Ether could eventually hit $1.5 million per token, and its next price gain “could catch everyone off guard,” according to EMJ Capital founder Eric Jackson.
“Our analysis suggests the ETH network is underpriced,” Jackson said in a series of X posts on Sunday. “Ethereum is quietly becoming the dominant rail system to transact in crypto with deflationary economics.”
He said that the potential approval of Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds that feature staking in the US and the use of the blockchain by large financial companies could be catalysts for a “10-bagger plus move is in the cards over the coming years,” meaning its value will increase tenfold.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission allowed the launch of Ether ETFs in July 2024, and analysts speculate that the regulator will approve ETH products that include staking this year.
Ether staking ETF approval not priced in
Jackson said that many wrongly believe ETH has priced in approval of the US ETFs as they’ve “been a big bust” compared to Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs.
To date, US spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded $6.9 billion in volume, compared to $1.41 billion in volume for their Ether counterparts, according to CoinGlass.
“The real catalyst is still ahead: staking approval, expected before October,” Jackson said.
“Once ETH becomes a productive, staked asset within an ETF wrapper… It’s no longer just ‘digital oil.’ It’s an institutional-grade yield product.”
He added the ETF would compound Ether’s “already deflationary tokenomics” as the cryptocurrency’s circulating supply would be cut with flows from traditional finance and increased staking demand.
“ETH commerce” will see price rise to $1.5 million
Jackson said that ETH could eventually rise to $1.5 million if major companies that use the blockchain continue to grow.
He noted that stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group, crypto exchange Coinbase, e-commerce platform Shopify, and trading platform Robinhood all use or grant their users access to use the Ethereum network.
Jackson said if traders believe in the continued growth of those firms and that “some part of commerce stays in crypto and moves away from fiat, then you believe in ETH.”
“If this conversion to ETH commerce truly happens (and I believe it will), then ETH goes to $1.5M over time.”
Ether could be a “100-bagger” on DeFi, L2 breakouts
Jackson said his and his company’s “base case” for Ether would see the token hit $10,000 by “the end of this cycle,” which is typically thought of in four-year blocks and puts the current bull run as ending in March 2026.
He added that his firm’s “bull case” would see Ether hit $15,000, on the condition that adoption of layer 2 blockchains and ETH inflows “beat expectations on the new staking approval expected before October.
Jackson said his prediction doesn’t assume there will be any breakouts in decentralized finance, stablecoins, or higher use of Robinhood and Coinbase’s layer 2 networks, adding that the addition of those factors would make ETH “a 100-bagger.”
Ether is currently trading around $3,040, up 2.8% in the past 24 hours, rallying alongside Bitcoin, which hit a new peak of $120,000 early on Monday, according to Nansen.
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