The art world will help drive up prices of cryptocurrency Ethereum, taking it to $500 by the end of the year, affirms an influential tech expert and business analyst.

The comments from Ian Mcleod, of art-tech agency Thomas Crown Art, come as the world’s second largest cryptocurrency failed to break the $208 and $210 resistance levels against the US dollar. 

Mcleod observed, “Ethereum’s price has been in bear territory for a few weeks, with prices declining dramatically. 

“But it can be expected there will be a trend reversal between now and the end of the year. Once back in bull territory, there will be a dramatic upswing with considerable gains. 

“It would be reasonable to believe that Ethereum will hit $500 by the end of 2018 and go on an overall upward trajectory throughout 2019.”

He continued, “Much of the expected price rises will be fuelled by an increasing number of sectors including real estate, antiques and finance, using Ethereum and its superior blockchain technology.

“The art world is likely to be one of the biggest adopters as blockchain can authenticate artwork. It’s an ideal use-case for distributed ledger technology as it offers the ability to store a permanent, immutable record of artwork at the point of creation which can be used to authenticate registered works by any party.

He continued, “Not only is Ethereum a fundamentally strong digital asset, its blockchain provides workable, tangible solutions for many sectors, it solves problems, and enhances existing systems.”

Last month, Mcleod told the media, “We can expect Bitcoin to lose 50% of its cryptocurrency market share to Ethereum, its nearest rival, within five years.”

“Ethereum is already light years ahead of Bitcoin in everything but price – and this gap will become increasingly apparent as more and more investors jump into crypto.”