At the moment, the biggest problem in cryptocurrencies is this: Prices are rising faster than expected. It is an enviable problem, especially if you’re already invested in cryptos.

But what if you’re late to the party? Have you already missed the buffet of big returns, or are there more gains to come? In this writer’s opinion, you needn’t worry.

There is still tremendous upside for many cryptos. And yes, that includes Ethereum.

Just to give you a sense of how fast this market is growing, take a look at our previous forecasts for ETH. We thought it would reach $400.00 in 2017 and $1,000 in 2018.

It turned out these forecasts were absurdly tame, though some people called them “outrageous” at the time. Now, our prediction for 2017 is a tiny dot in the rearview mirror.

We even raised our 2018 Ethereum price forecast to $1,500.

Daily Ethereum Chart:

The rapid evolution of these forecasts is not a coincidence. Cryptocurrencies are at the bleeding edge of science, meaning that new stuff is happening every day.

It’s journalistic bliss to write about them, but it means we need to update our forecasts whenever we get new information.

With this in mind, we are issuing a special alert that ETH might hit $1,000 by New Year’s Eve.

Why? Well, because we may hear about an upcoming Ethereum futures contract. Just read this quote from billionaire hedge fund manager Mark Novogratz.

“All of these guys are looking at this as a potential asset class,” he said about the CBOE’s Bitcoin futures contract. “Mark my words, when Goldman Sachs starts trading it, you’re going to see the big pensions start coming in.” (Source: “Novogratz says he would sell litecoin after its massive surge, sees bitcoin hitting $40k within a few months,” CNBC, December 12, 2017.)

Most analysts are honing in on the latter half of his quote. It would be big news if pension funds started investing in cryptos. But I’m more interested in the first part where he calls it a “potential asset class.” That is telling.

The recent bull run in cryptos was sparked by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) adding a Bitcoin futures contract to their respective markets.

It was an experiment. If it failed, cryptos would have been set back by months. But it was a resounding success, which naturally implies that Wall Street titans will start to expand the asset class.

Novogratz isn’t the only one to imply such an expansion. ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin made similar comments recently. When he was asked a direct question about the timeline for an ETH futures contract, he said that “months would be a long time.” (Source: “Ethereum Futures Will Likely Launch Sooner Than You Think,” Strategic Coin, December 8, 2017.)

In other words, he wouldn’t be surprised if it happened soon.

Analyst Take:

On Tuesday morning, ETH prices rose 27.35% against the U.S. dollar, bringing the Ethereum to USD exchange rate to $678.19. So it’s not like our new Ethereum price forecast is much of a stretch. This currency is already well on its way to $1,000.

Also Read: Hold on to Ethereum for the Long Term

Source: Price Confidential