Ethereum (ETH +0.39%) is sometimes referred to as the silver to Bitcoin‘s gold, which is a pretty good analogy. Silver tends to trade at a lower price than gold and also has more industrial uses. Ethereum’s market cap is about 17% of Bitcoin’s and it powers a large proportion of decentralized finance (DeFi) and stablecoins, as well as the emerging real-world asset tokenization sector.

But could it grow tenfold in the next decade? At the time of this writing on May 25, Ethereum’s price is around $2,130. Although it has risen 13% in the past three months, it is still down almost 60% from last year’s all-time high of $4,946. Reaching $21,300 in the next 10 years is certainly an ambitious goal, but it isn’t an impossible one.

Let’s look at how an investment in Ethereum could climb tenfold in the next decade, as well as the headwinds that could hold it back.

How Ethereum could climb over $21,000

For Ethereum’s price to increase tenfold, two things need to happen. First, blockchain needs to become part of the mainstream financial infrastructure, which would cause on-chain funds and transaction volumes to skyrocket. Second, a good portion of that activity needs to take place on Ethereum’s blockchain. There’s a correlation between funds and transactions on Ethereum’s ecosystem and its price.

To the first point, after years of speculation about blockchain’s potential, there’s now a clear regulatory and systemic path to mainstream adoption, although most integrations are in trial phases. According to research by The Motley Fool, a growing number of traditional banks and payment providers are exploring stablecoins, blockchain versions of traditional currencies. Predictions vary, but many insiders think the stablecoin market could soar from around $320 billion today to $2 trillion or more in the next decade.

Ethereum

Today’s Change

(0.39%) $7.86

Current Price

$2023.59

Currency is not the only thing that’s moving on-chain. Tokenization allows ownership of all kinds of assets to be recorded on the blockchain, including stocks, real estate, art, and more. U.S. Treasuries and commodities make up the majority of the $34 billion in tokenized assets today, but in the next few years, the industry could really gain steam. Nasdaq is looking at ways to introduce tokenized stocks, and institutions, including JPMorgan Chase and BlackRock, have launched tokenized funds. Some of the predictions on how much the tokenization market could grow are mind-blowing — the innovation-focused investment firm Ark Invest thinks it could surpass $11 trillion by 2030.

As to Ethereum’s dominance, it currently accounts for about half of all stablecoin issuance and tokenized assets. As the market evolves, there’s a good chance that newer players like Solana (SOL +0.74%) will take some market share. However, Ethereum’s reputation for security and resilience means it is likely to continue to play a significant role, which will be key if it is to go to the moon.

What could go wrong?

Stablecoins and tokenization are red-hot topics right now, which is unsurprising because they could change global financial plumbing. However, a lot of this is untested and people are rightly cautious about shifts in banking and investments that could impact their savings and retirement.

If tokenized assets take off, further regulatory progress will be necessary so that the investor protections mirror those of traditional finance. Not only that, but any major technical glitches or security failures would impede Ethereum’s growth. Even so, the times are changing and Ethereum is in a strong position to benefit.