What if I Invest $100 in Ethereum Today, What Might Happen?

2025.09.02 2025.09.02
What if I Make investments $100 in Ethereum Immediately?

Oleg Tkachenkohttps://www.litefinance.org/weblog/authors/oleg-tkachenko/

The Ethereum community is the main platform for creating decentralized functions (dApps). It ranks first by way of whole worth locked (TVL), surpassing TRON and Solana ecosystems. Ethereum is historically second solely to Bitcoin by way of market capitalization. Regardless of the ecosystem’s widespread adoption and growth, excessive charges stay a major situation for the community, notably throughout peak buying and selling hours.

Regardless of intervals of great development within the crypto market, Ethereum’s worth efficiency doesn’t at all times outpace Bitcoin. These fluctuations increase questions amongst buyers: why is likely one of the most influential cryptocurrencies exhibiting deeper corrections than the broader crypto market? How promising are long-term investments in Ethereum, and does the challenge justify its standing? This evaluation will present the solutions to those and different necessary questions on Ethereum.

The article covers the next topics:

Main Takeaways

Ethereum is the most important blockchain community for creating decentralized functions and good contracts. By way of the variety of startups deployed on the community, it surpasses its major opponents, Solana and TRON. It ranks second by way of market cap after Bitcoin.The migration to the PoS algorithm in 2022 decreased the community’s whole power consumption by 99% and supplied customers extra revenue from staking.Ethereum outperforms its opponents as a consequence of its distinctive Whole Worth Locked (TVL) and the best variety of energetic builders. Though the community lags behind its opponents by way of parameters, it retains the belief of customers.Scalability, which is partially solved by deploying L1 and L2 options, and excessive community charges stay amongst Ethereum’s main issues.As for Ethereum’s previous efficiency, the coin reached its all-time excessive of $4951.66 on 24.08.2025.An evaluation of the ETH worth over the previous few years exhibits that Ethereum lags considerably behind different main cryptocurrencies by way of development charges. Whereas Bitcoin, Solana, and TRON managed to get well, Ethereum demonstrates far more modest efficiency. Furthermore, during times of market stagnation or correction, ETH typically seems as the highest loser by way of drawdown depth among the many prime 20 cash by market capitalization.The 5-year worth forecast for Ethereum is quite optimistic. Regardless of the present challenges, competing networks haven’t but claimed clear management within the phase.

What Makes Ethereum Worthwhile?

Ethereum (ETH) is a blockchain-based community for creating decentralized functions. It was created as a single decentralized digital machine. Builders can deploy any software inside the community, together with oracles, gaming startups, and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.

Ethereum has a number of opponents, together with BNB Chain (BNB), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), TRON (TRX), and Avalanche (AVAX), amongst others. The first aggressive components embody transaction processing velocity, community throughput, intra-network charges, community stability, and compatibility with different blockchains.

Strengths of the Ethereum blockchain know-how:

Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm. The community transitioned to this algorithm in September 2022. In concept, this answer ought to assist enhance power effectivity and scalability. In actuality, community scalability points haven’t but been totally resolved.Scalability and Layer 2 options. To extend throughput, Ethereum helps quite a lot of Layer 2 protocols (Optimistic Rollups, ZK-Rollups). In easy phrases, builders have extra alternatives to launch appropriate startups with excessive transaction speeds.Staking. This chance appeared after the transition to the PoS algorithm. Staking is an extra supply of revenue for long-term buyers, just like a financial institution deposit.Community stability and safety. One in all Ethereum’s major rivals, the Solana community, experiences comparatively frequent failures. Subsequently, customers are inclined to disregard Ethereum’s drawbacks in favor of community stability.

Nonetheless, Ethereum nonetheless faces sure obstacles. Updates geared toward resolving scalability points proceed to be delayed. Relating to the regulatory setting, it’s now clear that spot ETH ETFs have been accepted and are being traded; nonetheless, questions on future incentives proceed to be a subject of debate.

Is Ethereum a Good Funding Immediately?

