Bitwise Chief Information Officer Matt Hougan believes that despite the price slump in 2024, Ethereum still holds promise.
For most cryptocurrencies, especially market leaders like Bitcoin and Solana, 2024 was a highly positive year, leading to a rebound and setting new highs. However, with Ethereum, most investors were disappointed as it failed to trigger a rebound to new highs, achieving only a 46% increase.
Nevertheless, Ethereum still appears to have potential and may bring some benefits to investors, at least according to Bitwise Chief Information Officer Matt Hougan.
The “Contrarian” Game of 2025
Bitwise Chief Information Officer Matt Hougan suggests that Ethereum could offer a good “contrarian investment” in 2025. Market analysts shared this insight in a video clip from Altcoin Daily on January 8th, Wednesday. The video mainly references an interview with the platform in October 2024.
Hougan explains that there is always the temptation to write off Ethereum because it is not the OG blockchain like Bitcoin, nor is it as shiny and new as some of the so-called “killers” like Solana, Aptos, and SUI. However, he points out that this could be reckless.
Hougan emphasizes that despite the challenges in Ethereum’s price, it still has potential because it continues to dominate every blockchain use case from DeFi to stablecoins to tokenization.
He also highlights Ethereum’s strong appeal in traditional financial institutions.
Despite Hougan’s viewpoint, Ethereum, like most other cryptocurrencies, did not have a promising start this year.
Macroeconomic headwinds;
After a preliminary rebound in the first week of January 2025, Ethereum has once again experienced losses, trading at $3,319.65, slightly below its 2025 opening price of $3,330.52. The subdued price action comes amidst macroeconomic headwinds, specifically better-than-expected US economic data dampening hopes of interest rate cuts.
Despite these initial struggles, most researchers expect the asset’s price to at least double by 2025. For example, it has been predicted that Ethereum’s trading price this year will reach $7,000.
