Institutional expectations for Ethereum’s price are slowly rising, even as Arthur Hayes makes bearish statements about his long-term position in the market. Meanwhile, Bitcoin falls below $78,000, putting pressure on resistance levels that have capped every rally since November.
Hayes, the founder of BitMEX and one of the most followed voices in the macro crypto space, argued this week that AI-driven coins like Render and Fetch could unseat Ethereum from the big three by 2030. Hayes cited AI coins seeing gains of 250% in the first half of 2024 compared to ETH’s relatively modest 40% growth.
ARTHUR HAYES PREDICTS ETHEREUM COULD FALL OUT OF TOP 3 CRYPTOS BY 2030 AS AI TOKENS RISE pic.twitter.com/xBqo7TwBFw
– Crypto Town Hall (@Crypto_TownHall) April 24, 2026
Hayes explicitly ruled out Solana being the one to overtake Ethereum in the rankings. These comments reverberated around the world. He is pessimistic about the arrangement, but very optimistic about the price.
With all due respect to Arthur, this seems like a pretty strange prediction, because Ethereum is already the largest agentic AI platform, so why wouldn’t it benefit even more from AI in the future?
– BigNobody (@_BigNobody) April 24, 2026
As a backdrop, macroeconomic risks remain high with oil prices near $97 per barrel, gold above $4,700 and a fragile ceasefire in Iran. Bitcoin is currently testing the $78,000 to $80,000 zone where huge sell orders are piling up in order books.
Ethereum Price Forecast: $2,400 Level Remains Fierce Resistance
ETH price has remained confined within a range between $2,100 and $2,400 since February, with the $2,100 level acting as strong support, while the $2,400 level represents a ceiling that consistently rejects breakout attempts. A recent 8% rise stopped just below that ceiling.
The bullish case relies on two powerful drivers: The first is the impending Glamsterdam upgrade, which will add scalability that could significantly reduce circulating supply. The second is the acceleration of institutional accumulation, with companies like BitMine adding ETH positions to current levels. Standard Chartered sets a price target of $15,000 by 2027, while Hayes forecasts a minimum price of $10,000.
Ethereum is likely to hold the $2,100 level, entering a consolidation phase during the third quarter, and attempting a clean break above $2,400 once Bitcoin takes a stand at its resistance levels. ETF inflows remain a favorable structural factor that was not present during the previous cycle.
However, a weekly close below $2,100 could open the door for a return to $1,800, likely triggering a broad altcoin selloff. If Bitcoin fails at $80,000 and falls, Ethereum will not be immune from this decline.
Maxi Doge presale nears $5M as ETH whales seek early opportunities
There is an uncomfortable truth for late buyers of ETH: even a clean breakout to $3,000 from current levels only represents about 26% upside potential. It’s a good deal, but it’s not a radical life change. So those seeking asymmetric returns in an Ethereum-related environment are turning to early-stage projects on the same network, where the math still looks different.
It’s a project Maxi Doge ($MAXI) One of the presale offers that attracts this attention. Built on the Ethereum network as an ERC-20 token, the project combines the energy of the LGBT community with structured business mechanisms such as holder competitions with leaderboard rewards, a Maxi Fund treasury for liquidity, and partnerships.
“psst… bro… you’re not dreaming” pic.twitter.com/tYrqKx8qra
– MaxiDoge (@MaxiDoge_) April 25, 2026
The current presale price is $0.0002815, with the total pool amount reaching $4.7 million and offers a storage APY of over 60% for participants. The presale is approaching the $5 million mark, narrowing the window for early entry.