Listed here are ETH’s up-to-date statistics:

Present fee

$4 287.35

All-time low

$81.2

All-time excessive

$4951.66

ATL date

07.12.2018

ATH date

24.08.2025

A protracted-term funding technique in Ethereum could be a viable possibility.

Nonetheless, the platform encounters the next issues:

Unsuccessful testing phases led to the postponement of deliberate updates. Consequently, buyers doubt the chance of a fast answer to the community’s scalability points.New opponents have entered the market. Ethereum can course of 15 transactions per second, whereas Solana can course of 65,000 transactions per second. In mid-2023, the Sui platform was launched, able to processing almost 300,000 transactions per second. Ethereum, a trailblazer on this discipline, is starting to face competitors from youthful and extra superior options.In early 2025, Galaxy Digital and different funds skilled vital gross sales of ETH, leading to a precipitous drawdown. Nonetheless, an accumulation section started, together with inflows into ETH ETFs. It’s doubtless that institutional buyers and main gamers intentionally decreased the worth through the interval of stagnation to accumulate the asset at a decrease fee.Regardless of the SEC’s adoption of a extra tolerant stance and its initiatives in the direction of transparency, together with the formal acknowledgment of liquid staking as a safety, no Ethereum ETF with staking has been accepted thus far.

In keeping with analysts, the correction noticed within the first half of 2025 was anticipated — the market continues to evolve cyclically. If elementary components and institutional urge for food stay unchanged, a brand new wave of development is feasible inside 6 to 12 months. Even when ETH reaches a brand new all-time excessive, it could then slide to the $3,000–$3,500 vary.

There are numerous eventualities: within the occasion of a deeper correction, a pullback to the $1,500–1,700 assist zones is feasible. If the market reverses earlier, an affordable technique can be to purchase after a breakout of the $2,000 stage and maintain Ethereum till it reaches targets within the $3,000–3,500 vary. On this case, the return on investments in Ethereum may exceed 50–60% in a 12 months.

Understanding Ethereum’s Value Historical past and Volatility

The Ethereum ICO was held in 2014, and the community started full operation in 2015. At the moment, the price of ETH was round $0.30–$0.80. In 2016, the community confronted the most important hack at the moment, leading to a lack of roughly $60 million. At that time, a dispute arose: what needs to be finished? Ought to the Ethereum blockchain be rolled again, or ought to it stay as it’s? Because of the onerous fork, two networks emerged:

Ethereum – a platform that enables earlier transactions to be modified and corrected.Ethereum Traditional – the unique Ethereum community, which excludes adjustments. Customers can’t change transactions within the blockchain registry.

In January 2018, the coin reached its first vital historic excessive of over $1,100 amid the cryptocurrency growth, which rapidly ended with a market crash. ETH then plummeted to $80 by the tip of 2018.

Over the next two years, the ETH crypto progressively recovered. By the tip of 2020, the coin was value greater than $750, posting a tenfold achieve in simply two years, making Ethereum a great funding. Some other conventional forex can hardly boast such skyrocketing development.

In 2021, the cryptocurrency market skilled a golden interval, with Ethereum reaching a brand new all-time excessive of over $4,800. In 2022, one other market downturn occurred, however the ETH worth managed to stay above $1,000.

A big increase for the cryptocurrency market, which was recovering after the Terra (LUNA) startup crash and the FTX trade chapter in 2022, was the SEC’s approval of spot BTC ETFs in January 2024. Though the market was already progressively recovering by that point.

Right here, I wish to say a couple of phrases about volatility.

Let’s think about two eventualities: you invested $100 in Ethereum on January 1, 2023, when the market was nonetheless at its lowest level. On January 1, 2024, when the market had already begun to get well, the height development was nonetheless forward. In each circumstances, you managed to withdraw your cash on the peak—for BTC, the ATH was in January 2025. We’ll use it as the first reference coin. For instance you bought your cash on January 1, 2025. For comparability, let’s take its major competitor, Solana, its equally robust competitor, TRON, meme token Doge, and BTC.

