Ethereum is trading above $3,200, still well below its all-time high of $4,953 on Aug. 24, 2025, when it missed the $5,000 mark by just $47.
The 2026 potential for Ethereum to reach prices above $5,000 remains uncertain because different experts base their predictions on three main factors, which include value capture and protocol upgrades, and market trends.
The Cryptonews interview process showed that all participants kept their opinions to themselves.
The market has reached stability after its previous market drop instead of starting a new growth phase.
Experts split on Ethereum’s $5,000 path
The Ethereum experts describe the path that will lead the platform to achieve its projected $5,000 value target.
Gavin Thomas, CEO of Obscuro Labs, told Cryptonews that a break above $5,000 this cycle is “unlikely.”
The process would need all catalysts to be properly aligned through continuous ETF investment beyond the launch date, and investors must understand how staking works in these products and proof that rollup operations create lasting value appreciation.
Thomas explained that people might not recognise the value of a tailwind because Ethereum has become the standard financial settlement system, which European institutions now use as their default choice.
He identified actual financial operations as the “holy grail,” which would establish Ethereum (ETH) as the dominant cryptocurrency of the future.
Stabolut CEO Eneko Knorr supports token pricing above $5,000 but warns that insufficient value extraction will make the token lag behind its network development.
The network operates at full capacity, but the current pricing system fails to generate sufficient revenue. ”
Jesus Perez, who leads Posidonia 21 Capital Partners as CEO, predicts Ethereum will reach prices above $5,000 during 2026 because of the Fusaka and Glamsterdam upgrades, which will boost transaction processing power.
The reduction of fees will temporarily lower revenue, but he believes it is necessary for strategic reasons because it makes users complete their transactions directly on Layer 1.
Structural risks remain
Perez explained that the Ethereum Foundation does not have a defined strategy to generate enduring financial support for its protocol operations, which might lead to future funding problems.
Knorr identified another structural risk that would occur when major Layer 2 networks choose to move their data processing operations off the blockchain network to reduce expenses.
The loss of Ethereum revenue would, according to him, drive cryptocurrency prices toward $1,500.
The deployment of upgrades has established a path that Ethereum can use to reach its scalability targets.
According to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, in a post on X, two upgrades are moving from research to working code that could shift the network into “a fundamentally new and more powerful kind of decentralised network.”
He defined the objective to reach decentralisation, together with consensus and enhanced network bandwidth simultaneously.
PeerDAS is already live on the mainnet. The system enables nodes to check data availability through a verification process that does not require them to download complete datasets.
The system functions as a testing ground for data availability sampling, which enables sharing and scalability maintenance through decentralised operations that protect system security.
Buterin stated that zkEVMs have reached production-ready performance levels, but developers need to complete safety testing and prove their ability to operate at large scales.
He predicted that zkEVM nodes would begin to emerge in restricted capacities during 2026, while he discussed the future development of distributed block construction for enhancing both censorship resistance and worldwide network distribution.
The Altcoin market chooses its successful assets, but Solana continues to face ongoing market challenges.
The majority of alternative tokens operate based on Ethereum’s current path. The market shows restricted growth because investors select particular market narratives instead of investing across the entire market.
The month of December has not seen any major public demonstrations.
Zcash and Monero have achieved better performance than other coins because they focus on privacy protection, and Zcash maintains its position as a top performer for three consecutive months.
The leaders fail to mention any upcoming narratives that include Monad as a new Layer 1 solution, and they also ignore all Ethereum-based tokens.
Dr. Leo Fan from Cysic explained to Cryptonews that investors made an error by believing digital assets exist outside of traditional interest-rate cycles and liquidity patterns.
He indicated that DePIN represents a neglected sector that will generate the most enduring 2026 growth through its combination of AI verification with DePIN technology.
The system will obtain utility from ZK networks and decentralized GPU networks, which maintain auditable operations.
The platform Solana operates with the same operational problems that affect it.
The ecosystem maintains its strength because user activity and total value locked continue to decrease, but its specialized markets for DEXs and meme coins remain active.
The token has been under pressure but remains above the $100 level.
“Market sentiment is bearish right now,” said Matas Čepulis, founder and CEO of LuvKaizen, who argued that despite the downswing, Solana is still among the top chains by TVL and leading DEX volume.
The path to $5,000 for Ethereum exists, but there are no assurances it will happen.
The case depends on better value extraction methods and stable governance systems, and funding mechanisms, which will support the current system upgrade implementation.
The market shows two opposing market behaviors because investors demonstrate both caution and they choosing their investments with care.
The 2026 market performance will depend on whether the market experiences a new investment cycle or continues its gradual market development.
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