Ethereum ETH Price Soars in Early January; Price Predictions for 2019?

Ethereum may not be anywhere near its all-time-high price but it’s still been up about 80% over the past month, and we anticipate more ahead. Ethereum hard forks regularly, and the next (slated for the middle of January) will implement many of the changes that will lead to Ethereum’s mature form. In this last stage, Ethereum will move away from mining to Proof of Stake, all while becoming faster and more powerful. If Ethereum is to attain its goals, it must make moves like these, and community-driven hard forks are one way of increasing investor confidence. Price gains like the ones we’ve witnessed are the direct result.

No one knows for certain if Ethereum can meet its lofty goals. With multiple future possibilities, here are a diverse set of predictions for the price of Ether in 2019.

$500 Per ETH in 2019

The January 16 hard fork takes Ethereum into its long-awaited Constantinople phase. Here, mining rewards are lowered, the eventual “difficulty bomb” is delayed, and new smart contract tools are introduced. It’s unknown how the Ethereum community (miners, developers, investors) will respond to these changes but we think each is well chosen. It’s likely that this hard fork will go smoothly, with cooperation across the Ethereum miner community.

In an event like this, confidence in Ethereum’s future is likely to increase. And, in a case like this, big changes are unlikely to develop out of nowhere. However, steady gains could materialize throughout 2019, leading to $500 Ethereum for buyers by year’s end.

$1500 Ether in 2019

On the other hand, Ethereum may prove with Constantinople that it has the best leadership, technology, and community coherence in the entire blockchain space. In the event that Ethereum’s efficiency is boosted by this (and by future hard forks scheduled for 2019), development may greatly accelerate for Ethereum. Ethereum already has more active partnerships than any other smart contract platform. If its lead continues to grow and crypto bulls return to the market at large, we could easily see an Ether that breaks through previous all-time-highs.

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$150 Ether in 2019

Of course, there’s always the chance that Ether won’t improve. Ethereum faces stiff competition from other smart contract platforms like NEO, EOS, and Cardano. If one of these three (or some relatively unknown upstart) becomes the new source of development or introduces tech that outshines Ethereum’s, ETH may not make significant gains in 2019.

We can’t predict which path Ethereum will follow in 2019 but you can bet we’ll report all the happenings along the way.

Featured image source: Pixabay