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Ethereum To Close 2025 Under $10K
Amid a raft of calls for Ethereum to clinch $10,000 before the end of the year, Citigroup analysts have predicted that the asset will not reach five figures. According to a new report, the Wall Street firm’s analysts are forecasting $6,400 as the bull case scenario for the second-largest cryptocurrency.
While the dour prediction has dampened the hearts of investors, Citigroup’s analysts peg the base case for the end-of-year price at $4,300 with the asset trading near the $4,500 mark. Meanwhile, the firm predicts that the worst-case scenario for ETH is a price point of $2,200, mirroring the lows of Q1 2025.
While macroeconomic factors are poised to play a significant role in determining Ethereum’s price by the end of the year, the report noted that network activity will be the key driver. Currently, Citigroup’s quants have highlighted that while network activity has shown an uptick, a significant portion is occurring on Ethereum layer 2 networks.
According to their analysis, only 30% of layer-2 activity contributes to ETH’s valuation, putting current price performance above its network activity-based model. Furthermore, the analyst points to industry chatter around tokenization and stablecoins as justification for its bull and base-case scenarios.
With fresh stablecoin legislation in the US and growing tokenization interest, analysts expect the buzz to carry on till the end of the year.
 
Meanwhile, Citi’s analysts have pointed to rising Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows as a key catalyst for the current price performance. However, given the superiority of Bitcoin ETF volumes, Citigroup predicts that ETH will not reach $10K in 2025.
As equities are inching toward Citigroup’s S&P 500 target, analysts are not expecting any major disruptions from risk assets.
ETH Treasury Companies Fuel Growth Speculation
After starting the year with a dip in institutional adoption for Ethereum, corporate adoption for the largest altcoin has surged over two quarters. Several publicly listed companies have unveiled Ethereum treasuries, with the total strategic reserve surging to a valuation of $22.6 billion.
The combined effect of increased Ethereum treasury companies and ETF inflows has seen ETH end its 8-year downtrend against Bitcoin. At the moment, the Ethereum price is up by 91% over the last year, but despite a glowing run, analysts are forecasting an end to the meteoric growth spurt.