Ethereum’s price will be supported by increased transaction use, the rise of DeFi and NFTs and higher adoption rates by institutional investors.

As well as a rise in price, 51% of Finder’s panel say Ethereum, not Bitcoin, will be the most widely transacted digital currency by the end of 2022.

Lecturer and assistant professor at the University College of Dublin, Dr Paul Ennis, thinks ETH will be worth $10,000 by the end of the year, noting the currency is highly undervalued and has far more use cases than Bitcoin.

In fact 70% of the panel think DeFi and NFTs have given Ethereum a greater use case than Bitcoin.

However Senior Lecturer at the University of Canberra John Hawkins pointed out that having more use cases won’t necessarily increase its value.

“While Ethereum has more uses than bitcoin it will likely be dragged down with it,” he said.

While more individuals are becoming interested in crypto – Finder’s recent research found 40% of people aged 18-34 already own crypto – more than three quarters of the panel (77%) say institutional investors will invest in Ethereum in the same way they have invested in Bitcoin.

YAP Global founder and CEO Samantha Yap also thinks Ethereum will crack $10,000 by the end of 2021.

“After Bitcoin gets mass adopted, Ethereum will be next on people’s list,” she said.

By 2025 ETH is expected to hit $19,842 on average.

University of East London senior lecturer Dr Iwa Salami gave an end-of-2025 forecast on par with the panel average at $20,000.

“Decentralised Finance, which is so far building an alternative financial system that is more accessible and democratised, is largely built through decentralised applications on the Ethereum network.

“These developments indicate the future of finance and are very promising and well-balanced regulation would facilitate the credibility of this growing industry,” she said.

BitBull Capital COO Sarah Bergstrand thinks Ethereum will crack $100,000 by 2025.

“We are likely to see major upgrades to the Ethereum network this year, and those can be expected to push the price higher,” she said.

However the currency isn’t without risk – the overwhelming majority of the panel say the current ownership concentration on ETH presents a threat, with 24% saying it’s a high risk to the currency, 55% a moderate risk, and 18% a low risk.

62% of panellists also think Ethereum is somewhat threatened by other smart contract blockchains in that Ethereum could lose some of its users.

Alpha5 CEO Vishal Shah thinks Ethereum value won’t change drastically over the next few years, with an end of 2025 forecast of $4,000.

“ETH should continue to perform, but it simply does not have the same scarcity benefits as BTC. Further, ETH is in a race against other protocols to overhaul its usability profile. There are faster, cheaper chains that are gaining traction and will likely rival ETH in the long run.”

Overall 59% of panellists say it’s time to buy Ethereum, 28% say hold, and just 13% say it’s time to sell.