Funds remain conservative for the price of Ethereum (ETH) in 2025

Price predictions for Ethereum (ETH) are becoming more subdued and realistic, expecting a revisit of the $4,000 level in the coming months. Funds remain more conservative compared to influencers. 

Predictions for the price action of Ethereum (ETH) range between a lower bound of $5,500 and a bullish scenario of $16,000. Funds are more realistic and conservative, betting on the lower range, while influencers are more bullish. 

The predictions arrive at a time when ETH still trades close to its all-time low against Bitcoin (BTC), hovering at 0.027 BTC. In dollar terms, ETH is back to the $2,500 range despite expectations for a quick hike back to $4,000. 

After a negative performance in January, ETH traders bet on historically positive February results. However, ETH has been down over 22% for the month to date, while showing a few bullish factors that can help recover the losses. 

ETH predictions spark hopes of price recovery

At the end of 2025, Galaxy Research put its prediction for ETH at $5,500, the most conservative of all. The prediction was made while ETH was still in a higher range. 

VanEck had the next-best prediction, placing ETH at $6,000 toward the end of 2025. VanEck itself holds 46.49K ETH in its public wallets, linked to the Ethereum ETF. The fund carries the equivalent of over $120M in ETH, with a year-to-date loss of 22.41%. 

VanEck was bullish on DeFi and a rebound of NFT, in addition to a renewed ETH rally. The fund expected the peak of the bull market to arrive at the end of the year. Despite the bullish predictions, 2025 started with a slump in sentiment for ETH.

The third prediction is by Bitwise, with 85.67K ETH under management. Bitwise predicts ETH can climb to $7,000 in 2025. The fund is up 2,681% since inception, but down over 22% in the year to date, similar to other ETF. 

Influencers see $10,000 as feasible for ETH by the end of the year. Ryan Adams made the most recent prediction that ETH would reach that price range. Influencer Ash Crypto predicted at least $10,000 per ETH, with a higher range of $15,000. Influencer Quinten Francois is even more bullish, expecting a breakout soon and a hike as high as $20,000 by the end of the year. 

Some of the influencer predictions are based on the previous ETH bull run. However, the 2021 rally saw more optimism for the Ethereum ecosystem, while currently, liquidity and traffic are shifting to Solana. 

ETH abandons ultra-sound money narrative

The current production levels of new ETH reflect the slowdown of token burns. This resulted in a higher inflation of 0.72%, once again producing 16,805 new ETH each week. At this rate, the Ethereum chain will create over 937K new ETH in 12 months. 

Activity on Ethereum has also slowed down. Currently, ETH transfers and token transactions are the biggest gas burner, and even the Tether (USDT) smart contract has slowed down, burning around 71 ETH every 24 hours. Blob fees are also lower, burning just 54 ETH a day, down from 65 ETH a few days ago. 

ETH is still facing discussions on its future and the difference between being ultra-sound deflationary money and being a computation utility token. The Ethereum ecosystem relies on high-value locks to promise security while also generating liquidity. At the same time, ETH still fails to rally, instead facing selling pressure from whales. Traders consider ETH to be a suppressed asset, capable of even bigger rallies. 

One of the ongoing theories for ETH is that whales are waiting for retailers and sellers to capitulate while accumulating more coins. ETH remains a relatively expensive network, where only whales manage to easily turn a profit from DeFi or centralized trading. 

After the recent price slide to $2,500, crowd and retail sentiment are more bearish, while smart money sentiment switched to bullish again. ETH is still considered to be in an accumulation stage, though occasionally, whales and earlier buyers are still cashing out.

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