The firm now controls about 3.4% of Ethereum's circulating supply. Lee projects ETH could reach $7,000 to $9,000 by early 2026, with a longer-term path toward $20,000 as Wall Street embraces blockchain infrastructure. In a separate forecast, Lee even floated a $250,000 ETH scenario, though over a much longer horizon.
But market analysts, including Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered's head of digital assets, predict Ethereum will reach and surpass its all-time high. Kendrick has forecasted that Ethereum could reach $7,500 before the end of the year and go as high as $25,000 by 2028.
So, how high will ethereum go? The evidence points toward significant appreciation potential through 2026 and beyond, with realistic targets between $7,500-$10,000 in the next 12-18 months and $15,000-$25,000 by 2030.
Hayes outlined his price prediction—centered on his expectation of major money printing during President Donald Trump's time in office—on the Crypto Banter podcast hosted by crypto personality Ran Neuner this week, ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole on Friday.
Here's how Ethereum could reach $25,000 or more. In August 2025, analysts at Standard Chartered raised their forecasts for Ethereum (ETH +0.82%). The firm published a note saying it could reach $25,000 by the end of 2028 -- an upside of over 730% on today's price.
Market context
Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat, CIO of Fundstrat Capital and chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), told CoinDesk last month that ETH could reach $15,000 by the end of 2025.
Ethereum is unlikely to reach the $50,000 mark in the next few years. However, blockchain development, bullish trends in the market, and increased demand for the coin can guarantee that ETH will hit this mark by 2032 and strengthen it in 2034.
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, also believes that $10,000 Ethereum by the end of 2025 seems well within reach. In a July blog post, Hayes laid out his thesis, tying the potential price surge to U.S. President Donald Trump's economic policies and what he describes as a shift to a wartime economy.
Arthur Hayes Predicts Final BTC Price Dip Under $80K
Despite the pullback, Hayes indicated he is considering small accumulation but plans to delay larger purchases until early next year. Hayes says macro liquidity trends are showing early signs of improvement, while highlighting two key developments.
Standard Chartered's Geoff Kendrick revises his year-end Bitcoin forecast to $100,000 from $200,000 by late 2025. Kendrick maintains a long-term Bitcoin forecast of $500,000, now expected by 2030 instead of 2028.
So, it will increase demand, and probably send prices a bit higher. So, that's why I expect the coin to hit $4,000 or more sometime in 2026, assuming broader risk appetite does not collapse.
Investing $100 in Ethereum is a small entry point into the Cryptocurrency market. While there's potential for high returns, Ethereum's price is volatile. Researching Ethereum's technology and the broader market is crucial. Consider dollar-cost averaging to minimise risk.
There's no universal answer to whether Bitcoin or Ethereum is "better" – they serve different purposes and may appeal to different trading strategies. Bitcoin may be more suitable if you're interested in trading a simpler value proposition focused on digital scarcity.
A more realistic outlook places Ethereum between $10,000 and $25,000 by the end of this decade. This range assumes steady network adoption, regulatory clarity in key markets, and modest ETF participation.
Bitcoin had risen for five days at a stretch since Jan. 1, reaching a high of $94,825 on Jan. 5, where the price encountered resistance. Given the drop in Q4, 2025, when Bitcoin plunged near the $80,000 support, the outlook for 2026 remains mixed, with predictions ranging from $60,000 to $250,000.
McGlone Draws 2018 Comparison
He said he believes the market could return to $10,000 if pressure continues across risk assets. He argued that expanding token supply, late-cycle ETF inflows and a weaker macro backdrop leave the market vulnerable to a similar breakdown.
In July 2022, Tesla quietly dumped roughly 75% of its Bitcoin holdings, worth about $936 million, during a period of macroeconomic uncertainty and market stress.
Taking a buy-and-hold position in Bitcoin five years ago would have delivered massive returns for investors. As of this writing, Bitcoin is up 962.3% over the period. That means that a $1,000 investment in the token made half a decade ago would now be worth more than $10,620.
Hayes has a strong track record, having accurately predicted Bitcoin's rise past $100,000 in 2024 and forecasting $1 million by 2028.
Ethereum's path to $30,000 will depend on many factors, including adoption, network upgrades, market sentiment and macroeconomic conditions. Whether it hits this milestone or not, Tom Lee's Ethereum price prediction highlights the growing trust that Ethereum remains a key player in the changing crypto landscape.
Quantum threat to Ethereum. As described above, the security of Ethereum (and many other cryptocurrencies) is based on the one-way relation between the private key and the address. A quantum computer using Shor's algorithm is expected to break the one-way relation between the private and the public keys.
Ethereum might not just be a leading smart contract platform anymore — according to Vivek Raman, co-founder and CEO of Etherealize, it could reach a price target of $15,000 by 2026 as traditional finance embraces tokenization, stablecoins, and Layer-2 adoption.
To overtake bitcoin, ethereum would need to trade near USD 20,000. Fundstrat analyst Sean Ferrell sees the possibility of the ETH/BTC ratio returning to 0.14, as in the 2021 peak, which would put ETH in the USD 16,000 range.
5 years ago: If you invested $1,000 in Ethereum in 2020, your investment would be worth $11,145. 10 years ago: If you invested $1,000 in Ethereum in 2015 when it traded at $1.27, your investment would be worth nearly $3.4 million.
The centerpiece asset of this financial system is the ETH token, and in our updated base case, we believe it to be worth $22k by 2030, representing a total return of 487% from today's ETH price, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37.8%.