Today’s Ethereum price is $3,278.96 USD. See more on price analysis, comparisons, and historical price data below.
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From the previous trading day, ETH is down 0.08%. Compared to one week ago, ETH is down 17.74%.
Since the beginning of the year 2022, ETH is down 12.92%.
Keep reading to see a timeline of Ethereum’s price history since its launch and ICO in 2014 — we pair significant events and corresponding news to major price moves.
We also explain the relationship between Bitcoin and Ethereum prices, ETH price vs other crypto prices, and some key price drivers.
Contents
Ethereum Price History Timeline
The ETH story starts in 2015 when Vitalik Buterin and a team of developers released the Ethereum network. However, Ethereum was founded in 2013, and developments started in 2014. At this time, 1 ETH was sold for $0.31 as part of the crowdfunding campaign.
Here’s a timeline with key price points, price swings, and some corresponding media releases at the time:
- August 14th, 2015: The first price spike ETH sees from it’s initial release price of just over $0.3 per coin. Vitalik Buterin appears in small crypto news outlets, primarily educating readers on blockchain fundamentals.
- ETH Price: $1.8278
- March 13th, 2016: A gradual price climb gained momentum during the first weeks of January 2016, resulting in a more than 14-fold rally. German automotive company RWE partners with Ethereum-based startup. Asian crypto exchanges add support for ETH. Bitcoin prices stagnate around the $400 mark as money flows into a promising new project.
- ETH Price: $14.48
- June 16th, 2016: Ethereum passes $1 billion market cap towards the end of May and keeps climbing higher. Ethereum-based ‘The DAO’ raises $50 million. Prices rocket to beat prior all-time-high (ATH) by 25%+.
- ETH Price: $20.59
- June 18th, 2016: ETH price crashes by more than 45% as the newly funded decentralized investment fund ‘DAO’ is hacked, resulting in a $50 million loss.
- ETH Price: $11.33
- December 5th, 2016: Ethereum hard fork to return DAO tokens. Confusion around ETH Classic and ETH. Rumors of JP Morgan building a decentralized network on the Ethereum blockchain. Prices fall to a 9-month low. Bitcoin prices enter $900s.
- ETH Price: $6.8271
- March 16th, 2017: After a return to near ATH and correction around $16 in early March, prices beat the past ATH by 100%+. Microsoft joins JP Morgan on the news of building networks. Enterprise Ethereum Alliance is formed by 30+ corporations.
- ETH Price: $46.35
- May 6th, 2017: ETH price more than doubles, again. Vitalik Buterin announces plans to transition from PoW to PoS. Meanwhile Charles Hoskinson, Ethereum Co-Founder, launches rival network Cardano. Bitcoin crawls above $1,000.
- ETH Price: $97.81
- June 12th, 2017: In just over a month, ETH price shoots more than 4x higher, up 5,000%+ since the beginning of 2017. More ICOs on the Ethereum blockchain, raising millions. United Nations reportedly sends refugee aid in ETHs.
- ETH Price: $401.49
- July 16th, 2017: Another crash/correction. Black Rock economist reports opinion of ‘crypto bubble’. Cisco joins Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. Ethereum co-founder and Cardano founder, Hoskinson, calls rapid rise of ICOs a ‘ticking time bomb’.
- ETH Price: $157.36
- September 15th, 2017: Brief recovery to $343.14 in early September, following a further correction. ETH finds it’s cruising speed until the end of the year.
- ETH Price: $253
- January 10th, 2018: $1,000 mark broken by Jan 4th. CryptoKitties takes off. Ripple (XRP) goes off, briefly beating ETH to second place in market cap. Bloomberg terminal lists Ethereum.
- ETH Price: $1,440
- April 1st, 2018: ETH bear market from January highs. Robinhood announces rolling out ETH and BTC. Buterin warns against crypto hype. Other potential ‘retail news rivals’ like Stellar (XLM) and Quantum (QTUM) surface.
- ETH Price: $357.89
- December 6th, 2018: Price slides under $100 for the first time since May 2017. Ripple attracts more attention. Winklewoss twins launch Gemini dollar on Ethereum network. Bitcoin also hits 6-month lows, market stalls.
- ETH Price: $91.01
- June 26th, 2019: Gradual recovery over 6/7 months. Huobi and OKEx support ETH. ETH Classic undergoes ‘51%’ attack. News beginning to circulate about 2.0 upgrade to PoS again.
- ETH Price: $339.14
- March 16th, 2020: ‘Istanbul’ hardfork on Ethereum network. Upbit exchange hacked for $45+ million’s worth of ETH. Surge in ETH gas prices, high transaction fees. General uncertainty about the technology.
