Economy
Buy Ethereum Now as Value May Hit $7,609 in 2022—Experts
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A report by Finder.com has projected that the price of Ethereum (ETH) will likely reach $7,609 in 2022 and could fall to $6,000 by the end of the year due to heavy competition.
In its Ethereum Price Predictions Report, Finder.com’s panel of 33 fintech, cryptocurrency and NFT specialists predicted that ETH will peak at roughly 102 per cent higher than its price at the beginning of the year, advising investors to hold the digital coin.
But the Permission chief product officer Vanessa Harris thinks the move to the proof-of-stake model (PoS) will lead to a significant decrease in ETH’s price and predicts ETH will be worth just $100 by 2030.
“Ethereum has the strongest ecosystem of any smart contract platform but is plagued by high gas fees and low scalability. The move to Proof of Stake is unlikely to solve Ethereum’s scalability challenges though, and we should look to L2s and side chains to support ETH scalability,” she said.
As for the founder of Finder, Fred Schebesta, he predicts ETH will peak at $7,000 before dropping to $6,000 by the end of 2022 due to heavy competition.
“While the network certainly has advantages in global market awareness and developer base, it is also against increasingly strong competition that Bitcoin does not face by contrast,” he stated.
University of Brighton senior lecturer Paul Levy thinks ETH could go as high as $9,000 and will end the year at around $8,000.
“Ethereum, if it stays on top of technical and innovation challenges, will continue potentially erratic growth with the potential to thrive in the medium to longer term. It is an early innovation success story and that innovation potential needs to be matched by further innovation capability,” he said.
Longer-term, the panel predicts ETH will be worth $10,810 by the end of 2025, and $26,338 by the end of 2030. Though significant increases from ETH’s current price, these are 30 per cent and 48 per cent lower respectively than the panel’s predictions in October 2021.
Ethereum’s anticipated move to a PoS will likely lead to a price drop, according to one in ten panellists (11 per cent), while 79 per cent say the move will increase ETH’s price and the remaining 11 per cent say there’ll be no impact or they’re unsure.
Overall 19 per cent of the panel say it’s time to sell ETH, compared to just 10 per cent who say it’s time to sell Bitcoin (BTC). Meanwhile, 52 per cent say it’s time to buy Ethereum, and 30 per cent hold.
The Panxora Group CEO Gavin Smith expects a price drop following the move to PoS and thinks it’s time to sell.
“The improvements provided by proof of stake will not outweigh the negative impact of excessive gas prices. The change made recently to gas calculations will cancel out any reduction in gas prices that proof of stake would have provided.
“ETH is likely to be surpassed by a number of other smart contract blockchain protocols over the next 5 years,” he added.
Meanwhile, Thomson Reuters’ technologist and futurist Joseph Raczynski is part of the majority who says PoS will lead to an increase in ETH’s price and says ETH will cost $8,000 by the end of 2022, before reaching $15,000 by the end of 2025.
“Scalability and throughput are king, but doing this in a decentralised manner with security is critical – POS on ETH in 2022 should get them there.”
CoinSmart CEO and co-founder Justin Hartzman agrees with Raczynski but gave a slightly lower prediction of $7,500 for the end of 2022. He adds that the only real concern he has regarding PoS is the speed of its rollout.
“If the Ethereum 2.0 model is successful and PoS is properly implemented, we can expect ETH to moon real hard. My only concern is the speed of the rollout. Ethereum tends to be a bit slow with its updates, however, the community mostly supports any and all of their initiatives,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south for the fourth consecutive session after it shed 1.18 per cent on Friday, March 13.
The unlisted securities market recorded a loss despite closing without a price decliner, and ending with two price gainers led by Geo Fluids Plc, which gained 1o Kobo to sell at N3.10 per share compared with the previous day’s N3.00 per share. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc appreciated during the session by 2 Kobo to trade at 54 Kobo per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of 52 Kobo per unit.
When the market closed for the day, the market capitalisation lost N29.83 billion to close at N2.489 trillion compared with the N2.519 trillion it finished a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) crashed by 49.84 points to 4,160.46 points from 4,210.31 points.
