Ethereum (ETH) joined Bitcoin (BTC) in a notable price recovery, managing to reclaim the $3,000 mark. This resurgence could signify a pivotal moment for the altcoin, suggesting a potential new uptrend. However, investors remain divided on whether ETH could face further declines or whether an end-of-year rebound could reignite bullish sentiment.
ETH struggles in December
In order to anticipate the likely movements of Ethereum in December, Alex Carchidi, analyst at The Motley Fool, Remarks that this month has traditionally been a difficult month for cryptocurrency. Since 2016, Ethereum has only ended December in four of the nine years studied.
In the remaining five cases, the month ended in negative territory. The average December return over this period is around 7%, indicating that a strong “Santa rally” is unlikely. The median performance shows a drop of 6%.
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Examining the relationship between November and December reveals a more intriguing trend. Between 2016 and 2024, while November was weak during ETHDecember often followed suit, with three out of four cases showing declines.
The only exception was in 2018, when Ethereum rebounded in December after a particularly severe downturn in November. This historical context suggests that a poor performance in November could extend into December, making a happy month less likely.
But even though December’s performance has been historically mixed, the start of the year has generally shown strong potential for Ethereum price, particularly in the first and second quarters.
Actually, average yields tend to peak in the first quarter at around 77% and in the second quarter at around 64%, indicating that there could still be significant growth on the horizon for the leading altcoin.
Tom Lee predicts Ethereum will hit $7,000
Amid this hypothetical scenario, Tom Lee, president of BitMine Immersion Technologies and one of the industry’s leading advocates, predicted a bright future for Ethereum in the short and long term.
The executive estimates that the cryptocurrency could reach $7,000 per coin by the first quarter of 2026, reflecting a price rise of almost 150% from its current value.
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Lee is even more optimistic about the long term, predicting that if his vision of a decentralized financial system materializes, the price of Ethereum could soar 2,090% to $62,000 by 2035.
After a difficult year in which ETH significantly underperformed its peers, it has shown increased resilience, particularly after the recent crypto price crash that saw the token’s valuation plummet to $2,600 last Friday.
Currently, ETH is trading just above $3,000. While this is not optimistic enough to surpass the recent crash, ETH is in position to recover significantly if demand and capital return to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at the end of the year.
Featured image of DALL-E, chart by TradingView.com
