Ethereum could rise fourfold to $2,500 and have a record-setting year this year, a financial consulting firm has predicted.”The price of Ethereum is predicted to increase significantly this year, and could hit $2,500 by the end of 2018 with a further increase by 2019 and 2020,” Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group, stated in an email to MarketWatch. Three Factors At WorkGreen attributed the general upswing to three drivers. The first being that more platforms are using Ethereum for trading. Secondly, Ethereum contracts are expanding. Thirdly, the decentralization of cloud computing bodes well for Ethereum. Green further observed that regulation in the cryptocurrency sector is inevitable, which points to greater investor protection and long-term market confidence. Ethereum has emerged as the digital currency of choice for new token issuers due to its efficiency and flexibility. The average transaction processing time on Ethereum is about 14 seconds, compared to bitcoin, which can be as long as 10 minutes. Ethereum’s market value was $67.4 billion at the time of this report. Ethereum led a market retreat with a 9% decline on Wednesday, and altogether nine of the 10 largest coins and tokens lost value against the dollar, while four posted double-digit declines. The major price action began Wednesday morning at approximately 2:30 UTC when the cryptocurrency market cap was valued at $434 billion. Over the next two-and-a-half hours, the market shed $30 billion, and — despite a brief recovery — continued to decline throughout the morning. It was not clear what caused the bulls to run out of steam, though it could have been a simple matter of traders who bought at the bear market’s bottom taking profits following the week’s rapid recovery, which had seen the cryptocurrency market cap swell by more than $100 billion. Both single-day and one-hour price movements moved into negative territory across the board Wednesday, though the retreat disproportionately affected altcoins. Bitcoin declined just 1% for the day, beating the index by more than 8% and raising its market share back above 39%. The Ethereum price had declined by more than 9% just hours after piercing $700 for the first time in more than a month. Bitcoin, at -1.96%, traded back above $9,000 Friday, consolidating over critical support between $8,500 and $9,000. Altcoins overall were in the green Friday. Bitcoin Cash was up by 1.97% to $1,388.50, Litecoin, -1.05%, was largely unchanged at $150.89 while Ripple traded at 85 cents, pushing its volume up by 1%. Analyst Still Bullish On CryptocurrencyGreen has been bullish on cryptocurrency in general.”Most major cryptocurrencies have been posting big gains over the last Green stated on his company’s website on Wednesday. “Current market activity indicates that the major cryptocurrencies are set for another considerable surge in prices gains in the near future.””What’s fueling this current rally in crypto prices? There are several key motivators,” he said. “These include the growing integration with and adoption by major banks and other financial institutions.”Green said 20 percent of all financial firms, ranging from hedge funds to banking giants, are now considering trading digital currencies in the 12 months, according to a new Thomson Reuters survey.”Another key reason for the rally is that there’s a growing awareness of the need and demand for digital, global currencies in a digitalized, globalized world,” he said. Featured image from Shutterstock