Post Bitcoin Spike: Ethereum Price Prediction for 2018
Re-Evaluating Ethereum Price Forecast for 2018
Another day, another record-breaking high for Ethereum. Investors are refusing to give up their optimism on the Ethereum blockchain, even as they slash more than 10% from Bitcoin’s market capitalization. What does this mean? And, more importantly, should it change our Ethereum price predictions for 2018?
Let’s start with Bitcoin.
BTC prices were on a rocket ride this year, having more than doubled since the start of 2017. A confluence of events, including capital controls in the East and internal blockchain issues, led to the original cryptocurrency’s success.
But that does not mean everything is hunky-dory in Bitcoin-land. Volatility still rears its ugly head from time to time.
This week, for instance, Bitcoin passed $3,000. It broke that remarkable threshold in the pursuit of new highs which, to be sure, it found. But the sweetness was short-lived.
A massive sell-off drove the price back down to $2,664.78, and within 24 hours no less.
This is disturbing for many reasons, not least of which is that Bitcoin wants to destroy fiat currencies. It is on a mission to overthrow the existing monetary system, but volatility is counter-productive to that goal.
Think about it: No one wants money that can drop 10% overnight. Money is supposed to be stable. We shouldn’t have to walk around with the worry that it’ll burn a hole in our pockets.
Bitcoin needs to resolve this issue if its price is to continue rising.
Ethereum isn’t bogged down by the same obsession with fiat currencies.
To be sure, most ETH developers would gladly see central banks crumble into oblivion. But they don’t base Ethereum’s currency’s success on that outcome, which perhaps explains why ETH rose 10.6% on the same day that BTC lost 11.7%.
In fact, the discrepancy between their goals is why I believe Ethereum price forecast of $1,000 in 2018 is possible.
Let me explain.
What Makes the Ethereum Blockchain So Special
Unlike Bitcoin, the Ethereum price is based more on a platform than a currency.
It has a token, called ether, which is used for native transactions on the Ethereum platform. But ether isn’t quite the same as bitcoin. It isn’t a currency for currency’s sake.
The platform has a higher purpose.
Users are supposed to develop “smart contracts” on the Ethereum platform. These “smart contracts” are automated business functions that would normally have been processed by middle-men.
In fact, you could say that Ethereum is waging war on middle-men. Banks, lawyers, and other folks who produce nothing should be terrified of this technology.
The whole point of blockchain technology was that it decentralized information. Bitcoin focused on decentralizing money; Ethereum expanded that idea to everything else. It is extremely important to the Ethereum price forecast in 2018.
Heck, companies are using “smart contracts” to go public on Ethereum. It is a process called “initial coin offering” (ICO), and blockchain entrepreneurs are already raising more money from this than from venture capital (VC).
This year alone, ICOs raised $327.0 million, while VCs raised only $295.0 million. (Source: “ICO Investments Pass VC Funding in Blockchain Market First,” CoinDesk, June 9, 2017.)
I find that incredible. Apparently the market does as well, because Ethereum prices have shot up 5,000% since they began. It seems like the “War on Middle-Men” is paying a lot better than the “War on Currency.”
Of course, this isn’t to say that any Ethereum price predictions are guaranteed.
The platform itself was split last year into two versions: “Ethereum” and “Ethereum Classic.” There are a lot of technical nuances between the two versions, but here’s all you need to know:
- Ethereum Classic had a flaw.
- As a result, Ethereum split off.
- The two prices grew further and further apart.
- Ethereum Classic price = $16.69
- Ethereum price = $315.85
- Sooner or later, Ethereum will devour Ethereum Classic.
So, don’t worry too much about the 2018 ETC price forecast; it doesn’t hold a candle to the ETH price outlook. The same goes for the Bitcoin prediction.
Origin Stories: Bitcoin vs Ethereum
Another discrepancy in the “Bitcoin vs. Ethereum” argument is how each was formed.
Ethereum was originally designed by a young programmer named Vitalik Buterin. He laid out his vision in an historic white paper, and he regularly appears at conferences. This makes it slightly easier to trust an Ethereum price forecast for 2018, because the man responsible is a known quantity.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, was devised by a mysterious software programmer known as Satoshi Nakamoto. No one knows who he really is. Believe me, people have tried to find out, but it has been a wild goose chase every time.
At one point, reporters were chasing a man named Satoshi Nakamoto down a highway in Los Angeles, California. It eventually turned out they’d tracked down the wrong man.
Another time, an Australian man named Craig Wright claimed (in true Spartacus fashion) that he was the real Satoshi Nakamoto. He promised to release evidence, but never did. He backed out, saying that the attention was too much.
What a fiasco that was.
In any case, the evidence is overwhelmingly stacked in favor of a bullish ETC price predictions. From smart contracts to the ETC/ETH rotation, I firmly believe we could see the Ethereum price reach $1,000 during 2018.