- ETH Price: $110.85
- September 1st, 2020: Hype around Wrapped Bitcoin release on Ethereum blockchain. Transaction fees hitting all time highs. Monthly transaction volumes nearing $20 billion. Buterin struggles to deliver on 2.0 PoS.
- ETH Price: $475.95
- February 20th, 2021: Gas fees rise faster than retail traders can afford. Still, new ATH hits. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Ethereum Futures launch nears. News die off on 2.0, increased media traction from market-driving outlets on commercial investment rumours.
- ETH Price: $2,035.89
- May 12th, 2021: New ATH. ETH price is the key topic in news stories. Little-to-no technological depth in reporting. Mark Cuban publicly favors Ethereum. The European Investment Bank (EUB) issues $100+ million in digital tokens via the Ethereum network.
- ETH Price: $4,273.87
- June 22nd, 2021: Big volume ETH options expiry ahead. ETH begins to follow BTC’s up and down swings, but with larger moves. Rumours of Solana having raised $400+ million. NFTs gain more traction. Buterin reportedly discusses DOGE integration with Elon Musk’s endorsement of the idea.
- ETH Price: $1,726.14
- September 3rd, 2021: Brief post-correction recovery close the prior ATH in May. Another hard fork, named ‘London’ takes place. Media uproar on staking, given a succesful Ethereum upgrade. Simultaneous news about preferred mining hardware by ETH enthusiasts — upgrade still far from promising.
- ETH Price: $4,027.89
- November 10th, 2021: Third ATH of 2021 hits. Retail news speculates five figure ETH price. Rival Cardano closes in on market cap, Solana begins to climb the top 10. Still no clear, concise reports on ETH 2.0. Bitcoin surpasses $67,000.
- ETH Price: $4,864.13
- January 24th, 2022: ETH price correction, along with the rest of the market after a giant bull run at the end of 2021. Bitmart hacked for $200+ million due to ETH Binance Smart Chain exploit. Lack of actual technical reporting on ETH. Media outlets focus on Solana, a rival coin.
- ETH Price: $2,164.68
- February 8th, 2022: Partial price recovery, analysts expect drop towards high $1,000s/low $2,000s. KPMG Canada reportedly adds ETH and BTC to its corporate treasury.
- ETH Price: $3,170.50
BTC’s Impact On ETH Price
When cryptocurrencies first turned up on charts, it was common knowledge that Bitcoin had an impact on all other coins. As Ethereum gained prominence as the #2 crypto, it stuck closer and closer to Bitcoin as a ‘serious’ coin.
However, as the Ethereum network builds a reputation of its own, the ETH price also moves at its own pace.
| 1-Month | 7-Days | 24 Hours | Today's Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ETH | +0.73% | -14.61% | +1.23% | $3,380.66 |
| BTC | -1.45% | -7.11% | -0.22% | $97,016.59 |
Short-term price-performance comparisons between ETH and BTC may show smaller deviations, but the further back you look, you can see where Ethereum traders acted in opposition to those who trade Bitcoin.
ETH Price vs Other Cryptocurrency Prices
Here’s a summary of recent ETH price-performance alongside other popular cryptocurrencies from the top 100:
| 1-Month | 7-Days | 24-Hours | Today's Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ETH | -1.24% | -16.28% | -0.75% | $3,314.50 |
| BTC | -2.60% | -8.20% | -1.39% | $95,881.01 |
| BCH | -6.63% | -17.19% | -0.83% | $452.30 |
| DASH | +25.63% | -23.59% | +1.29% | $36.08 |
| DOGE | -17.59% | -21.55% | -0.43% | $0.32 |
| IOTA | +70.06% | -26.27% | +2.27% | $0.29 |
| LTC | +13.43% | -16.17% | -0.03% | $101.53 |
| NEO | +7.24% | -23.05% | +3.42% | $14.22 |
| XMR | +19.61% | -13.84% | +4.56% | $191.95 |
| ZEC | +26.48% | -2.68% | +6.84% | $57.31 |
What Drives the Price of Ethereum?
Demand for Ethereum is driven by two fundamental factors. First, ETH has benefitted from bullish market sentiment on cryptocurrencies in general.
Traders often see Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies as an alternative to traditional assets like physical commodities or fiat currency-pinned derivatives. ETH has a short price history, and price correlation with major fiat currencies like the USD, and key stores of value like gold, are inconsistent.
