If you’ve partaken in discussions on crypto as of late, chances are that you’ve understood a thing or two about a new milestone on the radar for Bitcoin – the halving. Being a quadrennial event and having occurred three times to date, it’s only natural to seek insights into what this event may bring for the asset later.
Bitcoin is the first and biggest cryptocurrency, and the whole market tends to alter its behavior depending on the leader’s fluctuations. Ethereum is the first to take the highest hit or blessing, as determined by Bitcoin trends, and as the halving is bound to be an impactful event, there’s a good chance that the second-best crypto will not come out of this unimpacted.
The experts’ focus turns to Ethereum and the modifications it is bound to encounter in the months ahead of us. Explicably, the spotlight shifts to future prognostications based on many techniques, including on-chain research, technical analysis, econometric analysis, and market sentiment assessment.
This is why the commonality of the Ethereum price prediction these days shouldn’t come as a shocker but instead as an aiding hand in your journey to making the best portfolio diversification decisions.
So, what does the future hold for Ethereum after the halving craze is over? Could it be a better investment than it has been until now?
Ethereum could be the beneficiary in disguise
If you know anything about crypto, Ethereum’s supply is likely endless, unlike Bitcoin’s finite number of minable coins.
Ethereum wasn’t created around the principle of a fixed supply; still, an annual limit of 18K exists. It’s self-regulated by a system consisting of two comprehensive mechanisms, where validators gain fresh ETH after block validations, while users effectuate transactions paying in Ethereum.
The most significant part of the Ethereum gathered is frequently burned, contributing to a stable equilibrium as some coins enter into circulation in harmony with those that vanish. And strategically, the annually launched token number depends on the amount of ETH that’s being lost, misplaced, and accidentally erased to reach that status quo.
The eagerly awaited reward cut isn’t just slowing down the rate at which blocks are added to the chain but also reminding us of the importance of having assets with fixed or declining supplies. Bitcoin’s supply keeps on growing, though at a slower rate compared to pre-halving throughput levels owing to toughening mining operations.
At the same time, Ethereum’s supply is sluggishly diminishing, according to the unwritten rule attesting that 0.21% of the whole annual ETH ceases to exist.
Diving into Ethereum’s reaped benefits
More than 350K of ETH has turned to ashes in the last 1.5 years, worth over $940M. Consequently, the halving in the primary cryptocurrency is only a heart balm for its first rival, enhancing the latter’s prices as investors value an asset whose scarcity is secured or rising. Ethereum is thus gaining credit as a better long-term value store than Bitcoin.
Many experts predict massive gains for Ethereum following post-halving prices. Julian Grigo, appointed by Safe as head of institutions and fintech, shared his views concerning Ethereum’s post-halving prices, and they are mainly positive.
First, the banking veteran draws attention to the unparalleled value of assets boasting fixed supplies. Second, Grigo highlighted Ethereum as the crypto that’s worthy of such recognition. According to the fintech expert, the touted limited supply could be “even more true” for Ethereum at the moment.
From the perspective of sliding supply, seeing Ethereum as the primary leverage of the halving shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Experts bet on price increases
A lot of focus has shifted from Bitcoin to Ethereum, and it’s understandable why. Besides being the second-best crypto and best blockchain for DeFi and dApps, experts seem to predict a bright future ahead of Ethereum owing to potential halving-triggered price increases.
Siddharth Lalwani, CEO of on-chain asset management Range Protocol, suggests price increases in Ethereum at some point but alludes to other factors besides the halving as primary catalyzing triggers.
Ethereum’s launched Dencun upgrade in March and an impending decision from the SEC regarding the status of Ethereum ETFs awaited in March foretell a busy schedule for the network in the forthcoming months.
According to the pundit, the two abovementioned events will drive a lot of action in the space, but Ethereum isn’t going to encounter price boosts immediately. Bitcoin may be the instant beneficiary of price boosts, but Ethereum could win in the longer term.
As the former reaches new ATHs, liquidity is retracted from altcoins like Ethereum. So, the moment the focus shifts from Bitcoin to the SEC’s ETH ETF decision, liquidity has to reconstruct, consolidating at high levels and driving price rallies regarding the broader economic outlook.
The halving may not be the only one to trigger ETH price rallies
Mantle chief alchemist Jordi Alexander shares similar opinions with Lalwani, indicating that the halving isn’t the one and only catalysator of price increases. The excitement sparked around Ethereum results from numerous other past or impending events, which, according to the expert, are primarily priced in.
In the alchemist’s vision, both Ethereum and Bitcoin represent safe long-term investment avenues.
Similarly, Laos Network Co-founder Alun Evans suggested that Ethereum and other crypto coins could witness price hikes due to investors’ heightened desire to diversify their portfolios through new assets besides Bitcoin.
Ethereum, possibly reaching $7,300 in 2025
CoinCodex, a big-league crypto analysis provider, prognosticated short-term price declines in Ethereum that could hinder it from breaching the $4K level this spring. While the asset could register prices 25% below its ATH, the plot is only improving, envisioning a growth of over 75% from the momentous values.
Longer-term predictions suggest an increase to more than $6,300 around the summer of 2024 and a possible $7,300 by 2025’s March. Numerous factors besides the halving are bound to contribute to Ethereum’s price consolidation, so stay close to see how the upcoming periods unfold for the asset.