(Updated October 2018) During the past couple of years, cryptocurrencies have garnered the attention of every investor, especially after the meteoric rise of currencies like Bitcoin and the Ether. For example, in December 2015, a single Bitcoin was worth somewhere around $440, while the same Bitcoin was worth $2,600 when I first wrote this article in July 2017. When I updated this article on 29th of November 2017, a Bitcoin was worth $9,500 and now is worth $6,478.
This increase over the last two years can be compared with the one made by the Ether, Bitcoin’s primary rival in the cryptocurrency sector. This article intends to look at 3 Ethereum price predictions for 2018. Speaking of that, two years ago the Ethereum price was $11 and now is $202.56. But let’s not forget that at the beginning of 2018 Ethereum was worth $1,400. Be very cautious when investing in cryptocurrency.
Keep in mind that attempting to offer a short-term prediction for the price of Ether is a difficult endeavor. For starters, the price of a single Ether is so volatile that it can lose 25% of its value in one day, only to regain it in the next. The most recent example is, in July it was $441, in August – $275, and got to a low in September when it dropped below $200. Ethereum now stands at $202.56. But there was a lot of volatility in the last year with Ethereum going to as low as $195 and back to $770, and even at $1,440 in early January 2018.
This volatility, as well as the novelty of this currency – Ethereum was started 2014 – drain technical analysis from any potency it might have in making Ethereum price predictions for 2018. Rendering any forecast suspicious at best. Therefore, all the following predictions take a long-term look at things.
Read our article on Ripple Price Prediction 2018
When I first wrote this Ethereum prediction for 2018 my colleagues reading this article considered myself crazy, now Ethereum price should reach $2,000 in the next three months. If you ask me, the price of a single Ethereum can go even up to $500 by the end of 2018 and might reach $5,000 in 2019. Ethereum was $10 in January 2017 and over $1,300 just one year later. Do you think that’s far from $5,000? Let’s wait for 2019 and see what’s happening.
Keep in mind, to reach $2,000 it should have a market cap of 200 billions. It can go even in a single day to $2,000. That’s my prediction.
According to the website Investing Haven, the price of an Ether should reach $1,000, if not by 2018 then at least by 2020. That was a very conservative Ethereum price prediction for 2018 in my opinion, considering the currency’s fluctuation. The site’s research team bases their forecast on three fundamental factors:
a. The current and future supply of Ethers
There are currently over 100 million coins of Ether in circulation. Although this number is likely to increase over the next couple of years, it will probably flatline after that. Which means that the developers in charge of Ethereum will make sure that the number of circulating coins stays constant.
b. Ether applications
The edge Ether has over Bitcoin is the ability to use smart contracts. These are contracts that are automatically executed without any human intervention the instant their terms are met.
However, Ethereum also permits developers to build decentralized apps, also known as dapps, on top of its blockchain technology. Interestingly, the more apps are built, the more valuable the Ether becomes.
The research team at Investing Haven expects that 5 to 7 years from now, we will see a 20 to 30-fold increase in the number of decentralized blockchain apps from the numbers we have today.
c. Ether demand
Demand for Ether will be driven by one of two things. Either for its functionality as a currency that is built on a blockchain with several applications. Or as a possible investment vehicle that keeps appreciating in value.
When it comes to the functionality of Ether, the technology behind smart contracts is what interests people the most. However, as we just saw, the building of new applications on top of the Ethereum blockchain will also drive up demand.
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I wrote this headline in June 2017, not sure if I should keep it when I will update the article next time. The price of an Ether should outperform that of a Bitcoin for the coming duration. What this means is that a dollar invested in Ether will return a higher ROI than investing the same dollar in Bitcoin. This indeed was hard to believe in January 2018 when looking at Bitcoin price, but we all know that about eight months ago it was under $6,000. Most likely Bitcoin its being used by short-term investors these days. Also, the assertion is based on the growth of Ethereum between 2015-2017 while Bitcoin was between 2009-2017.
In fact, the CEO of hedge fund Polychain Capital, Olaf Carlson-Wee, is of the opinion that the entire market capitalization of Ethereum will exceed that of Bitcoin by the end of this year. At least, that’s his Ethereum price predictions for 2018. If it exceeds it, the price will triple.
You can read here our BITCOIN PRICE Predictions for 2018.
There is plenty of evidence to support Olaf’s view. On the one hand, the previously mentioned 20-fold explosion of Ether in 4 months versus the 8.5 times growth of Bitcoin in a year and a half.
