Prominent Investor Anticipates Substantial Upside for Ethereum
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and a well-regarded voice in cryptocurrency circles, anticipates that Ethereum (ETH) could reach a valuation between $4,000 and $5,000 before the end of the current year.
Achieving the upper end of this range would signify a near doubling of Ethereum’s recent price and establish a new all-time high, despite its recent underperformance relative to other layer-1 blockchains like Bitcoin and Solana.
“I think ETH could go to $4,000 or $5,000 this year,” Hayes communicated to Decrypt during the Bitcoin 2025 event in Las Vegas.
He articulated a contrarian investment thesis, adding, “I think it’s the most hated layer-1, and usually you want to be in the most hated asset in a turn of the cycle, so I think ETH could outperform.”
This projection for Ethereum complements Hayes’s previously stated bullish long-term view on Bitcoin, which he suggested could attain a $1 million price point by 2028.
Renewed Momentum Amidst Contrarian Bullishness
Although investor enthusiasm for Ethereum has been somewhat subdued over the past year, especially with the rise of competitors like Solana, recent market activity suggests a resurgence in positive momentum for the second-largest digital asset.
Over the last month, ETH has surged by more than 45%, reaching a trading price of approximately $2,646.
Institutional Support and Layer-2 Growth as Key Catalysts
This potential upswing is further supported by analyses from institutional entities.
A mid-May research note from investment firm Bernstein highlighted the positive impact of stablecoins on their underlying networks, a significant factor for Ethereum, which hosts approximately 51% of the total minted stablecoin supply.
Bernstein also emphasized the growth potential offered by Ethereum’s layer-2 scaling solutions, pointing to Robinhood’s acquisition of WonderFi, an operator of an Ethereum layer-2 network, as indicative of this trend.
“Brokers such as Robinhood could potentially offer tokenized equities on their blockchain, built on layer-2 Ethereum.
Layer-2 chains use ETH for gas fees as underlying currency, thus helping drive distribution and demand for ETH,” the Bernstein analysts explained.
Concurrently, Ethereum options markets have signaled increased optimism.
Adding to this, analysts at Standard Chartered, led by Head of Digital Assets Geoffrey Kendrick, recently shared a price target of $4,000 for ETH by 2025, with a longer-term projection of $7,500 by 2029.
Standard Chartered’s analysis also suggested that Solana might underperform Ethereum over the next two to three years due to ongoing scaling challenges that currently limit Solana’s broader application beyond its strong meme coin ecosystem.
They project the Solana-Ethereum price ratio to increasingly favor Ethereum through 2028.
The Trajectory to a New All-Time High
For Ethereum to reach the $5,000 mark and surpass its 2021 all-time high of $4,878, an appreciation of nearly 88% from its current price would be required.
Ethereum has historically demonstrated the capacity for rapid and substantial price gains, as evidenced by its rally earlier this month following the successful deployment of the anticipated Pectra upgrade.
Ecosystem Evolution and Internal Realignments
Ethereum’s recent price resurgence comes after a period of some dissatisfaction within its community regarding price performance and broader ecosystem issues.
Earlier this year, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin adopted a more assertive public communication style, which some developers characterized as a “wartime” approach, and the Ethereum Foundation has subsequently implemented various leadership and strategic adjustments.
Further Insights Anticipated
Decrypt indicated that a more comprehensive discussion with Arthur Hayes, covering Bitcoin’s prospects and other market dynamics from the Bitcoin 2025 conference, will be released in the future.
Also Read: Ethereum to Lower Node Costs Increase Access
