Ethereum (ETH) could see its value skyrocket to between $12,000 and $22,000 by the end of this decade.
Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, anticipates that the Ethereum network could generate up to $66 billion in annual free cash flow by 2030. This substantial revenue stream, he believes, could drive ETH's price to as high as $22,000 per token.
Meanwhile, David Kroger, a data scientist at StoneX, offers a more conservative yet still optimistic outlook, projecting ETH prices to reach approximately $4,600 over the next 18 months, with potential upside to $12,621.
These estimates are rooted in the expected value accrual to ETH holders from transaction fees as Ethereum processes an increasingly larger share of global transactions.
Sigel highlighted Ethereum's impressive performance, noting that it processed roughly $4 trillion in settlement value over the past year, in addition to $5 trillion in stablecoin transfers annually. "This is far bigger than PayPal and is beginning to approach networks like Visa," Sigel remarked during a September 10 StoneX panel.
The analysts' projections take into account various ETH value accrual mechanisms, including the "burning" of a portion of transaction fees and the emission of new ETH to reward network stakers. Since its launch in 2015, Ethereum has generated $3 billion in fees denominated in ETH, according to Sigel.
Both analysts emphasized the growing demand for decentralized alternatives to traditional financial systems, particularly outside the United States. Kroger noted that this demand is "more pronounced outside the U.S. because of the damage done to the credibility of the US dollar."