According to multiple industry analysts, Ethereum may be on its way to breaking above USD 4,000 again and setting a new all-time high. Global cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has reported that interest in derivatives for Ethereum is high and expects the token to reach new heights as early as Q1 2025. Ethereum activity is also increasing, with an average of 130,000 new addresses being confirmed on the network every day. In December. After all, some industry analysts believe that ETH will reach the new ATH sooner or later.
Riding the tailwind of breaking above US$4,000 (A$628,000), the crypto community is salivating at the potential of Ethereum, the king of DeFi. In a year dominated by Bitcoin, Ether has slowly gained momentum, rising 80% and adding several spot ETFs of its own.
The industry has seen a surge of momentum following the election of US President Donald Trump, and analysts believe ETH could gain traction in 2025.
It's been more than three years since Bitcoin's second-place all-time high, but will next quarter finally be Ether's time to shine?
Related: Analyst predicts Ethereum to hit record high of $5,000 amid Microsoft investment rumors
Ethereum performs well in derivatives as market stabilizes
Analysts at cryptocurrency exchange Bybit say Ethereum has strong momentum in derivatives following the market's “deleveraging” in mid-late November. As the crypto scene heated up after the election of President Donald Trump, a cooling down was inevitable as investors locked in profits and reduced exposure to leverage, a trading technique that can magnify gains and losses.
Now that things have calmed down a bit, Bybit's report believes traders are restarting derivative positions, especially in Ether. Ultimately, they suggest that Ethereum's pace could eventually match Bitcoin's – perhaps as early as next quarter.
ETH is showing strength in the derivatives market as expectations for a price catch-up are in full swing…[we expect] It will reach a new record high in the first quarter of 2025.
Bybit representative
Ethereum follows Bitcoin, but for how long?
Beyond improved derivatives markers, Ethereum has demonstrated several other strong growth indicators that suggest an impending push.
Ether typically falls behind BTC after a halving, historically within 8 months before outperforming Bitcoin and actually outperforming Bitcoin.
With eight months left until the 2024 halving, if history repeats itself, Ethereum is gearing up for a big event in January.
Of course, history doesn't always repeat itself, and with the focus on Bitcoin and regulation under Donald Trump's leadership, we may see fluctuations in market performance.
But that's not the only thing going well for Ethereum. On-chain activity spiked in December, with the protocol enjoying its highest spike in new wallet addresses in eight months. (That number keeps coming up…)
So far in December, an average of approximately 130,200 new addresses have been confirmed on Ether's DeFi network every day.
📈 Ethereum has the highest level of new wallet creation in 8 months. With an average of 132,000 new addresses appearing on the network each day so far in December, ETH is receiving renewed interest not seen since April. pic.twitter.com/sLPy8yeWtl
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) December 13, 2024
However, Ether's first step is to maintain above USD 4,000 (AU$63,000), which it has not yet managed.
