Here’s the biggest contender to replace Bitcoin and be the number one cryptocurrency on the crypto exchanges. It’s Ethereum (ETH). Ethereum has seen huge growth, which is comparable to that of Bitcoin. Various factors make Ethereum so valuable, which might help the currency cross the $10k mark soon and even touch $100k in a couple of years or more.
The factors that will help reach Ethereum $10k or even $100k soon.
Dapps boosting Ethereum growth
Ethereum blockchain can host other digital tokens, coins, and DApps (decentralized applications). The communities of coders who work independently find the Ethereum blockchain revolutionary to develop DApps, which are open-source programs. In the blockchain environment, the changes to the software work on a consensus mechanism where every community member votes.
And the most popular Dapp – smart contracts. Ethereum blockchain has gained immense popularity for “smart contracts.” Smart contracts are programs that automatically execute all or parts of an agreement based on pre-set conditions.
An example of this would be a smart contract automatically crediting a chargeback into a customer’s account if, say, an online retailer cannot fulfill the order after the payment has been made. So basically, smart contracts greatly reduce online fraud, transaction costs, downtime or any interference from a third party.
The Ethereum enterprise client base
Ethereum has a long list of enterprise clients like Amazon, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Fidelity, BP, Google, Microsoft, Coinbase, Intel, Samsung and many more. With blockchain technology becoming the new essential for companies worldwide, Ethereum provides the best option, helping it to build a strong market presence.
Latest Ethereum developments
The Bitcoin environmental impact is something that nobody has a definite answer to. Ethereum scores big here as its newest effort to upgrade to proof-of-stake technology, which helps validate the transactions. This is set to reduce the number of mining warehouses responsible for causing big environmental damage.
The rise of DeFi
Decentralized finance is the new buzz, and Ethereum has been swift in addressing the issues concerning the DeFi projects. It has made some innovations to reduce transaction fees considerably. The pace of the developments on the Ethereum platform has been impressive and is set to continue like that in the coming times.
Why will Ethereum fail to reach $10k? Will Ethereum ever be able to reach $100k?
Ethereum reached $4000, and then it fell below $2000 and reached a new low (after the crypto boom period of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022) of $994.98 in June 2022. Going by this, Ethereum reaching 10k is a distant dream for crypto investors.
With an ever-expanding client base, the scalability issue has been the biggest concern for Ethereum, and several others like Cardano (ADA) seem to be the ones that could have a larger impact in the future. With a $2 trillion wipeout in the crypto market in 2022, it is difficult to make predictions. With an economic recession in foresight, the cryptocurrency market is yet to face the most turbulent times.
If the market does not rise again, the main technical reasons that might stop Ethereum from reaching the $10k threshold are:
Ethereum is still evolving
Ethereum blockchain is still evolving, and many plans are yet to be executed – The consensus method is yet to be moved from the PoW to the PoS system, which involves a great technical effort. Although things look positive, they are time-bound and cannot happen overnight.
Hard forks
The list of Ethereum enterprise clients might be very long, but due to hard forks (radical changes in blockchain protocols), they are bound to face major challenges, which might lead to a decline in its popularity as the first choice for smart contracts.
Scalability issues on Ethereum
Vitalik Buterin stated that Ethereum could scale 100x in just a few weeks. But in reality, that’s impossible. Scalability means a higher number of transactions per second. Ethereum is impressively executing 13 transactions every second and 500 000 daily. The numbers might look impressive to a blockchain newbie, but professionals know that Ethereum lags and needs to up its game pretty soon to sustain itself. The inherent properties of Ethereum are a major concern, and its base layer is perennially clogged.
Ethereum blockchain platform alternatives
So is Ethereum blockchain the only option for enterprises? That’s not the case. Ethereum is undoubtedly the best blockchain platform and functions better than any other option, but there are Ethereum alternatives that are fast picking up. With some well-known names like IBM, Oracle, Amazon (QLDB) and the new ones that include Stellar blockchain, Cardano, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Polkadot, Solana etc., are already being termed as the Ethereum killer. Still, to the experts, that seems like an overstatement.
The Ethereum blockchain platform alternatives have their own challenges and are still a long way behind what Ethereum offers. And with Ethereum 2.0, the system will get better and might give an unbeatable advantage to it. The future predictions keep technologists and cryptocurrency enthusiasts busy, so for now, it’s more about the wait and watch.
