Despite rising over 65% year-over-year (YTD), Ethereum (ETH) has been overshadowed by Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies like Solana (SOL) and XRP due to their extraordinary price gains throughout 2024.
Analysts are increasingly bullish on ETH, projecting five-digit price targets for the second-largest cryptocurrency.
Will Ethereum finally have its moment?
The leading smart contract platform has seen relatively modest performance in 2024. ETH was trading at $2,350 on January 1, priced just above $3,800, representing gains of over 65%.
However, a 65% annual increase is often considered average in the crypto industry, especially during a bull market. Today, crypto analysts are increasingly suggesting that ETH’s breakout moment may finally be approaching.
For example, prominent crypto analyst and trader @CryptoKaleo on Furthermore, the analyst predicted that the ETH/BTC trading ratio could reach 0.1 by January 2025.
As a reminder, the ETH/BTC trading pair – commonly referred to as the ETH/BTC ratio – measures the performance of ETH relative to BTC. A higher ratio indicates that ETH is outperforming Bitcoin, while a lower ratio suggests the opposite.
Looking at the weekly chart below, ETH has been in a prolonged downtrend against BTC since at least September 2022. However, the pair now sits at a multi-year support level around 0.038 and is expected to rebound from the BTC in the coming weeks.
On a shorter time frame, crypto observer @TheLongInvestor noted that ETH has moved back above the upper trendline of a symmetrical triangle formation on the daily chart. The analyst suggested that a break above $4,100 could allow ETH to challenge its all-time high (ATH) of $4,865.
ETH funding rates return to neutral levels
Another interesting observation comes from the Byzantine General’s crypto analyst, who highlighted that despite the constant upward movement in ETH prices, its futures base and perpetual swap funding rates have been reset to neutral levels.
In other words, the market does not appear to be overly speculative or resorting to long positions, even though the price of ETH has been steadily increasing. This reset could indicate healthier market conditions and the possibility of further upward movement, without the risk of excessive leverage triggering volatility.
In addition bullish chart patterns, ETH fundamentals are strengthening. A recent report noted a significant increase in Ethereum’s net stake inflows, further strengthening its long-term value proposition. At press time, ETH is trading at $3,925, down 0.8% over the past 24 hours.
Featured image from Unsplash.com, charts from X and TradingView.com
