JPMorgan’s Bold Prediction: Ethereum to Outshine Bitcoin in Upcoming Year

JPMorgan, the financial oracle, has spoken, and its forecast for 2024 has set the crypto world abuzz. In a daring prediction, the banking giant suggests that Ethereum, not Bitcoin, will be the shining star of the crypto space in the coming year. Here’s the breakdown of what JPMorgan’s prediction means for crypto.

Ethereum to Ace Up Its Sleeve with EIP-4844

Amidst the fluctuations, JPMorgan’s analysts foresee Ethereum outpacing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the year 2024. Well, the buzz is connected with Ethereum’s highly anticipated EIP-4844 upgrade known as Protodanksharding. This upgrade, slated for the first half of 2024, is poised to be a game-changer, enhancing Ethereum’s network activity significantly. By introducing innovative data blobs that turbocharge Layer 2 networks without altering Ethereum’s block size, this upgrade promises a substantial performance boost for Ethereum.

Bitcoin’s Priced-In Potential: JPMorgan’s Cautious Outlook

While JPMorgan remains bullish on Ethereum, the banking behemoth exercises caution regarding Bitcoin’s prospects. Analysts suggest that factors such as potential ETF approvals and the impending 2024 halving event have already been factored into Bitcoin’s current price. Drawing parallels with the post-2020 halving scenario, JPMorgan speculates that Bitcoin’s market price might align with its production cost after the 2024 halving. Bitcoin is currently hovering around the $40K mark and is expected to hit $50K by the end of December. 

DeFi’s Obstacles: Crypto’s Biggest Setback

JPMorgan, on the other hand, shows that decentralized finance (DeFi) is still having trouble breaking free from traditional banking. There are high hopes, but the fact that DeFi doesn’t work with standard banks is still a big issue for crypto adoption as a whole. In the financial world, tokenization isn’t growing quickly because of weak laws, broken platforms, and people who don’t want to work together.  

Since 2023 wasn’t very exciting for venture capital funding in the crypto space, the last quarter brought some hope for investors. But JPMorgan is still cautiously hopeful. They are looking forward to steady growth in the first quarter of 2024 as a possible sign that the “crypto winter” is over.

JPMorgan’s Blockchain Odyssey, What it means for crypto?

While JPMorgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, has been a vocal critic of Bitcoin throughout the year, its blockchain unit, Onyx, has a different opinion. The exponential growth of this unit, swelling from 100 to 300 employees in three years, juxtaposes Dimon’s recent comments advocating a Bitcoin ban. This duality spotlights JPMorgan’s focus on blockchain technology for secure business transactions, distinguishing itself from peers more openly embracing crypto.