Ethereum benefits from trader concern over fiat currencies (dollar, euro, yuan) as reliable stores of value. Still, Ethereum has shown frequent synchronized movement with Bitcoin’s price since it began trading in 2014.
Efficient Technology Development
Ethereum price has benefitted from its robust technology platform. Whereas the market sees Bitcoin as a system for payments, it views Ethereum as having greater potential.
For example, Ethereum’s adoption in the smart contract space has fueled speculation by traders that the cryptocurrency is better poised than Bitcoin for mainstream adoption in the near future. Since its launch, ETH has produced returns that have exceeded those of Bitcoin.
Ethereum is currently transitioning from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), which may also result in unexpected price movements.
Despite its seeming technological edge over BTC, the Ethereum network has competitors that seem to be closing in, like Cardano and Solana, both of which already operate on the PoS model.
Supply And Demand Fundamentals Of Ethereum
The best way to forecast the future price of Ethereum is to examine supply and demand fundamentals for the cryptocurrency.
There is almost 120 million ETH in current circulation. However, the circulating supply is expected to drop significantly after the PoS transition. This will cause a change in the coin’s price, and given that the transition goes to plan, increased demand from commercial cash holders.
More, the platform’s ability to handle and execute smart contracts will create increasing demand for ETH in the financial services space.
Mainstream Smart Contracts: Barclays Bank
Barclays is using smart contracts to trade derivatives. A group called the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (“EEA”) facilitates the development of applications on the Ethereum platform by large corporations in finance and other industries.
Ethereum’s usage in blockchain applications could grow conservatively over the next five to seven years. The increasing value of the platform to corporations in need of the technology could spur further investment demand.
The Ethereum Investment Trust: ETFs On The Way?
The creation of the Ethereum Investment Trust and the likelihood of an Ethereum ETF and Ethereum IRA would also serve to bolster investment demand.
The upshot is that an Ethereum investment could easily increase over the next two to three years as more traders learn how to buy Ethereum.
What Is the Price Outlook for Ethereum?
The limited trading history makes the technical analysis of the ETH price chart less accurate. An ETH chart shows a virtually parabolic rise since it began trading.
Such a chart doesn’t lend itself to traditional technical analysis where high and low trading levels provide clues with relative accuracy about future movements. Another factor is the lack of technological understanding among retail traders, though speculators are becoming more aware of the Ethereum platform’s fundamental mechanics.
Other factors like the NFT craze may likewise contribute to sudden retail-driven price surges and even attract thick-wallet speculators.
Learn More About Ethereum
See the following resources to learn more about Ethereum:
We also have a Cryptocurrency 101 Guide where we discuss the fundamentals of crypto trading. In the meantime, you can keep up with the live BTC Price Guide and DOGE Price Guide.
FAQs
What was the lowest ETH price?
At the time of the crowdfunding campaign, one ETH was reportedly sold at just over $0.30. However, following some time on the open market, ETH quickly surged to $1.8278 by August 2015. After January 2016, ETH didn’t see a single-digit dollar price until the end of that year, when it swung down to a year-low of $6.8271. See Ethereum’s price history for more.
Will Ethereum 2.0 increase ETH prices?
There is no accurate prediction as to how a successful Ethereum 2.0 upgrade would impact ETH prices. At the moment, the Ethereum community is still waiting for an upgrade that troubled founder, Vitalik Buterin, since 2017. A transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake would change the network’s consensus mechanism, the actively circulating supply, and in turn, ETH’s value dynamics.
Can Ethereum reach $10,000?
Media speculation has seen increasing excitement over five-digit ETH prices. For Ethereum to reach $10,000 per coin, the network would need to hit an overall market capitalization of close to $1.2 trillion (USD). If the crypto market continues its upswings, it is possible for ETH to reach $10,000. However, increased awareness of the underlying technology’s potential means that competing platforms are on the rise.
Today, ETH is at $3,278.96.
Can Ethereum surpass Bitcoin’s price?
For one ETH to surpass Bitcoin’s price, ETH needs to first become a five-figure fiat value cryptocurrency. Hypothetically, if BTC is at $50,000, it has a market cap of around $960 billion. Given Ethereum’s current consensus mechanism and distribution model, for one ETH to be worth $50,000, it would need to hit a market cap of $6 trillion (USD). That’s around half of China’s national annual GDP.
Can Ethereum surpass Bitcoin’s market cap?
Yes, if more cash flows into Ethereum to surpass the overall amount of monetary value in Bitcoin. The two systems are fundamentally different, for now. However, if Ethereum successfully transitions to a PoS model, it may have an edge over Bitcoin in particular use cases, more specifically, in government and corporate adoption.