Besides that, the fact that Bitcoin has lost almost half of its market share to Ethereum during the past year. To put matters into perspective, eight months ago, 90% of all money invested in cryptocurrency was invested into Bitcoin.
Curiously, this number has dropped to somewhere around 55%. Conversely, Ethereum’s share of the total money invested has increased four times in size, making it approach the 30% area.
Another indicator showing that Ether can overtake Bitcoin can be found by looking at who’s backing each type of currency, as well as why they are backing said currency. Bitcoin’s focus on payment technology makes it popular with governments, such as Japan’s and China’s governments.
On the other hand, Ethereum’s smart contract technology makes corporations very interested in its real-world applications. For example, a new coalition by the name of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) has sprung up with the explicit objective of facilitating and fostering the growth of the Ether.
The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance consists of more than 86 firms, including JP Morgan and Microsoft. The endorsement of Ether by such heavy hitters only goes to show the amount of potential in this technology.
Despite the extremely bullish sentiment most of the market has towards Ether, the cryptocurrency still has some major hurdles to overcome before we can say that it is here to stay.
First of all, Ether might have several differences to Bitcoin, yet it still runs on blockchain technology. This means that the same problems, that all current blockchain technologies face, plague it too, mainly scalability.
When we are talking about scalability, our primary concern is whether the increased number of users will adversely affect the transaction time or not. Simply put, when more people use the technology, there are more transactions up for registering and putting down in the ledger.
This increase in the number of transactions means that any one transaction will wait in a long queue before going into a block. Without going into details, this issue has created what is called the fork problem. And there is no agreement on how to solve it.
Another issue with Ether is the possibility of cloning the technology. After all, any company can start its own blockchain based cryptocurrency tomorrow. The only thing conferring value on any currency is the consensus of the community using said currency.
As a result, it becomes a bit difficult to place one’s full faith in a single digital currency, without worrying about another currency sprouting up and usurping the one we were holding on to.
Naturally, these problems, if left unsolved, jeopardize the future of Ether, hence making any Ethereum price predictions for 2018 problematic. So the question is this: will these issues find solving? Or is a new currency going to come to light that doesn’t have these problems in the first place?
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The scene of digital currencies is a very nascent one, and it still has a long way to go. The general outlook is quite bullish, especially when it comes to the two main contenders: Bitcoin and Ether. Furthermore, the outlook on Ether is even more positive than that of Bitcoin.
The optimists believe that Ether should experience a positive increase within the coming couple of years, letting it pass Bitcoin on the way. Nevertheless, the space is fraught with problems that don’t have an easy fix. And some skeptics worry about what these problems could mean for the entire space.
Naturally, making Ethereum price predictions for 2018 is not an easy feat. And any forecast is liable to overlook a thing or two. Please share your opinions with us in the comments below, and feel free to ask any questions you might have.
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How can I buy Etherum now?
Hello Allen,
It is wise to invest in Etherum by using a renown broker like Etoro or Plus500.
EToro? I believe if you buy in EToro, you won’t actually own a token. EToro is just a virtual trade.
HOW DO I BUY ETHEREUM?
Hi Buzz, you can use Etoro or Plus500. Enjoy!
You can buy it using the Bitcoin wallet Coinbase, however it has limits set on how much you can buy at a time until you purchase over a certain amount for payment security purposes. I also have a Blockchain wallet, however I haven’t tried to buy any Bitcoin or Ether on that one.
Also I tried to use Coinmama and Cex Io (other wallets) to purchase as well. On both those sites they stated that I wasnt able to purchase due to the state I live in and I’m not sure why.
use luno.com and buy it.
That was a refreshingly thoughtful and insightful piece of commentary, thank you. Not least because it points to the momentum of users as the key price driver and also the obstacles to smoothing the acceptance more widely. I bought ether in November, to see what would happen, mainly because the phrase smart contracts sounds appealing to traders and everyone has heard of Microsoft’s rise from a similarly obscure technology to a giant. It’s risen around four times since then. I have no idea how practical it is for use as a replacement for traditional legal contracts but obviously if it can be made to work and is universally adopted it will be a massive leap forward. As far as crypto currencies go in themselves, in my opinion they are effectively digital chain letters promising returns as long as you keep getting more buyers to join the chain. They only work if more people keep buying them, so are in effect, the same as other forms of speculation that rely on the next person paying more than you did. As with all forms of speculation, when the music stops, there will be far less chairs than people scrambling for seats.
Will Putin help or hinder Ethereum via his interest?