Return on funding in % assuming cash are bought on January 1, 2025:

Purchase on 01.01.2023

Purchase on 01.01.2024

Bitcoin (BTC)

+419.69%

+114.11%

Ethereum (ETH)

+179.91%

+42.87%

Solana (SOL)

+1,842.80%

+76.76%

Dogecoin (DOGE)

+362.78%

+253.36%

TRON (TRX)

+367.07%

+137.65%

In comparison with BTC, its major opponents, and meme cash, Ethereum loses by way of ROI fully, and the date of buy doesn’t matter.

In 2025, the cryptocurrency market noticed vital shifts towards Donald Trump’s political agenda, commerce wars, and frequent adjustments in adverse and optimistic information. This precipitated excessive volatility, dragging the broader market down. Let’s think about the second situation: you bought cash on April 23, 2025. Let’s additionally add one column with a $100 invested in Ethereum on January 1, 2025, on the market’s peak, which is a standard mistake amongst freshmen:

Purchase on 01.01.2023

Purchase on 01.01.2024

Purchase on 01.01.2025

Bitcoin (BTC)

+461.11%

+111.05%

-1.47%

Ethereum (ETH)

+47.16%

-24.89%

-47.38%

Solana (SOL)

+1,396.30%

+36.14%

-22.98%

Dogecoin (DOGE)

+155.04%

+94.74%

-44.79%

TRON (TRX)

+350.65%

+129.30%

-3.52%

The general state of affairs stays unchanged. The numerous disparity in annual returns between BTC and ETH when bought on January 1, 2025, will be attributed to the absence of a strong correlation. BTC reached its peak in late January 2025, whereas ETH peaked in September 2024. Nonetheless, the final pattern stays constant — ETH turns into extra reasonably priced during times of market weak point, just like weaker altcoins.

Regardless of its market place and recognition, ETH reveals volatility extra typical of second-tier altcoins. Excessive volatility can current alternatives for short-term speculative positive aspects. Then again, there’s a threat that the coin’s worth may reverse at any second.

What can be the results of a small funding of $100 in Ethereum right this moment? The reply depends upon the time of 12 months whenever you learn this evaluation. Subsequently, it’s unimaginable to offer a short-term forecast. The long-term Ethereum worth prediction signifies a average development trajectory, with slower development in comparison with the main cryptocurrencies.

Is $100 Sufficient to Put money into Ethereum?

The yield of Ethereum at completely different time intervals is proven within the earlier block. Over the course of a 12 months, the coin can deliver in additional than 50% revenue, however it may possibly additionally lose half its worth in a couple of months. For those who invested $100 in Ethereum, you could possibly earn $50 in a 12 months or lose the identical quantity.

Is an funding of $100 in Ethereum sufficient? It depends upon the funding horizon:

For brief-term hypothesis, it’s greater than sufficient in the event you use leverage.For long-term investments of 1-3 years, the potential earnings are roughly $100–$150 in a good situation, with the danger of shedding a minimum of half in an unfavorable situation, which makes it a questionable possibility.

Immediately, Ethereum stays a extremely unstable asset: sharp worth swings make it a gorgeous instrument for short-term buying and selling. In the long run, development can be doable, however it’s more likely to be extra modest than that of its opponents.

Lately, ETH has been exhibiting indicators of a gentle restoration; nonetheless, it could be considerably cheaper right this moment. For comparability, inventory indices at present yield 10–15% a 12 months, whereas shares yield 20–30%. Ethereum’s potential for a return of fifty% or extra per 12 months is interesting, however it’s only attainable with a profitable entry level and favorable market situations. The minimal funding threshold advisable is about at $1,000.

The way to Make investments $100 in Ethereum: Funding Strategies 

There are a number of choices: grow to be the direct proprietor of the cash or earn on the worth distinction with out proudly owning ETH. The primary possibility presents two options: buying on an trade after which storing the cash, for instance, in staking, or storing the cash in a chilly pockets.

1. Direct Ethereum Buy 

Potential choices:

Buy on a centralized trade. The best and most dependable possibility. Exchanges equivalent to Binance, Bybit, and Coinbase are licensed corporations.

Register, full verification, and buy ETH in any handy means. You possibly can pay in your buy immediately with Visa/Mastercard, e-wallets, stablecoins, P2P companies, and so on. This can be a handy possibility for short-term funding selections and speculative cryptocurrency buying and selling.

