There are a lot of things you could do with $135 in the financial markets. You could, for example, have used it to buy one share of Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, at its IPO valuation of $135 per share.
That got me thinking: Is there any cryptocurrency with the same type of moonshot potential as SpaceX? Preferably, this cryptocurrency would offer the same type of diversification as SpaceX, which is far more than just a space exploration company. It would also be available at a price of $135 or lower.
That’s a big ask, of course, but I’ve found a cryptocurrency that satisfies all three conditions. I’m talking about Ethereum (ETH +2.38%), the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency.
Moonshot potential
Ethereum has had an epic run since its debut, soaring in value by approximately 55,600%. It’s hard to imagine it repeating the same type of performance over the next decade, but it may still have plenty of rocket fuel left to deliver stratospheric returns to investors.
Image source: Getty Images.
Wall Street strategist Tom Lee, for example, thinks Ethereum is going to $62,000. If so, then that’s a potential head-spinning 37x gain based on today’s prices.
Those out-of-this-world returns are being driven by Ethereum’s historic dominance in decentralized finance (DeFi). As the worlds of Wall Street finance and blockchain finance continue to blur, Ethereum will only become more valuable.
Don’t forget: Ethereum is one of the few cryptocurrencies to have been to outer space. In 2021, SpaceX brought a node of the Ethereum blockchain to the International Space Station (ISS), to see if it had what it takes to work in outer space. (Spoiler alert: It did.)
Diversification
Unlike Bitcoin, which is primarily just a store of value, Ethereum has many real-world use cases. The most obvious use cases are in finance, of course, thanks to Ethereum’s innovative use of smart contracts.
Ethereum is now getting ready to pivot into artificial intelligence. According to founder Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum can provide the underlying infrastructure for innovative AI projects.
How to put $135 to work
Even after its recent market slide, Ethereum is not cheap. It currently trades for $1,670, so we’ll have to look for other options if we want to stick to our $135 budget.
iShares Ethereum Trust – iShares Ethereum Trust ETF
Today’s Change
(-1.02%) $-0.13
Current Price
$12.57
Key Data Points
Day’s Range
$12.46 – $12.76
52wk Range
$11.62 – $36.80
Volume
28.2M
That’s easier than it sounds, thanks to the launch of spot Ethereum ETFs in July 2024. The most popular of these, the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA 1.02%), currently trades for approximately $12.50. With $135, you’d be able to pick up 10 shares of the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF, and still have some money left over.
If history is any guide, that $135 investment could appreciate over time. If you had invested that $135 in Ethereum in 2015, you’d have $75,200 today. You wouldn’t be Elon Musk rich, of course, but you might just have enough money to afford a future trip to Mars aboard a SpaceX rocket.
