Analysts at VanEck and StoneX forecast that Ether could surge to between $12,000 and $22,000 by 2030, fueled by Ethereum's expanding transaction network and technological advancements.

Ether Could Surge to $12K to $22K

StoneX Digital, a cryptocurrency brokerage, and VanEck, an asset management, both predict that, under an optimistic scenario, the spot price of Ether might reach $12,000 to $22,000 by the end of this decade.

Digital asset research chief at VanEck Matthew Sigel predicts that by 2030, the Ethereum network will produce $66 billion in yearly free cash flow, sending the price of spot ETH to a maximum of $22,000 per token.

Short-Term Ether Price Target: $4,600

In the next 18 months, StoneX data scientist David Kroger predicts that the price of Ethereum will rise to around $4,600.

Speaking with Sigel at a StoneX panel on September 10, Kroger added, "The upside, though, is much higher—around $12,621—especially considering some of the upcoming technological upgrades that Ethereum is working on," as reported by Cointelegraph.

Ethereum Handles Trillions in Transactions

These projections are based on the idea that, as Ethereum handles an increasing percentage of global transactions, its holders would gain value from transaction fees.

"Ethereum processed roughly $4 trillion in settlement value over the last year and another $5 trillion in stablecoin transfers annually. So this is far bigger than PayPal and is beginning to approach networks like Visa," Sigel explained.

According to Sigel, three billion Ethereum (ETH) worth of fees have been produced since the platform's inception in 2015. In addition to rewarding stakeholders, who deposit ETH as collateral to safeguard the network, and "burning" (i.e., permanently withdrawing from circulation) a percentage of transaction fees are other ways that ETH value accrual mechanisms work.

Levers to Restore Ether's Value

Sigel predicted that positive price movement for Ethereum (ETH) might begin this year, when the network recovers from a precipitous decline in revenue caused by the March Dencun upgrade, which reduced transaction fees by almost 95%.

“There wasn’t enough volume to make up for the fee decline, so investors have become less constructive about the chain," according to Sigel. “Ethereum still has some levers it can pull to recover value [...] That’s what we’re looking at for the second half of the year.”

The rationale for investing in Ethereum “starts with a macro acknowledgment that there’s decreasing trust in existing centralized institutions. Globally… there’s strong demand for decentralized alternatives where the rules are equal for all,” according to Kroger.

Furthermore, "demand is more pronounced outside the [United States] because of the damage done to the credibility of the US dollar," he put it.

To paraphrase Sigel, "might be hostile to coins other than Bitcoin" but "bullish for Bitcoin and Bitcoin dominance" if Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris were to win the election.