Will it Hit $3,000 by September’s End?

Ethereum is a decentralized network ranked second worldwide in terms of market cap. It is often cited as the network that will undoubtedly surpass Bitcoin. The reputation is largely passed on to its native token, Ether ($ETH). At the time of writing this article, the token’s value has increased by 2.87% to $2,656.49. Days after hovering around a lower mark of $2,300, ETH has presented an opportunity to fetch highs in the times to come. The first support level that it seeks is $3,000.

While ETH has surged since the announcement of the Federal Reserve’s rate cut, the pace at which it is growing is slower than expected. Interestingly, it has been able to outperform BTC several times. However, the growth remains uncertain.

Factors that are likely to affect the rise of ETH are staking and rising interest in options, on top of rate cuts.

For starters, a rate cut by the Federal Reserve enables investors to borrow funds and divert them to risky assets like cryptocurrencies. This fuels both liquidity and returns for the entire ecosystem. It instills a sense of confidence among ETH holders about the future potential of the token.

The rise in ETH staking is something that has reportedly taken an uptick since September 11, 2024. On that day, the US CPI data indicated a dovish outlook. It is estimated that almost 4,000 investors have demonstrated their interest by staking over 130,000 Ether tokens. An announcement about a rate cut on September 18, 2024, has only strengthened that confidence to further boost interest in the staking activity.

A recovery in the token value is accompanied by an increase in interest in options. Investors have purchased more than 20,000 call options contracts. The target is to break even the mark of $3,000 by December 27, 2024. Simply put, they are bullish about the future value of Ethereum tokens. The ecosystem’s resilience has also increased.

According to reports that have surfaced, around 61% of the Ether holders are still in profit. This is better in comparison to the bearish cycle of 2017. During the bear run, the number of profitable holders had dropped to 46%, compared to 3% in the 2017 cycle.

The influx of investors further signals that there is a rise in adoption across different institutes. This has cemented the near-term prediction, which states that ETH will rise by 4.24% in the next 5 days for a value of $2,773.41. Based on this, the Ethereum price prediction for the end of the year is projected to be $4,097. It could also land on $2,685—which is the worst-case scenario. Hence, less likely to happen.

Prevailing volatility is 5.55%, with an FGI of 50 points for neutral sentiments. The pace is under fire for being too slow. Given the circumstances, it could reach $3,000 by the end of September 2024, or at the most, by the middle of October 2024.