The art world will help drive up prices of cryptocurrency Ethereum, taking it to $500 by the end of the year, according to an influential tech expert and business analyst.
The world鈥檚 second largest cryptocurrency failed to break the $208 and聽$210 resistance聽levels against the US dollar.
Despite pessimism continuing to hold it back – the ‘bear marketplace’ –聽Ian Mcleod, co-founder of art-tech agency Thomas Crown Art, expects a return to positive vibes and a ‘bull market’.
鈥淓thereum鈥檚 price has been in bear territory for a few weeks, with prices declining dramatically,鈥� he said.
鈥淏ut it can be expected there will be a trend reversal between now and the end of the year.聽 Once back in bull territory, there will be a dramatic upswing with considerable gains.聽
鈥淚t would be reasonable to believe that Ethereum will hit $500 by the end of 2018 and go on an overall upward trajectory throughout 2019.鈥�
He continued: 鈥淢uch of the expected price rises will be fuelled by an increasing number of sectors including real estate, antiques and finance, using Ethereum and its superior blockchain technology.
鈥淭he art world is likely to be one of the biggest adopters as blockchain can authenticate artwork.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 an ideal use-case for distributed ledger technology as it offers the ability to store a permanent, immutable record of artwork at the point of creation which can be used to authenticate registered works by any party.
鈥淣ot only is Ethereum a fundamentally strong digital asset, its blockchain provides workable, tangible solutions for many sectors, it solves problems, and enhances existing systems.鈥