Ethereum to $166,000? Fund Managers Weigh In on ETH Price

Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has been a focal point of speculation and analysis within the crypto community as eyes are peeled on where its price trends next in the wake of the ETF launch.

A recent report from crypto-ranking platform CoinGecko provides insight into what fund managers think about the future price of Ethereum, with projections ranging as high as $166,000.

In its latest analysis, CoinGecko offers Ethereum forecasts from eight prediction issuers, including major fund managers, predicting what price range ETH holders might expect in the near to medium term.

According to CoinGecko, all eight prediction issuers it surveyed were bullish on Ethereum, expecting it to increase between almost $4,400 to $166,000.

Most price predictions are, however, based on a longer time frame, with only Bernstein, QCP Capital and Standard Chartered providing a time horizon within the year.

VanEck predicts ETH to rise to $22,000 by 2030 and $154,000 in a bullish scenario, while Ark Invest expects ETH to rise to $166,000 by 2032. Geoff Kendrick at Standard Chartered expects ETH to reach $8,000 by the end of 2024. QCP Capital and Bernstein predict ETH price targets of $6,000 and $6,600, respectively, in H2, 2024.

Expectations remain on Ethereum ETFs

Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) began trading in the United States in late July, putting the world's second-largest cryptocurrency in a vehicle popular with many professional investors and advisors.

This year, the biggest driver of Bitcoin’s rise to its current all-time high of $73,780 was the launch of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. This investment vehicle opened access to Bitcoin but without the risks posed by self-custody.

Despite the late July price drop in cryptocurrencies, much is expected from Ethereum ETFs, based on the successful launch of Bitcoin ETFs.

However, Ethereum's short-term price action paints a different narrative as the price of ETH has dropped 24.5% in the past 30 days. Over one year, Ethereum lags behind Bitcoin at 41.5% compared to the latter's 107.4% gains, according to CoinGecko data.

The prospect of Ethereum ETFs boosted the cryptocurrency, but its gains have since been erased, leaving it lagging Bitcoin by 5.9%, compared to Bitcoin's 51.9% year-to-date gains.

At the time of writing, ETH was down 0.6% in the last 24 hours to $2,600.