Ethereum, the main cryptocurrency on a stinging warpath against the top dog Bitcoin, seems headed to dominate the battlefield.
Its pace of growth has been the clear proof of this, as Ethereum skyrocketed 1,000 percent in the last 12 months. Meanwhile, Bitcoin had soared by just four times its value since a year ago. This has tightened the race, though Bitcoin's advantage is still quite sizeable in terms of market capitalization.
Ethereum Value Shows Signs of Massive Uptake
Because of this, a respected analyst has made a bold forecast that Ethereum would eventually surpass Bitcoin in terms of value. Senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone emphasized it quite simply in a report on Bloomberg, saying "the trend that appears enduring is Ethereum gaining market share versus Bitcoin."
He stressed that Ethereum's trading volume is "a leading indicator for advancing Ethereum, which has now closed the gap to the 50 percent mark."
According to CoinMarketCap data cited by McGlone, Ethereum's 10-day average trading volume has doubled since the beginning of 2021 in its march towards the 80 percent of Bitcoin.
Ethereum Price Prediction: DeFi Apps Pushing ETH Value
McGlone added that while both Bitcoin and Ethereum would benefit from bullish sentiment moving forward, Ethereum's strong foundation and use case in terms of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications running on the blockchain would become a bigger draw, as against Bitcoin's "store-of-value" attributes.
Ethereum price has soared in the last 12 months due to the DeFi apps that run through it, Forbes emphasized. These apps use cryptocurrency technology in recreating such banking services as loans and insurance on its blockchain. It has also been the platform for the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or authenticated copies of digital music, videos, artwork or collections, which has risen in popularity over the recent months.
Meanwhile, analysts from the digital asset investing firm CoinShares asserted Ethereum's appeal to investors. The digital token received investments totaling $33 million over the last week, the analysts said, making Ethereum the "altcoin choice for investors."
More investments have poured into Ethereum investment products, such as the Grayscale Ethereum Trust, as this would allow exposure to the digital asset in the form of security and prevent the drawbacks of purchasing the coin directly.
Ethereum Price to Reach $10,000 by End of 2021?
Crypto analyst CryptoCapo, on the other hand, expects Ethereum to reach $10,000 by the end of 2021, from its current price of around $2,384, Investor Place reported. While it fell 14 percent in a 24-hour period, it is still up 221.9 percent since the start of the year.
On the emergence of cryptocurrencies rivaling Ethereum in building a challenge to Bitcoin, McGlone said they are facing a difficult, uphill climb to eclipse the current number two cryptocurrency. Ehtereum, he said, "won the adoption race as the go-to for digitalization of money and finance."
A strong Ethereum contender, Solana, was reported to have raised up to $450 million in its challenge to Ethereum as the blockchain for DeFi apps and smart contracts. Solana representatives refused to confirm or deny the reports.
