Ethereum (ETH) has joined Bitcoin (BTC) in a notable price recovery, managing to reclaim the $3,000 mark. This resurgence could signify a pivotal moment for the altcoin, suggesting a potential new upward trend. However, investors remain divided on whether ETH may face further declines or if a year-end rebound could reignite bullish sentiment. ETH’s December Struggles In order to anticipate Ethereum’s probable moves in December, Alex Carchidi, an analyst at The Motley Fool, notes that this month has traditionally been a difficult month for the cryptocurrency. Since 2016, Ethereum has only concluded December higher than it started in four of the nine years studied.  In the remaining five cases, the month ended in negative territory. The average December return throughout this span is about 7%, indicating that a strong “Santa rally” is improbable. The median performance shows a 6% drop.  Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Climbs Back To $91,000: Is The Decline Over? Key Levels To Watch Examining the relationship between November and December reveals a more intriguing pattern. Between 2016 and 2024, when November has been weak for ETH, December often followed suit, with three out of four instances showing declines.  The only outlier was in 2018, when Ethereum rebounded in December after a particularly harsh downturn in November. This historical context suggests that a poor performance in November could carry over into December, making a cheerful month less probable. But while December’s performance has historically been mixed, the beginning of the year has typically shown strong potential for the Ethereum price, particularly in the first and second quarters.  In fact, average returns tend to peak in the first quarter at around 77% and the second quarter at approximately 64%, indicating that there may still be significant growth on the horizon for the leading altcoin. Tom Lee Foresees Ethereum Surging To $7,000  Amidst this hypothetical scenario, Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies and a major industry advocate, predicts a bright future for Ethereum in the near and long term.  The executive believes that the cryptocurrency could surge to $7,000 per coin heading into the first quarter of 2026, reflecting a nearly 150% price surge from its current value.  Related Reading: Metaplanet In Jeopardy: Bitcoin Needs To Surpass $108,000 By December 18 To Prevent New Crisis Lee is even more optimistic about the long term, predicting that if his vision for a decentralized financial system materializes, the Ethereum price could soar by 2,090% to reach $62,000 by 2035. After a challenging year in which ETH significantly underperformed its peers, it has shown increased resilience, especially following the recent crash in crypto prices that saw the token’s valuation drop to $2,600 last Friday.  Currently, ETH is trading just above $3,000. While this is not bullish enough to outpace the recent crash, ETH is positioned to recover significantly if demand and capital flow back into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as the year comes to a close.  Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.comEthereum (ETH) has joined Bitcoin (BTC) in a notable price recovery, managing to reclaim the $3,000 mark. This resurgence could signify a pivotal moment for the altcoin, suggesting a potential new upward trend. However, investors remain divided on whether ETH may face further declines or if a year-end rebound could reignite bullish sentiment. ETH’s December Struggles In order to anticipate Ethereum’s probable moves in December, Alex Carchidi, an analyst at The Motley Fool, notes that this month has traditionally been a difficult month for the cryptocurrency. Since 2016, Ethereum has only concluded December higher than it started in four of the nine years studied.  In the remaining five cases, the month ended in negative territory. The average December return throughout this span is about 7%, indicating that a strong “Santa rally” is improbable. The median performance shows a 6% drop.  Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Climbs Back To $91,000: Is The Decline Over? Key Levels To Watch Examining the relationship between November and December reveals a more intriguing pattern. Between 2016 and 2024, when November has been weak for ETH, December often followed suit, with three out of four instances showing declines.  The only outlier was in 2018, when Ethereum rebounded in December after a particularly harsh downturn in November. This historical context suggests that a poor performance in November could carry over into December, making a cheerful month less probable. But while December’s performance has historically been mixed, the beginning of the year has typically shown strong potential for the Ethereum price, particularly in the first and second quarters.  In fact, average returns tend to peak in the first quarter at around 77% and the second quarter at approximately 64%, indicating that there may still be significant growth on the horizon for the leading altcoin. Tom Lee Foresees Ethereum Surging To $7,000  Amidst this hypothetical scenario, Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies and a major industry advocate, predicts a bright future for Ethereum in the near and long term.  The executive believes that the cryptocurrency could surge to $7,000 per coin heading into the first quarter of 2026, reflecting a nearly 150% price surge from its current value.  Related Reading: Metaplanet In Jeopardy: Bitcoin Needs To Surpass $108,000 By December 18 To Prevent New Crisis Lee is even more optimistic about the long term, predicting that if his vision for a decentralized financial system materializes, the Ethereum price could soar by 2,090% to reach $62,000 by 2035. After a challenging year in which ETH significantly underperformed its peers, it has shown increased resilience, especially following the recent crash in crypto prices that saw the token’s valuation drop to $2,600 last Friday.  Currently, ETH is trading just above $3,000. While this is not bullish enough to outpace the recent crash, ETH is positioned to recover significantly if demand and capital flow back into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as the year comes to a close.  Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com