Citi Predicts ETH at $4,300 by End of 2025, Citing Investor Optimism Over Activity

Ethereum faces a high-stakes divergence as bullish forecasts eye $12,000 while Citi warns current prices outpace fundamentals, predicting just $4,300 by 2025 without stronger adoption.

Citi Predicts Ethereum to End 2025 at $4,300, Citing Hype Over Usage

Citigroup said in a Monday note that it expects ether ( ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, to reach $4,300 by the end of 2025. The bank attributed ETH’s recent gains more to investor optimism than to activity on the network. It also outlined a bullish scenario of $6,400 if adoption accelerates and a bearish case of $2,200 if macroeconomic conditions and equity markets weaken. The firm stated:

Current prices are above activity estimates, potentially driven by recent buying pressure and excitement over use-cases.

While ETH remains below its record peak reached in August, Citi underscored its distinction from bitcoin, noting that ether can be staked to generate yields while supporting the network. The bank, however, anticipates that exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows into ETH will fall short of bitcoin’s, limiting institutional scale.

Other financial institutions have taken a more bullish stance. Standard Chartered increased its year-end forecast for ETH to $7,500 from $4,000, pointing to stronger corporate engagement and the expectation that stablecoin adoption will grow significantly. The bank projected the stablecoin sector could expand eightfold by 2028, driving up network demand and fees.

Adding to the optimistic camp, Fundstrat Capital CIO Tom Lee has projected ETH to reach a year-end target between $10,000 and $12,000. Independent research supports long-term growth potential: Finder, which analyzes expert price predictions each quarter, reported in June that its panel of 24 crypto industry specialists expects ETH to average $4,308 by the end of 2025, rise to $10,882 by 2030, and reach $22,374 by 2035. The wide spectrum of forecasts underscores deep uncertainty but also highlights ethereum’s potential over the next decade.