That is if Ethereum can weather three big price hurdles ahead of it in September,

The Dencun upgrade’s introduction of low-cost blobs for Layer-2 blockchains to quickly scale the network to peers has unleashed a torrent of activity on Ethereum’s decentralized smart contract network.

Since then, gas fees in ETH on the base layer of Ethereum have declined significantly. Although that has reduced validators’ revenues, there has been a blossoming of activity on low-fee L2s.

Ethereum L2 monthly active users doubled after Dencun took effect in March. Meanwhile, fees to use Base, Mantra, Starknet, Blast, and OP Mainnet have declined dramatically.

But Ethereum has struggled this year to reflect its improvements and future prospects in a consolidated movement of the market. When it slipped to $2,400 this week, its price was back to where it was in February. By comparison, Bitcoin has been doing a little better this year.

So will Ether’s price continue to thrash and flail, or does it have an advantage over competitors like BNB, Solana, XRP, Tron, and Cardano in the near to medium term?

4 Ethereum Price Advantages In 2024

Here are four advantages Ethereum has going forward:

1. Another Wrapped Bitcoin On Ethereum

Natively put your idle BTC to work on Ethereum.

21BTC on Ethereum gives you:
• BTC that’s native to Ethereum
• No Lock-And-Mint technology
• 100% Backed by BTC
• Institutional-grade security
• Deep liquidity
• Operational excellence

Here’s what you need to know(/5) pic.twitter.com/CGY97mqeut

— 21.co (@21co__) September 3, 2024

21co, the owner of Bitcoin ETF issuer 21 Shares, just recently introduced another Wrapped Bitcoin asset on Ethereum.

This is a reminder: Your Bitcoin is a final settlement in a brutally scarce currency on the most secure Web3 layer blockchain —and Ethereum represents so many things you can do with it without just handing it over to the establishment it’s disrupting.

While Bitcoin is in a long-term holding phase because of its network effects and the growth prospects of each Satoshi’s value due to its ultimately addressable global market, when the dam breaks and the pent-up demand spills, Ethereum is certainly one place where holders will be spending it.

From finance, to insurance, to contracts, to CRMs, to supply chain management, to gaming, and online database solutions, the leading smart contract networks like Ethereum have a very big future ahead.

2. Institutional Adoption Marches On

Wall Street has so far laid only finicky hands on the Ethereum ETFs, with outflows creating resistance for Ether’s price. But the overall institutional stance toward the asset is still second only to Bitcoin, even as corporate project managers and institutional hedge funds flirt with Ethereum’s competitors like Solana and Cardano.

However, Ethereum and ERC20 Layer-2 protocol Polygon (MATIC) power most of the institutional products currently available on Web3. A recent X post from Adriano Feria, a popular ETH booster on social media, outlined the march of corporate projects using Ethereum.

“Hate to break it to the #Ethereum doubters, but $ETH is well on its way to securing solid institutional adoption, led by industry giants like Coinbase, Circle, BlackRock, and more recently, Sony,” Feria wrote.

With Sony’s announcement on August 22 that it’s launching its own Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain, Soneium, there could be some more market alpha in ETH’s future.

3. Ethereum Price Chart Technicals

ETH just had its worst month in two years, falling by 22% in August. Therefore, mean reversion theory dictates that its price will tend to move back toward its average trend over time, giving it support for a rally. Put in shoppers’ terms, Ether was on sale in August.

ETH may be undervalued based on expert predictions from some of the most active funds, publications, and banks in the Web3 space, in a recent study by CoinGecko:

What is Ethereum’s price prediction for 2024?

Our latest study reveals that top analysts, outlets, and fund managers predict #Ethereum will average $6,404 by the end of 2024.

Read the full study: https://t.co/FzuIYpuE9D pic.twitter.com/Lj5TXYtqkF

— CoinGecko (@coingecko) August 16, 2024

4. Dovish Fed Regime Pivot

The fact that new coins are produced means the money supply increases by a planned amount, but this does not necessarily result in inflation.

If the supply of money increases at the same rate that the number of people using it increases, prices remain stable.

— Satoshi Nakamoto Quotes (@QuotesNakamoto) July 5, 2024

The Federal Reserve chair announcing in August a pivot to lower interest rates is likely to galvanize crypto markets. As dollar supplies increase, there’s extra liquidity to pump financial markets like stocks and cryptocurrency.

There’s also a baked-in ethos among crypto investors to hedge dollar inflation using cryptocurrencies, especially those that strictly limit new supplies.

Ethereum is especially well-suited as one of these alternative sound money currencies. After the Merge transitioned it from a mined to staked cryptocurrency in Sept. 2022, it also introduced a burn feature that removes a small amount of Ether when transactions are made.

That helps limit supplies and so that ETH tokens hold their purchasing power parity against other currencies like Bitcoin and the US dollar.

3 Price Hurdles for Ethereum in September:

1. September Doldrums a Headwind

September is historically a slumpy month for financial markets. In stocks, it is the only calendar month to return an average negative ROI over the past 98 years. It has typically been choppy and slow for crypto assets as well, with seasonally high volatility and lower prices.

That means it can make a great entry point for crypto investors to buy assets at good value. It’s also not usually the time of year to sell to maximize earnings or minimize losses.

2. US Election Uncertainty

Markets are also fretting over the outcome of the U.S. election in November. A Harris win could lead to rising prices, higher taxes, and more expensive regulations.

A Trump win could lead to another multi-trillion dollar trade war with half the rest of the world, which was expensive for Wall Street the last time around.

3. Bitcoin’s Price Gravity Well

Ethereum’s valuation is closely related to the spot price of BTC. Over the course of the four-year cycle around Bitcoin’s supply halvings, there tends to be a mild bear market around this time after the event, leading up to multi-month rally to new record highs. That’s going to have an impact on altcoin prices.

