Ether (ETH) price could reach $10,000 or more after being “overshadowed” by Bitcoin (BTC), analysts say

According to Juan Leon, crypto research analyst at asset manager Bitwise, Ether (ETH) has been “largely overshadowed” by Bitcoin (BTC) in recent months, but the laggard could more than double its price in 2024.

“[Ether] “It could well go above $8,000, $10,000 this year, maybe even higher,” Leon said in an interview with CoinDesk Markets Daily.

“Bitcoin got all the attention with the launch of Bitcoin ETFs, but [ETH] “There are at least two key catalysts that will come into focus,” Leon noted.

This month's Dencun upgrade will make transactions on Layer 2 networks cheaper, which will increase activity and even stimulate mainstream mass consumer demand for Ethereum, he explained.

“Most of the positive sentiment will not come until weeks and months after the upgrade, when the impact occurs,” he added.

Another catalyst is the spot applications for Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs), whose regulatory decision deadline is approaching in May.

The chances of approval are not as clear as they were for spot Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year, the Bitwise analyst said, but the possibility will generate excitement for Ether. He gave a 50% to 60% chance of approval, but said it would happen “sooner or later.”

A potential approval would increase Ether's appeal to more conservative institutional investors, just as new spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January attracted strong investor demand and amassed net inflows of nearly $9 billion.

Ether's deflationary supply, the restapping boom led by EigenLayer and increasing decentralized finance (DeFi) activity are also supporting higher prices for ETH, brokerage firm Bernstein said in a report last month.

This is similar to the trajectory of the previous market cycle, with Bitcoin – the oldest cryptocurrency with the largest market capitalization – leading the market rally from the bottom, while Ether and smaller cryptocurrencies lagged behind.

At the end of November 2020, BTC reached its all-time high of $19,000, while ETH was trading below $600, about 60% below its 2018 peak. A few weeks later, when BTC decisively broke its previous record price, ETH started a multi-month rally and reached eventually peaking at $4,400 in May.

If history is any indication, Bitcoin must first break above $69,000 for Ether to reach new all-time highs.

Recently, ETH changed hands at $3,850, rising 14% over the past seven days, outpacing Bitcoin's 9% rise. The market-wide CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) rose 13%.

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