Ethereum (ETH) is set to have an incredibly volatile run over the next six months, according to Finder.com’s latest Ethereum Price Predictions report.

Finder’s panel of fintech and cryptocurrency specialists think Ethereum will go as high as US$2,673 and as low as $675 in 2022 before ending the year at $1,711.

The panel’s longer term outlook is much brighter however, with a predicted price of $5,739 for the end of 2025 and $14,412 at the end of 2030.

However, with the recent crypto market plunge and the Merge still on the horizon, the panel is divided on whether now is a good time to buy ethereum or not. 43% say now is a good time to buy, 41% hold and 16% sell.

Digital Capital Management managing director Ben Ritchie – who has an end of year price prediction on par with the panel average and thinks ETH will be worth $10,000 by 2025 and $15k by 2030 – says now is a good time to buy ETH.

“It is still too early for a proper valuation, but we can speculate on a valuation similar to commodities such as oil but with a diminishing supply. We estimated a $1,800 year-end price after the price capitulates and recovers to the 2021 crash low.

“Since Ethereum’s correlation to bitcoin is still high, we can speculate that if Merge happens before the year-end, its price may decouple. However, the outside economic factor is vital, bringing hurdles to the short-term price action…”

CloudTech Group COO Kevin He has one of the most bearish end of year predictions of just $750 but thinks ETH will be worth $5,000 at the end of 2025, also noting that ETH’s future price depends on whether it completes the merger this year.

“If Ethereum successfully completes the merger this year, we expect the price to rise because PoS and faster TPS lead to higher demand for ETH from miners, investors and Dapp users, and if the market woes are alleviated in the second half of the year, it is possible for ETH price to rise to the previous high or break the previous high due to the rising demand.”

“If Ethereum fails to complete the merger this year, investors’ confidence in the project and the team will inevitably be hit harder by another delay, and it is foreseeable that the price of Ether will dip to triple digits in a bear market.”

He is part of the majority of panelists (78%) who think the Merge will have a positive impact on ETH’s price. Over a quarter (29%) think the price increase will happen immediately, 24% three months after, 13% six months after and 11% a year later.

Swinburne University of Technology director and lecturer Dr Dimitrios Salampasis, who thinks ETH will be worth $2,350 at the end of the year, says the positive uplift from the Merge will be felt six month afterwards.

“The expected transition to a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm is expected to boost scalability of the network and bring more efficiency and effectiveness in transactions, along with, potentially reducing gas fees. Ethereum will still need to innovate to ensure that it has a differentiation point compared to its competitors particularly Algorand and Solana.”

InvestDEFY Technologies CSO and co-founder Aaron Samsonoff thinks the Merge will have a positive impact on ETH’s price, but says he’s “doubtful the Merge will have the same narrative tailwind during a weak market”. He also said “institutional capital will shy away from the risk and if [they] desire exposure choose BTC”.

You can find the full report herehere: