Ethereum is here to stay: there are no more doubts. The digital asset works on a principle of constant evolution, and many investors choose it over Bitcoin, which is considered to be the top cryptocurrency in the world. According to Binance, Ethereum is currently valued at $2,404.60, but analysts state that the 2nd digital asset could soon reach $5,000. Different factors could drive this surge, including market trends and the roadmap of the cryptocurrency’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin. 

Last year, Ethereum experienced a significant price increase of 30%, which was a milestone after its major decline in 2022. While the digital asset’s value is still far from its peak, industry enthusiasts believe that it will bring huge returns in the future. 

Buterin’s vision for Ethereum: what changes to expect in the cryptocurrency’s ecosystem? 

Vitalik Buterin has offered valuable insights into Ethereum’s direction for the future.  The cryptocurrency is a top player in the industry, and its roadmap points to developments that could further propel its price. Ethereum’s co-founder posted about the project’s blueprint for 2024, indicating that there will definitely be continuity in the platform’s development – just as promised.

The Merge was a significant event in the crypto industry, which everyone still remembers clearly, as it saw the shift from the PoW consensus mechanism to the PoS model. In 2024, the network will implement a single slot finality, also known as SSF, which aims to resolve Ethereum’s existing weaknesses. Simply put, the role of SSF is to make block validation more efficient, namely decreasing time-to-finality by 15 minutes, which, according to Buterin, is the simplest way to fix Ethereum’s issues and increase the security and dependability of the network. 

Another improvement in 2024 is related to the Surge. As Buterin stated, the cross-rollup standards and interoperability represent a priority, as they are areas that will see long-term developments. This year, rollup scaling will undergo significant transformations, bringing Ethereum closer to handling multiple transactions per second. 

But Ethereum’s roadmap doesn’t end with the Surge – the Scourge aims to tackle centralization issues in the network’s PoS design, specifically around liquid staking or pooling as well as MEV (maximal extractable value). Buterin also mentioned the Verge when presenting its future vision for Ethereum, stating that the improvements will be centered around facilitating block verification. As Verkle trees are getting ready for inclusion, verifying blocks could be done in only a few steps, namely downloading data bytes, carrying out basic computations, and performing verification of SNARK (a succinct, non-interactive argument of knowledge). 

Finally, the Purge would remove technical debts in the network, limit participation costs, and make the protocol less complicated, and the Splurge would resolve the rest of the issues. 

Will Ethereum dominate the crypto industry in 2024? 

Ethereum experienced an all-time high of $4,892 in November 2021, with the token increasing by 150,000% from its initial price. Those who adopted the asset early enjoyed massive returns at that time. However, afterward, Ethereum went through many ups and downs, and the crypto winter significantly affected its price, which dropped considerably. Although there’s been a difficult journey, investors still expect the best for the digital asset. Its potential is massive and no one can argue on that. Considering the steady rise that Ethereum experienced recently, as well as the future developments highlighted by Buterin, there could indeed be a significant uptick in the cryptocurrency’s price. 

In fact, many believe Ethereum could shine brighter than ever this year due to a trend where Bitcoin’s price skyrocketed before the halving event, boosting other altcoins’ value as well. Projects like Optimism and Arbitrum are only contributing to the positive sentiment around Ethereum. If Ethereum keeps experiencing a growth trajectory, reaching $5,000 wouldn’t be impossible. 

How should investors approach ETH in 2024?

Although Ethereum is a promising project, investors should practice caution – just as with any other speculative asset. It’s essential to remember that significant risks are involved, and even if Ethereum seems to have a bright future, it’s just a possible scenario, not a reality. It could come true or not, and it’s impossible to know how things will turn out for the project. But, of course, if you believe in it, Ethereum could prove lucrative once its developments are completed.

Ethereum is not just a cryptocurrency – it is an innovation host, enabling new fascinating projects to be built on it, including microgrids, crypto collectibles, healthcare records, electric vehicles and so on. So, if you want to stay ahead of the curve and believe in the need for sustainable management and energy production, it may be worth buying Ethereum. Besides, Ethereum provides smart contracts, which secure ownership of assets like luxury cars, artwork, homes and much more. Thanks to them, foreign investors can avoid the system’s bureaucracy and seamlessly order to own an asset in a different country simply by using an Ethereum contract. If that’s not innovative, then what else is? 

With all these Ethereum features in mind, the question of whether you should buy the asset seems to have a simple answer: any investor should have it in their portfolio. But things aren’t as simple. Even if it is innovative, Ethereum has downsides and experiences high volatility. Therefore, if you want to buy it, make sure you understand what that really means. 

The bottom line

The scenario where Ethereum reaches $ 5,000 is a matter of speculation. While it’s not implausible for Ethereum to exceed its previous all-time high, there is still inherent uncertainty in the market. Ethereum holds promise but requires a cautious lens, as different factors paint a complex canvas for how the asset could perform in the future. 

It’s worth keeping an eye on Ethereum to see how it advances, and it may be a good idea also to buy it (if you are in the financial position to do so), but don’t only bet on it throughout your crypto journey. Other assets are just as promising, and it will be safer to have multiple investments instead of sticking only to Ethereum. And always keep this in mind – when investing in cryptocurrency, knowledge is power.