Ethereum Ethereum
The Ethereum network has seen significant growth in recent years, albeit not in the same level as that of Bitcoin. Ethereum Website/Screenshot

KEY POINTS

  • VanEck analysts said Ether can be viewed as "Programmable Money"
  • The analysts highlighted the Ethereum network's success as a digital economy
  • Some X users, including Mythos Capital's founder, questioned the "bearish" projection

Analysts at investment management firm VanEck have set their price target for Ether (ETH) at $22,000 by 2030, citing an expected "rapid market share growth" in the Ethereum network driven by traditional financial participants.

"We believe ETH is a revolutionary asset with few parallels in the non-crypto financial world. ETH can be thought of as 'Digital Oil' because it is consumed by engaging activity on Ethereum. ETH can also be viewed as 'Programmable Money' as the financialization of ETH and other Ethereum assets can occur automatically, without any intermediary or censorship, on the Ethereum blockchain," VanEck analysts led by the company's Head of Digital Assets Research, Matthew Sigel, wrote Wednesday.

The analysts explained that they see Ether, the native digital asset of the Ethereum blockchain, moving toward a "credible path to $66B in free cash flow to token holders" that will support a $2.2 trillion asset by the year 2030. The said figures represent a staggering total return of 487% from today's ETH prices, and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37.8%.

They further noted the Ethereum network has become a successful digital economy that attracts some 20 million active users monthly and such success "threatens to disrupt" some of the biggest existing financial infrastructure and Big Tech platforms such as Apple and Google.

VanEck analysts went on to highlight some of the Ethereum blockchain's key features, including its revenue generation at $3.4 billion that is higher than the revenue of Etsy at $2.7 billion. Also, they said the network has more monthly active users than Instacart, which only has some 14 million monthly active users.

Ether users on X (formerly Twitter) had mixed reactions to VanEck's price target for the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, but most were unhappy.

Ryan Sean Adams, the founder of crypto fund Mythos Capital, said the projection was "so bearish." Another crypto user said $22,000 is a "small target." Prominent Bitcoin and Ether investor @chalexov2016 said VanEck analysts may have been mistaken and meant the price target was for 2025, not 2030.

The latest price projection from VanEck, a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer and an applicant for a spot Ether ETF, comes over a week after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the 19b-4 filings of exchanges seeking to trade and sell Ethereum ETFs.

Ahead of the approval, VanEck confirmed that the regulator had started issuing its comments on Ether ETF applications. Before the comments were provided to applying issuers, the Wall Street regulator had largely been silent, making some applicants, VanEck included, bearish of the funds' approval this year.

As of writing, Ether is trading at around $3,800.

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