[PRESS RELEASE – San Francisco, California, September 7th, 2024]

Figure Markets today announced that, together with Veton Vejseli, a shareholder of Ionic Digital, it has requested access to certain company records under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. This request seeks information to investigate potential misconduct by the Board of Directors and assess their performance of fiduciary duties.

Figure Markets and Mr. Vejseli believe access to these records (the “Books and Records”) is crucial for protecting shareholder interests. This request arises from concerns about potential self-dealing behavior by board members and actions that may have disadvantaged shareholders. Specific areas of investigation include:

• Agreements with Hut 8 Corp., an owner of bitcoin mining operations that operates as a direct competitor to the Company and whose CEO control Ionic’s board seats.
• Excessive Board compensation packages.
• Restrictions on trading Ionic stock.
• Delays in registering the company’s Class A Common Stock.

Based on interactions with the Board, public filings, and other information, Figure Markets and Mr. Vejseli believe the Board may be prioritizing its own interests over those of shareholders. This pattern of behavior is allegedly evidenced by:

• Rejection of Figure Markets’ proposals during Celsius bankruptcy proceedings.
• Approval of deals with Hut 8 that seemingly circumvent shareholder oversight.
• Self-appointment of key decision-makers in the Chapter 11 process.
• Generous compensation packages for Board members.
• Unreasonable delays in listing and registering Ionic’s stock.

“Having been involved in the Celsius bankruptcy from the beginning, it’s unfortunate how creditors have been treated,” said Mike Cagney, CEO of Figure Markets. “We hope by forcing a special shareholder meeting to improve Ionic’s management, governance, and strategy, we can salvage value for shareholders.”

In response to widespread shareholder dissatisfaction, Figure Markets initiated a grassroots social media campaign aimed at securing 25% of Ionic shareholders to call for a special shareholder meeting. Remarkably, despite the challenge of rallying 86,000 shareholders, none of whom hold more than 1% of the stock, Figure Markets has successfully garnered support from 29% of the outstanding shareholders.

Figure Markets and Mr. Vejseli believe the Board’s actions may constitute gross negligence and warrant removal. They also express concern that these actions may have stripped shareholders of their voice in company governance. Access to the Books and Records represents a critical step towards restoring shareholder democracy at Ionic.

This inspection request will allow Figure Markets and Mr. Vejseli to investigate potential misconduct and assess the Board’s performance of its fiduciary duties. They urge the Board to act with urgency and collaborate constructively to address shareholder concerns.

The full text of the Books and Records demand can be found here.

About Figure Markets

Figure Markets is democratizing finance through blockchain. We’re building the exchange for everything – a decentralized custody marketplace for crypto, stocks, bonds, credit and more. We’re bringing best in class leverage, margin trading, and liquidity to our exchange, while offering our members extensive borrowing options and unique investment opportunities. Figure Markets puts our members in control of their assets and data, disintermediating legacy brokers, exchanges and lenders.

Figure Markets is backed by leading venture capital firms and strategic partners, including Jump Crypto, Pantera, Distributed Global, Faction Lightspeed, NewForm Capital and CMT Digital. Figure Markets was founded by a seasoned team of entrepreneurs and operators from TradFi, fintech, and DeFi, including Mike Cagney and June Ou.

Learn more at www.figuremarkets.com.

TL;DR

• XRP’s possible surge to $1 could be fueled by additional developments on the Ripple v. SEC front, such as the company paying the penalty.
• Other factors that may trigger a bull run include positive market sentiment and increased adoption.

Is There a Chance?

After a prolonged period of inactivity, the lawsuit between Ripple and the US SEC witnessed a massive development at the start of August. Back then, Judge Torres ordered the company to pay a $125 million penalty for violating certain securities laws.

The sum might sound substantial, but it actually represents a 94% deduction from what the regulator initially asked for. This caused numerous industry participants, including Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse, to describe the decision as a major win for the firm. 

Lately, there have been increased rumors that Ripple might settle with the SEC as early as this week. We decided to ask ChatGPT whether such an action could fuel a price rally for XRP to as high as $1.

The AI-powered chatbot estimated that paying the penalty could be seen as a step toward reducing regulatory pressure around Ripple and its native cryptocurrency. As a result, the price might head north to the aforementioned target:

“A resolution with the SEC could alleviate concerns about potential legal setbacks for Ripple, leading to more positive market sentiment and possibly attracting new investors, which might drive the price higher.”

On the other hand, ChatGPT claimed there are other crucial factors that could play a role in such a rally. Some of the main ones include favorable market conditions, increased adoption, and additional support from exchanges.

The list of trading venues that introduced XRP services following Ripple’s first partial court win against the SEC last summer stretches far and wide. Some of those jumping on the bandwagon are Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Crypto.com, and more.

Ripple’s Latest Filing

While some of the company’s executives agreed to the court terms, the actual payment of the fine might be delayed. This was revealed in a recent motion filed by Ripple, in which its lawyers requested a stay on the monetary portion of the Court’s Judgment entered last month.

The attorneys proposed moving 111% of the amount (roughly $138 million) to the legal team’s bank account as collateral. These funds are expected to stay there until 30 days after the appeal period ends. Both parties have until early October to challenge the initial ruling.

“Should the court of appeals vacate or modify the Judgment, the parties will attempt in good faith to reach an agreement about the appropriate treatment of the Fund and will submit to the Court any disputes they cannot resolve,” the letter reads.

Some industry participants speculated that this action might be followed by a potential appeal by the SEC. For one, the American lawyer Fred Rispoli said:

“Going through all this effort with establishing a trust for the funds boosts chances of an appeal IMO. But ultimately, this is just the safest play for SEC to buy time until the Oct. 7 deadline to appeal.”