IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/compec/v66y2025i1d10.1007_s10614-024-10658-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is the Price of Ether Driven by Demand or Pure Speculation?

Author

Listed:
  • Zein Alamah

    (Lebanese American University)

  • Ali Fakih

    (Lebanese American University)

Abstract

This research, utilizing weekly data from 2017 to 2023 (298 observations), seeks to answer the question, “Is the Price of Ether Driven by Demand or Pure Speculation?” It investigates the determinants of Ether price by focusing on the role of Gas price in Wei, Ethereum Network Utilization, and Bitcoin price. The study demonstrates that Network Utilization, indicative of demand, significantly influences Ether’s price, suggesting a demand-driven price dynamic over pure speculation. Conversely, Gas and Bitcoin prices exert a less pronounced impact. Despite the constraints of a specific timeframe and limited variables, the research provides crucial insights into Ether’s pricing dynamics. The revealed dependence of Ether’s price on actual network demand and utilization supports the argument that Ether exhibits commodity-like characteristics, contributing to the ongoing debate on Ether’s status as a commodity or a security. The utility of econometric methodologies, especially the SVAR model, is highlighted in exploring relationships within the Ethereum ecosystem. The study holds significant implications for stakeholders in the Ethereum ecosystem and the broader cryptocurrency market, and it encourages future research to consider additional price determinants and employ diverse econometric models.

Suggested Citation

  • Zein Alamah & Ali Fakih, 2025. "Is the Price of Ether Driven by Demand or Pure Speculation?," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 66(1), pages 323-347, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:compec:v:66:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10614-024-10658-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10614-024-10658-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10614-024-10658-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10614-024-10658-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • C58 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Financial Econometrics
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:compec:v:66:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10614-024-10658-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.