Hi Hamlet, not sure exactly. (I dont know Putin personally to answer this question J)
Have you read this article?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/madhvimavadiya/2017/08/29/putin-ethereum-fintech/#fe5b9886b5c6
What do you think?
The Etherium technology is being adopted by JP Morgan. This should speak volumes for any intelligent investor.
Indeed Mike, you are right! Thanks for sharing with us! Did you invest in Ethereum?
As a crypto being chosen a global legal tender, ethereum will surpass bitcoin in price for the months and years to come.
The founder of ethereun is working the deficiency on applications of this crypto, which should be solved and fixed by the 30th this month, November 2017, that would contribute to the increase of value of the ethereum.
Ethereum crypto has a bright future for investors, which already provided high returns on those who are trading with it at present. When many people knowd about this ethereum next year, in 2018, the more it’s value will soar, and now is the time to get in to be part of the cryptoworld we are now at the moment.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with our audience! Regarding your prediction it depends on multiple factors as I have written in the article. Indeed Ethereum can jump to over $1,000 in 2 months just based on Bitcoin increase but you cant predict that 100%. A lot of investors will not risk on buying Bitcoin at $11,000 as it was today (29th of November) and will go to Litecoin, Ripple, Ethereum. What do you think about this shift?
I think this is very true, especially if people actually start researching a little into crypto, they will see there is some other very promising technology coming through, eos, iota, omg etc.
I totally agree Andy! Thanks for your comment!
Don’t use Kracken or Coinbase – they both ‘lost’ my funds
Hi Craig, can you give us more details about what happened? Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
Well written. Those late to the blockchain space as you mentioned will not get much out of bitcoin at its current prices. While the price increases, new investors are getting in on the game by betting on the 2nd best knowing it will eventually be another boom like bitcoin in time.
Rather than 1 bitcoin at 11k, why not buy 25 ethers. The expectation is that in 5years the 25 ethers will be worth 275000.
Ryan, thanks for your sharing your thoughts with us. Basically you are saying that now with Bitcoin at $15,000 there are many investors that will not bet on Bitcoin as its very expensive and they will go to Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin.
Why has ether not moved ? Still in the 400s . What’s wrong? Bitcoin is now 15k.
TIME…..
Vin, patience is everything. Do you really think that Bitcoin will continue to grow as it did in the last month?
You just relax , time will come
Nanuj, looks like you knew the price of Ethereum will double when you wrote this comment! J
Hi all,
I am not a trader but I wish to buy some etherum units for long-term investment. I have some questions:
How do I go about it?
What is the best platform to just buy and leave in my wallet?
How do I monitor the growth?
Is it possible to buy some now and add to my purchase later on, say, in 2 months time?
My location is England.
Thanks
Hi Uche, thanks for your comment! Even if is not an wallet, we recommend Etoro to start with. Is easy to handle, you can monitor the growth and you can also add to your purchase. You dont need an wallet at this point as you can transfer it later on. If you have more questions do not hesitate to ask.
What about just buying the Ether stock on the open market at $28?
Are banks interested in cryptocurrencies? Please let me know.
Yes, banks are interested in cryptocurrencies. You can read our article on Ripple Price Predictions 2018 and learn more about it.
Jody, be very cautious with Luno. At the beginning December i put R 15.000.
On the 21st. I could see it start dropping quickly. I tried to sell, but the sell link did not work. The following day i managed to eventually sell at R 9000. I lost R 5000 because the platform did not work. I wrote to support. Today is Jan 08 and they have still not replied. If you go onto FB. You will see many people are having the same problem. And there fees are insane. I now trade on ice3x and i only pay 1% per transaction
Hey there Im from South Africa and i do have a Luno account.Is it safe to buy Bitcoins and ethereum from them.Im a student and I am new to this whole bitcoin thing.
In our opinion is easier to use Etoro or Plus500. To be honest I do not know much about Luno.
Yes you can use Luno.com. Excellent services for buying and selling Bitcoin and Ethereum
I have around 600 etherium and i bought them for about 50cents when i was 12 back in october last year and now i want their price to reach the same as bitcoin. I am only 13 but i have like $50,000 in etherium
Well done Tasman! It wont probably reach the Bitcoin value in the next 5 years but who knows!