Market activity improved yesterday, as the volume of transactions rose 179.5 per cent to 10.4 million units from 3.7 million units, but the value of trades declined by 68.4 per cent to N29.9 million from N95.0 million, while the number of deals weakened by 11.5 per cent to 46 deals from 52 deals.
Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 38.4 million units worth N2.4 billion, Okitipupa Plc followed with 6.4 million units traded at N1.1 billion, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc transacted 6.3 million units for N584.3 million.
Resourcery Plc ended the trading session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.6 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 130.8 million units valued at N504.5 million, and CSCS Plc with 38.4 million units worth N2.4 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira continued to claw back some gains against the Dollar in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market, as its value was strengthened on Friday.
In the black market, it gained N10 against the United States Dollar yesterday to close at N1,400/$1 compared with the preceding day’s rate of N1,410/$1, and at the GTBank forex counter, it chalked up N6 to close at N1,385/$1, in contrast to the N1,391/$1 it was traded a day earlier.
Similarly, in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it appreciated against the greenback during the session by N5.28 or 0.38 per cent to quote at N1,366.23/$1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,371.51/$1.
It also improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market on Friday by N21.81 to settle at N1,812.99/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,834.80/£1, and gained N13.86 against the Euro to sell at N1,568.03/€1 versus N1,581.89/€1.
Pressure eased further on the FX market as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continued interventionist operations this week, selling Dollars to banks to boost liquidity after a $500 million boost last week.
This was complemented by inflows from foreign investors, exporters and non-bank corporates, among others, while Nigeria’s gross external reserves remained above $50 billion, the highest since 2009.
The Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, also eased fears of a Naira devaluation, saying the country’s financial system has been strengthened by reforms.
Regardless, external pressure looms as the US Dollar strengthened globally due to its war with Iran, now ongoing for three weeks.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely down as traders and investors continue to align with current realities.
The market is adapting to the conflict in real time. Early in the war, every headline produced an outsized reaction because nobody could price the tail risk. Now, traders have a framework where strikes happen, oil spikes and bitcoin dips only to recover again.
Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 3.8 per cent to $0.2623, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 1.7 per cent to finish at $0.0948, Ripple (XRP) slumped 1.5 per cent to $1.39, Solana (SOL) dropped 1.4 per cent to sell for $87.33, Binance Coin (BNB) went down by 1.3 per cent to $653.58, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 1.1 per cent to $70,670.63, and Ethereum (ETH) decreased by 0.9 per cent to $2,078.78.
However, TRON (TRX) appreciated by 1.7 per cent to $0.2941, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The price of the major crude oil grade, Brent crude oil, closed above $100 on Friday for the second consecutive session, as the Iran war heads toward its third week, with oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz still effectively at a standstill.
It gained 2.67 per cent or $2.68 during the trading day to close at $103.14 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil grade appreciated by 3.11 per cent or $2.98 to settle at $98.71 per barrel.
Brent futures were up about 10 per cent for the week following the 27 per cent rise seen last week, which marked the biggest weekly gain in oil prices since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. WTI futures, which saw their best week since 1983 last week, ended the week more than 8 per cent higher.
US President Donald Trump said American forces launched a major bombing raid on Iran’s strategic Kharg Island, targeting military facilities on the key Persian Gulf outpost while warning Iran that its vital oil infrastructure could be destroyed if shipping in the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted.
The terminal accounts for roughly 90 per cent of Iranian crude shipments, loading millions of barrels per day onto tankers bound largely for Asian markets.
The US and Israel’s strikes in the conflict have largely targeted Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure. Oil facilities elsewhere in Iran have been hit, but Kharg’s massive storage tanks, jetties, and pipelines had remained untouched until the latest strike.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed to keep fighting in a message delivered via state television.
There have been a number of attacks on foreign ships in or near the Strait, feeding into concerns that a prolonged war could translate to a global economic shock.
Prices are rising despite the US and its allies rolling out some measures to keep a lid on energy costs.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has agreed to release 400 million stockpiled barrels, the largest such action in history.
The US has issued a 30-day waiver for India to purchase sanctioned oil from Russia. President Donald Trump is considering loosening rules under the Jones Act that require American ships to transport goods between domestic ports, including oil and gas, in an effort to lower costs.
Traders are continuing to monitor developments in the Middle East.
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