Cash will be saved in your account on the trade platform. Nonetheless, crypto exchanges usually are not proof against assaults from hackers. You possibly can ship cash to staking/farming and earn further on them, or put them into a chilly pockets.

Purchase cash on decentralized (DEX) exchanges. These exchanges don’t require verification, however additionally they don’t supply accounts for storing cash. They’re solely used for getting and promoting crypto property, so you will have a crypto pockets for this goal.

Trade companies. You possibly can trade any forex or cryptocurrency for Ethereum. Nonetheless, it’s best to have a registered pockets to which the switch will likely be made. Nonetheless, there are quite a few fraudulent platforms. Typically, trade companies cost excessive charges. You’ll find comparatively confirmed trade companies on the Bestchange aggregator web site.

Crypto ATMs. Just like a financial institution ATM, these are bodily gadgets situated on the road the place you should buy ETH with money. Nonetheless, on this case, it’s best to have a pockets created upfront to obtain the cash.Buy by way of wallets that assist ETH transactions. For instance, MetaMask and Belief Pockets are handy for long-term funding.

When selecting, think about your short- or long-term objectives, whole fee, stage of anonymity, comfort of the acquisition, and comfort of coin storage. In some nations, monetary regulators could limit financial institution card transactions, and crypto ATMs can save the day.

2. CFD Buying and selling

Not like the earlier methodology, CFD buying and selling doesn’t imply that you simply grow to be the proprietor of ETH, however you may earn from the worth distinction. This could solely be finished after registering with a CFD dealer. You possibly can strive your hand on the LiteFinance demo account after fast registration. Verification and account replenishment usually are not required.

The way to commerce CFDs utilizing the LiteFinance dealer for instance:

On the principle web page, click on Register. Fill out a brief registration type, after which you’ll get entry to your Shopper Profile and the online buying and selling platform.Within the left vertical panel, choose Commerce. Within the horizontal menu, choose the Cryptocurrencies part.

You possibly can open a commerce immediately from the principle panel by specifying the place measurement and clicking a Purchase or Promote button, or you may go to the “Data on the instrument” part to get prolonged entry to evaluation instruments and commerce parameters.

Right here you may view the worth motion on completely different time frames, use charting instruments, and technical indicators proper on the chart. Within the commerce administration block, you may set stop-loss and take-profit orders. There are three choices obtainable, which MT4 doesn’t have.

Benefits of CFD buying and selling:

Easy registration and verification.Leverage. Cryptocurrency exchanges solely supply leverage on futures, which carry excessive dangers as a result of spinoff nature of this instrument.Decrease dangers in comparison with long-term storage of cash in a pockets, because the seed phrase—the password to a chilly pockets —will be misplaced. Furthermore, this password is a first-rate goal for fraudsters.

This feature is appropriate for short-term buying and selling however not for long-term investing, because it incurs swap prices—charges for rolling over a place to the following day.

3. Ethereum ETFs and Various Funding Strategies 

Spot Ethereum ETFs had been accepted by the SEC in Might 2024. A spot ETF is a fund whose asset worth is tied to the worth of ETH. You aren’t shopping for cryptocurrency, however quite the safety of a fund that, in flip, buys Ethereum.

Benefits of spot ETH in comparison with direct buy:

ETFs have extra clear guidelines and are extra compliant with laws. The standing of cryptocurrencies on the legislative stage has not been totally outlined. Non-public buyers have questions associated to taxes, equivalent to confirming the Supply of Funds when promoting cryptocurrencies.ETFs simplify reporting to tax authorities, because the dealer offers ready-made paperwork. When buying Ethereum immediately, you need to calculate earnings and losses your self and fill out a tax return.ETH ETFs are traded on regulated inventory exchanges and are topic to oversight by regulatory our bodies such because the SEC. This method mitigates the dangers of fraud and manipulation which are prevalent in crypto exchanges with insufficient regulatory oversight.Much less duty. Investing in exchange-traded funds entails buying an asset by way of a dealer. There is no such thing as a must take care of registration on exchanges, transaction ideas, and so on. Investing in ETFs eliminates the danger of shedding your password, falling sufferer to a pockets hack, or encountering a safety breach on a crypto trade. The ETF administration firm is liable for storing ETH in specialised custodial companies.