I strongly believe that Ethereum has a future mostly dependent on how Vitalik and the devs go about addressing scalability. I do think that the ideas addressing this problem are valid but it all takes time to develop. My price target for Ethereum is 1/3 of wherever BTC happens to top. That may even be conservative depending on success of Dapps as well but I do plan to eventually liquidate my position by means of a private broker. There will be competition for Ethereum though, it is only a matter of time– probably within 2 years by my guess. At that point there will probably be an Ethereum craze much like we are seeing a BTC craze now though. Since Bitcoin was the first widely adopted cryptocurrency, everyone has flocked to it even though there are more efficient alternatives like LTC now. Ethereum seems to be on the pathway to be the first widely adopted cryptoplatform then. When the majority of the public begin to realize that blockchain can be used for much more than just a store of value, Ethereum will be right there in the spotlight… currently most people only grasp the basic concept of blockchain as “internet money.” I, for one, will not be selling my position until the mainstream media starts to tout the programming capabilities of Ethereum and your local grocery clerk starts praising it. Ultimately though, I see pretty much all current cryptos as an elaborate transfer of wealth and a distraction that central banks can leverage while they continue to manipulate precious metals and negate existing inflationary conditions.
Those are my personal opinions on the matter.
Chas, thanks for your valuable comment. We are very happy to have you here! Same as you, I think there is a trend around Bitcoin because it was the first accepted and was a lot of advertising around it. What do you think about Ripple as an investment?
I used coinbase since beginning November 2017 I bought 20 ethereum but for long term otherwise it is like gambling. I was piss off week ago why I didn’t buy litecoin I will have 300% profit. After one week of investment but short term investment. I can be piss why i didn’t buy earlier but how people will be piss or how many suicide when Bitcoin collapse to $1000 I hope won’t take ethereum down and pepople will switch to ethereum when is strong enough. What do you think guys.
Martin, thanks for sharing your thoughts with our community! Indeed at some point, as happened in the last couple of years, the coins will lose even up to 80% of their value. If you can afford NOT to sell at that point I still think you can win in the long run!
cool stuff
Thanks Joe!
COULD YOU PLEASE PREDICT WHAT WOULD ETHEREUM POSITIONED AT IN JANUARY 2018
It will reach $1,000 by the end of January. Thanks!
can i buy eth wit my btc on blockchain, cos in my blockchain wallet there seems to be a way i can trade my btc for eth. pls hope it would not have a negative effect
This person doesn’t understand how and why ethereum is valuable. The whole “ethereum can be cloned” freakout is all about speculative investors who don’t understand technology outside of the perspective of a 1998 Microsoft executive. Now the entire internet is built on Linux and Microsoft is racing to implement open source to play catch up, redhat does just fine.
Saying that all block chain technologies suffer from the same problems due to them being a block chain technology is a fundamental misunderstanding of what a block chain is and what the differences are in the various implementations. Spending a little more time researching what ethereums limitations are would render this article completely different.
Thanks for sharing your honest opinion with us!
Should i invest in Ethereum on Etoro?
Yes Pedro, you can do that!
Do you think ethereum will fall back down closer to the $400-500 mark, or should I invest now? Thanks.
This is very hard to predict. As you have seen in the last few months, Ethereum and other coins drop from 25% to 35% even in a single day. But from $800 to $400-$500 would be a major correction. I doubt this will happen in the next 6 months.
hi im currently on Luno, and honestly my experience has been great.its safe and user friendly
Thanks for sharing your experience with our community!
When people ask how to buy ethereum, telling them Etoro and similars is awful advice. These sites do not sell you ethereum. I learned my lesson months ago when I started. You do not own any ether after paying them, you are simply speculating the price.
They need to use an exchange like Coinbase, binance, bittrex, cex, etc. where you can BUY the actual ETHER, which is the currency. Upon buying ether they have the option to *withdraw it* to their own wallet outside of the exchange.
Where can I invest in Ethereum in the United States?
Is Forex (FXTM) a good place to trade cryptocurrencies?
hi, i m currently using iq option is it safe to trade
Luno wallet is the safest bet to buy if they service your country. ETH I believe will grow as more investors use their block chain and more people hear about an alternative then bitcoin. Most South Africans I speak to are clueless about ETH though technology and the internet is not going to disappear. ETH for buy low, hold min 2-3 years sell high. In my opinion.
Just now-bought more Ethereum, sorry I didn’t buy more at $80. Don’t know what I don’t know Hahaha
It seems you can make a lot of money by buying coins and selling coins at the right time.
I have also had a good experience using Luno.
What is your expectations by the end of this year 2018 ethereum will be?
I’ll love to trade on bitcoin and ethereum. Please what is the best way to monitor, knowing when to buy and sell.
Thanks
Ether is above 1k which nobody thought could happen but then again the same exact thing happened with bitcoin! A centralized team plus arguably better tech could make ETH the store of value for the market, that is the sentiment I get when talking to older investors.
