's Green believes ethereum will be able to solidify its spot as the number two crypto behind bitcoin, staving off competition from the likes of ripple, bitcoin cash an EOS, among others.
At this writing, ethereum trades around $739 after having been rebuffed last week around $830. Some technical analysts believe the $830 area is important for ethereum as a move through that price range could spark renewed buying interest.
“At the moment, the price is testing the 50% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $664 low to $833 high. It could either bounce back or correct further towards the $725 support zone. The $725-730 area is significant and it will most likely prevent further losses in the near term,” according to NewBTC.com.
Ethereum's market capitalization currently resides around $73.45 billion, more than double that of ripple, but less than half of bitcoin's market value.