This methodology is appropriate for long-term buyers.

What Might Occur if I Make investments $100 in Ethereum 

The cryptocurrency market has two notable weaknesses: the inefficiency of startups and a excessive speculative element.

In precept, the worth of an asset is set by its sensible usefulness. On this analogy, cryptocurrency startups are analogous to corporations, and cryptocurrencies are akin to shares. If an organization produces a services or products, it’ll have a web revenue, its shares will likely be engaging to buyers, and their worth will rise. A dummy firm is unlikely to draw vital investments.

The cryptocurrency market is at present dominated by what some seek advice from as useless crypto initiatives. Yearly, a whole bunch of recent startups emerge, but a lot of them usually are not sustainable and finally disappear. Listed here are some related statistics:

In 2024, the variety of newly created tokens surpassed 2.5 million. Ethereum and different platforms now permit anybody to create their very own tokens.The three largest exchanges — Binance, Bybit, and Coinbase — account for greater than 3,000 listings per 12 months.From 2021 to 2024, roughly 70% of the cash listed on CoinGecko, the most important cryptocurrency aggregator, ceased to exist.

Aside from a lovely brand, most startups don’t have anything else to supply. They’re ineffective, and their cash serve solely speculative functions. Examples embody meme tokens, Trump and Melania cash, and the cryptocurrency of the Central African Republic.

One thing comparable was noticed within the US inventory market, the place the dot-com bubble started to inflate in 1995. Following the dot-com crash in 2000, it turned obvious that many corporations weren’t producing something, with most of their budgets allotted to advertising. The identical is going on within the cryptocurrency market right this moment.

What to anticipate if I make investments $100 in Ethereum right this moment?

The crypto neighborhood and regulators will lastly discover frequent floor. Laws will likely be developed, and cryptocurrencies will grow to be totally authorized. Ethereum will lastly cut back charges inside the community and resolve scalability points. The Ethereum worth will enhance 5-10 instances.The cryptocurrency market will likely be fully reshaped. Ineffective startups will disappear, and a lot of the pure hypothesis will disappear from the market. The worth of cash will lastly attain its equilibrium worth, however the market will deflate. The Ethereum market worth will fall 3-5 instances.

In some unspecified time in the future, each eventualities can materialize.

Can Investing $100 in Ethereum Make Me Rich? 

Apparently not. If you wish to grow to be rich, a $100 capital can be inadequate to generate substantial returns. It’s extremely unbelievable that your funding will respect by greater than 100 instances, as this is able to necessitate a corresponding enhance within the capitalization of all the market, provided that cash typically develop concurrently. Ethereum’s potential for development is critical, with projections indicating a 10-fold enhance inside the subsequent 5 years. Nonetheless, the coin has repeatedly declined by greater than 50%, failing to surpass its 5-year highs.

Conclusion

Some media personalities imagine that Ethereum is a relic of early blockchain days. The platform was the primary to supply an modern answer, however its growth has stalled, and it’s inserting the improper emphasis. New competing networks will quickly surpass Vitalik Buterin’s community.

Whereas such opinions have been expressed for a while, ETH continues to guide the trade in its discipline. Subsequently, Ethereum stays a sound funding, notably when mixed with a diversified portfolio technique.

Listed here are some extra takeaways:

Ethereum is likely one of the most established platforms for creating decentralized functions on the blockchain. Regardless of challenges associated to ecosystem issues and falling behind opponents in a number of areas, it continues to guide the phase as a consequence of its popularity for reliability amongst customers and a powerful neighborhood of loyal members.Ethereum is greatest suited to long-term funding as a threat diversification instrument. It’s the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap and has gained vital market share. Though its development dynamics usually are not as sturdy as these of Bitcoin, it’s well-positioned to resist potential market downturns.Within the brief time period, ETH could also be a viable possibility for speculative buying and selling during times of excessive volatility.