Ethereum (ETH/USD) co-creator Steven Nerayoff says its value could triple in 2018 due to increased projects built on the cryptocurrency, CNBC reported.
According to him, businesses in a wide variety of industries are starting to take note of what value Ethereum's protocol could offer them.
"What you're seeing with ethereum is exponential increase in the number of projects — there are billions of dollars being poured into the ecosystem right now — maybe 10 times more projects this year than last year, which could easily lead to a doubling, probably a tripling in price by the end of the year," Nerayoff said.
Nerayoff also attributes increased usage to ethereum's ability to process transactions more quickly and cheaply than its rival Bitcoin (Bitcoin).
"People are actually using it for currency, as well," he said. "Lower transactional costs are increasing usage of the entire network, and that's increasing the network effects of it. There are more users, more projects being built on there and more programmers," he said.
Nerayoff predicts a good year for Ethereum, which has surged past $1,200 and has a market capitalization of over $16 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.