A 24-year-old derivatives trader and crypto startup executive who bought Ethereum (ETH) at $45 explains why the token won’t reach $5,000 for at least 2 more years.
How did you meet Ethereum?
Leading altcoin Ethereum hit an all-time high of $4,847.54 last year. Seeing this, many investors jumped into Ethereum. Joshua Fernando, a former S&P Global senior partner and derivatives trader, bought ETH at $45 in 2016. This means an increase of 10,672.31% when it reaches its record price.
Like most people, Fernando was skeptical when he first heard about Ethereum. However, his big cousin poured his savings into ETH and the investment doubled. According to this, the 24-year-old also thought of allocating it to ETH. Fernando says he sells his Ethereum when he gets 20% returns. He adds that as a professional trader, his ‘risk tolerance is extremely low’. But later bought it again. It has continued to invest at an average dollar cost ever since.
“5 thousand dollars until 2024 is difficult for Ethereum”
Years later, Fernando started eCarbon, a Blockchain company focused on environmental products. Even after that, he sees more long-term potential in tier-1 than ever before. However, Fernando predicts it won’t reach $5,000 until at least 2024. The leading altcoin is trading around $1,632.45 on Thursday.
But this is a change from exciting crypto executives and firms that want crypto prices to rise at exponential rates. As we covered in the cryptokoin.com news, in a survey conducted by Finder, some fintech experts predicted that ETH could reach over $50,000 by 2030. Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of crypto loan firm Nexo, said that Bitcoin could reach $100,000 in ’12 months’.
Why: High correlation with traditional stocks
Most of Fernando’s predictions are based on macroeconomic factors. He says Ethereum won’t start to fully recover from its slump until traditional markets recover. The Federal Reserve has promised to squash inflation with rate hikes. That’s why investors everywhere are wary of speculative bets. Fernando says:
To really see this, I think we need to see the real traditional stock market come alive every year in a bull market fashion.
Meanwhile, Fernando says that as crypto becomes more ‘mainstream’, investors will treat their crypto investments like traditional stocks. He adds that this will bring the correlation between the two even closer. According to Fernando, it’s a problem that people think of Ethereum as just another technology investment.
Is Ethereum Merge a hope?
According to experts, it is possible that Ethereum’s highly anticipated series of network upgrades called The Merge will also contribute to the general adoption of its network. Merge is scheduled for September. This upgrade will transform the network from an energy-intensive PoW to a proof-of-PoS mechanism.
However, amid crypto’s rocky market cycle, the asset class has shown signs of potential recovery. According to Messari, Ethereum is up 42% last month, while Bitcoin is up 17% in the same time frame. This follows a string of bearish news for the space that has brought both institutional and individual investors to systemic risks to the ecosystem and contagion concerns. Last month, central lender Celsius and brokerage firm Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy.
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