Fundstrat Global Advisors LLC believes ether could climb more than sevenfold to $10,500 after reaching a record this week, reports Bloomberg. Strategist David Grider bases his prediction on the popularity of the related ethereum blockchain for so-called decentralized finance applications.

- Ethereum has made progress toward a network upgrade that would allow it to process a similar number of transactions as Mastercard and Visa Inc.
- Grider believes ether has the best risk/reward investment play in crypto, adding that “blockchain computing may be the future of the cloud.”
- The analysts recognize possible setbacks of network upgrade or bear market as the risks inherent in ether and cryptos
- Ether rose more than fivefold last year compared with the quadrupling in the price of Bitcoin amid a polarizing crypto boom.
- Crypto enthusiasts believe digital coins are maturing as asset classes, but critics say they remain prone to rampant speculation and major volatility.
Ethereum is currently declining. ETHUSD is down 7.34%