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.