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Cryptocurrencies look like a wasteland this Tuesday morning, and Ethereum is no exception.
ETH was down 13.18% against the U.S. dollar at the time of writing. This put the Ethereum to USD rate at $1,143.57, which is a sharp retracement, though a minor one compared to Ripple or Bitcoin. XRP lost more than half its market cap since the start of the year.
But even in this moment of darkness, Ethereum investors have a lot to look forward to.
The frenzy of initial coin offerings (ICOs) have passed and Bitcoin’s internal conflict is no longer dominating the media narrative. There is room for real progress. I believe we will see this progress come to fruition this year.
But don’t take my word for it; try listening to Vitalik Buterin, the prodigy who built Ethereum while living in a suburb of Toronto, Canada. He just quit his full-time gig at a Chinese venture capital firm, Fenbushi Capital, because he senses a tipping point for Ethereum.
Buterin believes that 2017 was “the year where hype in crypto…far exceeded the reality of what existing blockchain systems can offer.” (Source: “Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has left VC firm Fenbushi Capital,” TechCrunch, January 15, 2018.)
But, Buterin expects that 2018 “will be the year of action.” All the ideas he and other developers have been working on—such as “scalability, Plasma, proof-of-stake, and privacy”—are going to “turn into real, live working code.”
Buterin ended these comments to TechCrunch with a spine-tingling quote: “Everyone in the Ethereum space recognizes that the world is watching, and we are ready to deliver.”
Skeptics might argue Buterin is engaging in self-promotion, but that claim rings hollow to those who follow him on social media. Buterin is the most self-aware of crypto giants.
For example, when ETH prices crossed $1,000, he questioned whether it was “earned” rather than simply enjoying his newfound wealth. He even threatened to quit working on Ethereum if the community did not focus on real development.
In any case, it’s promising that Ethereum could grow into its valuation. Other cryptos will likely fail to do the same, meaning that funds could eventually rotate into Ethereum as it widens its technological lead over competitors.
Analyst Take
I still think that our $1,500 Ethereum price forecast is within grasp this quarter. Beyond that timeline, fundamental progress is the determinant to watch.
Source: Price Confidential
