Ethereum (ETH) price went down by 2.8% over the last 24 hours but the asset still has the ability to sustain the $1,500 range.

At press time, according to tracking from Coingecko, the second largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization is trading at $1,506 and is still up by 17.5% for the past seven days.

The “post merge crash” that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies endured a few weeks ago has helped put the “king of all altcoins” back on top.

That challenging period saw Ethereum struggle to hold and surpass the $1,300 and $1,400 levels.

Ethereum Could Surge To Over $3,000 Next Year

While the recent bullish run that the crypto market had over the last couple of days helped ETH break out of its extended downward trend, it is still nowhere near the level it was the same time in 2021.

In November 10, 2021, Ethereum, along with its rival Bitcoin, attained all-time highs (ATHs) with ETH settling at $4,878.26.

The asset, however, wasn’t able to hold that position as it slowly but consistently declined, losing 69% of its ATH value.

But according to Kaleo, a well established crypto trader and analyst, based on its historical price movements, there’s a good chance that ETH will break the $3,000 barrier by next year. He went to as far as say that such development makes sense even with the asset still having a challenging run.

For the first time in as many months, the digital asset is exhibiting an upward trend line and is doing great in managing its swings especially in its “low zones.”

The last time Ethereum was able to hold the $1,500 price range was way back in September 15 before it retreated in an uncontrolled descent even after undergoing a massive network upgrade.

Why Ethereum Declined Even After The Merge

Even with the altcoin surging over the last few days, many participants in the vast crypto space are left to wonder what went sideways after the much-hyped merge update.

For one, the massive blockchain improvement was designed to have a long-term impact and not one that can be felt or seen or quantified over a short period of time.

It is also important to remember that Ethereum, just like other cryptocurrencies, is greatly affected by major market forces such as inflation and interest rate hikes.

The threat of more restrictions being imposed on crypto assets also affect prices as investors tend to think twice whenever full decentralization of digital currencies appear to be compromised by interventions from regulating offices like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

It’s not clear yet if the recent price surge of ETH can also be attributed to the merge update, but experts are saying that the results of that development are yet to be seen and felt by the broader crypto space.