Despite the 2022 inflation-driven downturn, investing markets are strong. If you invested $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund four years ago, you'd now have $2,167. Since May 2020, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) incentives have been halved, causing another cycle of price rises and moderation. Three months ago, spot-price Bitcoin ETFs were approved. Thus, $1,000 of Bitcoin has grown to $10,690 in four years.
Neither Bitcoin nor the stock market could compete with Ethereum. Your digital wallet would have $26,800 if you invested $1,000 in the leading smart contract currency in April 2020. The cryptocurrency is valued $3,430 per coin, up from $1,800 last year and $133 in early April 2020.
However, past performance does not guarantee future outcomes. Does Ethereum have any game-changing movements like Bitcoin's 50% mining incentive cut? Will this digital asset keep beating the market in 2024 and beyond? These two important questions are answered "yes" and "I wouldn't be surprised." Check out Ethereum's developer community's upcoming moves and what investors should expect from this crypto veteran.
ETFs expand crypto boundaries from Bitcoin to Ethereum. First, those 11-spot Bitcoin ETFs may have paved the way for new cryptocurrency funds. Many investing businesses in January's approval round have applied to the SEC to offer Ethereum-based ETFs quickly.
However, some Ethereum ETF sponsors aren't rushing. Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan gave Ethereum ETF approvals a 50% chance in May 2024, but he may prefer December. Market makers and investors are still adjusting to Bitcoin ETFs. Launching another big-name bitcoin ETF into this hot market could backfire.
“It's just hard to get people to focus past Bitcoin at this point from professional investors,” Hougan told Forbes last weekend. Allow traditional banking time to get used to bitcoin and crypto, and they will be ready for the next thing. But if you force it on them in May, they may not."
The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (NYSEMKT: BITB) creator expects Wall Street to want Ethereum ETFs after the Bitcoin craze fades down. Bitwise filed for Ethereum ETF clearance last Friday, waiting to assess Ethereum's long-term potential.
Ethereum should follow Bitcoin's market movements. Initial approval timing may matter. However, after the two major cryptocurrencies have grown through the growing pains of this new investing method, the asset class should be stronger and more accessible to investors who can't or won't acquire cryptocurrencies directly.
The projected infusion of deep-pocketed institutional investors might transform Bitcoin and Ethereum. I don't know if these micro-dramas will happen in 2024, 2025, or later. Ethereum's technical improvements are underway, but regulators' glacial pace affects timing and details of ETF licenses. Ethereum's price triggers include technological advancements to the blockchain network's running code, which the community controls
A major improvement occurred on March 13. The Dencun update adds shard blob transactions, which aggregate unrelated Ethereum transactions for easy processing. The goal is to speed up processing and cut transaction fees in gradual steps to improve the network.
According to Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum's next phase is "The Purge." Last month, Buterin blogged on how removing obsolete security routines will increase transaction data space in Ethereum contracts. Always slow and steady, the final cleanup is scheduled "a few years down the line."
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