After a long, discouraging crypto winter, prices have been slowly recovering so far this year.
Ethereum (ETH 4.93%) is currently up by around 53% in 2023, but it's still down nearly 62% from its all-time high in late 2021. If you've been waiting for the right time to invest, now may seem like a smart buying opportunity, as crypto prices steadily inch closer to their previous peaks.
But some investors are still cautious, which is understandable considering how quickly the crypto market crashed last year. The last thing anyone wants is to invest while prices are higher, only to have the market plummet yet again.
So is it really a smart time to invest in Ethereum? The answer is, it depends.
The case for investing now
Market volatility is always unnerving, but it's especially challenging in the crypto space. While Ethereum has experienced incredible highs over the last few years, the lows can be unbearable for many investors.
However, remember that crypto is a long-term investment. Even the strongest cryptocurrencies will likely see extreme volatility in the near term, but the best investments have the potential for significant long-term growth.
Ethereum remains one of the strongest players in the industry, and it has some major advantages over its competitors, including:
- Its sheer size: With a market cap of around $221 billion, Ethereum makes up just under 20% of the entire crypto market. While popularity alone doesn't necessarily make for a strong investment, it's tough for smaller cryptocurrencies to compete with a behemoth like Ethereum -- putting it in a league of its own.
- It's the leading smart contract platform: The Ethereum blockchain is host to a wide variety of decentralized applications (dApps), ranging from NFT marketplaces to metaverse applications to decentralized finance (DeFi) projects. Although many other networks (such as Solana and Cardano) can also host dApps, Ethereum is far and away the most popular platform.
- It's constantly updating: Last year, Ethereum developers successfully completed The Merge, a landmark upgrade that moved the network from the energy-intensive proof-of-work system to the far more efficient proof-of-stake. But there are many other updates still in the pipeline -- most notably The Surge, which should vastly improve the network's speed and reduce transaction fees.
In other words, Ethereum has a lot going for it right now. It's consistently been one of the clear leaders in the crypto space, and if it continues its upgrades and improvements, it has the potential to soar even more over time.
When it may be best to avoid Ethereum
As with any cryptocurrency, Ethereum is still largely speculative. While it has many distinct advantages, those are mostly speculative right now, too.
If NFTs, the metaverse, or DeFi become more mainstream, Ethereum will benefit from it. But if those applications never catch on with the public, the crypto may have a tough time staying relevant. Right now, nobody can say how this space will fare over the long term, and there's always a chance it could fail.
This isn't to say you shouldn't invest in Ethereum for these reasons. For many investors, the potentially lucrative earnings outweigh the risk of crypto's speculative nature. But in general, even the "safest" cryptocurrencies are still more volatile than stocks -- which can be a deal-breaker for more risk-averse investors.
If you're on the fence, ask yourself which of these two scenarios you'd regret more: investing now and losing money if Ethereum fails, or not investing and missing out on those earnings if it succeeds.
There's no right or wrong answer here, but it can help you determine where your priorities lie. If your biggest concern is making a bad investment and losing money, crypto in general may not be the best fit for you right now.
Crypto can be incredibly volatile, and it's important to consider your risk tolerance before you invest. That said, Ethereum has built a reputation for being a leader in the industry, and it has plenty of advantages that could make it a smart buy right now.
