Very interesting question. There are a few possibilities if we compare with the value of ethereum price in 2019 it can give you some idea with the scenarios
They range from:
Next to nothing
100,000 USD or even more.
There are also lots of possibilities in between.
Was that the answer you were looking for? Of course not. You want as exact an answer as one could possibly provide, down to the penny.
The thing is that that was the answer you needed.
So many things can happen with Ethereum over the course of 2018. Below, allow me to explain what could potentially make Ethereum crumble and what could make Ethereum skyrocket.
Disaster scenarios:
China, South Korea and other Asian countries ban cryptocurrency trading and mining. Weve already seen cryptos across the board plummet by -20% within the hour just because of *speculation* that Asian governments might ban trading and mining. Just imagine if they actually see that threat through.
Another major exchange gets hacked. Could you imagine if Coinbase got hacked? Youd see the price of all cryptos deflate like a popped balloon within seconds. With the proliferation of cryptos and resulting exchanges, we should expect more exchanges to get hacked in 2018. Depending on the size of the hacked exchanges, you may see prices either barely move or you may see the Earth split in two.
Buterin and Ethereum developers get hacked and/or fail to deliver on their lofty promises. If there were to be a successful attack on the very Ethereum core team you could see Ether (and Ether alone) plunge dramatically.
Payday scenarios:
Buterin & Co. implement Casper/Proof of Stake. This is a first to the finish line race out of the major cryptos and Ethereum is easily leading the way. Whenever (not if ever) Ethereum implements PoS, hold on tight because its going to be wild. If Bitcoin doesnt switch to PoS at the same time you could easily see Ether overtake Bitcoin on the coin value to USD pair within a short span of time.
Corporations and/or major developers start utilizing Ethereum for everyday processes or decentralized apps are released to the public. Both of these would drive demand for Ether up dramatically as more and more potential holders seek to buy and either up their stake in Ether or enter for the first time.
Bitcoin continues to not really do anything useful. Its interesting how Bitcoin has primarily become little more than a store of value rather than an actual currency. With the current technical headwinds that Bitcoin is facing, we shouldnt expect this to change any time soon. I mean there are very good reasons why major corporations are flocking to Ethereum and not to Bitcoin. I suspect that we will continue to see that trend continue here in 2018, if not speed up even more.
Those are the biggest factors that I can think of. Of course all of this is not to be taken as any kind of investment advice as I am no financial adviser. I am merely someone who is very excited about the potential of cryptocurrency from both a real-world application standpoint and from a personal investment standpoint. We all invest at our own risk and should all be doing thorough market research to determine which opportunities may be right for each person.