My prediction is that it will go to $5,000 this year. Personally, I consider Bitcoin as gold, people keep money but there is no real use. In exchange, Ethereum (and Ripple) have some real functions and can be used in different scenarios. What do you think about it?
I am comfortable using Lunp
The problem with Luno is that you can buy only Bitcoin and Ethereum. Also, if you are in Europe, the price will show in Euro. With conversions you lose 13 euros at every 1000 euros. Also, it has a limit of deposit, euro 5,000 per month. They are based in London and a lot of rules that will stop you from making money. Is more about advertising I guess that’s why they appear as first option on Bitcoin.
Hi all. I have USD in PayPal that I want to buy ETH with. What are the cheapest platforms to do this on because I have seen commissions of 25-50% when digging around…
i still can’t find how to buy ripple with USD can someone assist
Hello John,
You can use Gemini to purchase Ethereum and transfer Ethereum into Kraken. Sell Ethereum via Kraken and then purchase Ripple with the proceeds from the sell of the Ethereum. Kraken does allow the transfer of US$ into Kraken at level 3, but I have not been approved to level 3 within Kraken and I have been waiting over 6 weeks.
Just an fyi. Since I’m an a US citizen and not approved at level 3, I’m not allowed to transfer US$ out of Kraken.
To retrieve my money. I purchase Ethereum within Kraken and transfer it to Gemini, then sell the Ethereum within Gemini and transfer to my bank, which makes me nervous, but has worked fine.
Sounds convoluted, I know!
Good luck!
IMO –
Real world use for consumers and supliers is the problem with any crypto. Companies need to be able to “cash out” instantly when purchases are made due to the volitility of the crypto market – unless they are willing to gamble on future prices. The USD continually loses value due to inflation and printing money, but we cannot watch the value on a second by second basis as we do with crypto. Having limits on the availibility of a coin provides a scalable rarity, increasing the value as long as consumers use it. A gold coin isnt worth anything unless you can find someone to trade you. The more people who want to that gold coin, the higher the value. The biggest hurdle is government regulations and restrictions. Typically when communist China bans a product or social medium, that means its restricting freedoms and gains popularity in free societies. But all governments want their cut. You can bet as the markets reaches higher into the hundreds of billions, governments will crack down to get their share. Right or wrong, thats how the world turns.
However – again IMO
If ETH continues to develop and advance in smart contracts and scalability (new news on this came out today), ETH will most probably scale in 2018 as it has over the past 6 mths. Blockchain tech is the future of transactions and storage that attract large scale corporations and investors.
Ethereum is best one to invest my port is eth, btc, neo, eos, ethos, omg
you have to buy with cryptocurrency ONLY
What About Today Price prediction for Ethereum token do you have any Idea about To price prediction?
I’m currently loosing 20k in my home currency but not sure what to do should i sell or wait im very concerned …have tried to do research but nothing concrete which is to be expected….just looking for some advice
Do you have an explanation to ETH price drop since december 2017? The thing is we know the need of ETH in the future, the huge uses and potentialities of these cryptocurrencies are tremendous(smart contracts, payment methods etc…) but the factors that impact ETH market price remain unclear to me.
Do not use etoro or plus500.. You will NOT trade “physically” ether or bitcoin. You just get a claim on the company. Just derivates. You don’t have real control over your money. Go to coinbase or kraken to buy cryptocurrency but DO NOT click any links right here. It is just built on provision…
Large corps and banks are not *really* using eth , they are studing it. They have plans to semi-clone it and bring out their own version. Of course this will not be open source . It kills two birds with one stone. IT fends off “real” crypto while giving them a large foothold in the market. They can crowd out competitors with their entrenched positions.
Ron, we think so, too, banks will come up with their own coin(s) which will obviously not be open-source!
Hi, I am new in cryptocurrencies and new in mining. As rates go down and mining difficulty goes higher it is possible that the earnings from mining will become lower than the expenses (electricity, hardware…). What will happen with cryptocurrencies then? Thank you!
Is a bad timing to start mining now. Basically right now is easier to just buy coin rather then mining it. If you would like us to further discuss about this just send me an email at info @ investingpr.com
Hi now etherum is af the lowest since last year. Will it still come back or should I just accept the loss and sell it.
You should not sell it. As Warren Buffet says, the money goes from the patient to the impatient. Just wait and hold.
Right now is the worst moment to sell. I dont advise. People still believe in Ethereum. Is just a matter of time until good news will come. Wait at least until mid January 2019.
Hi, Could you please advice which one is better option to buy bitcoin/etherium/etc..