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As a result of new pro-crypto messaging coming out of the White House, decentralized finance (DeFi) coins are having a moment right now. The best example is Hyperliquid (CRYPTO: HYPE), which is up a head-spinning 265% for the year.
While the HYPE token trades for close to $100, there are plenty of low-priced DeFi coins currently trading for less than $1 that offer the same type of upside potential. The best of the bunch is Ethena (CRYPTO: ENA), which has 4x upside potential in 2027. Here's why.
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Right now, Ethena trades for just $0.25. In order to hit a price of $1 next year, it would need to quadruple in price. That's a lot to expect from any cryptocurrency. But there are plenty of high-profile investors who think it might actually be possible.
According to Standard Chartered (OTC: SCBFY), for example, Ethena will hit a price of $1.10 by the end of next year, before zooming to a price of $2 in 2028. This is based on continued growth in Ethena USDe (CRYPTO: USDE), the "synthetic" dollar stablecoin created using the Ethena DeFi protocol.
Right now, USDe ranks as the third-largest stablecoin in the world, trailing only Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) and USDC (CRYPTO: USDC). It currently has a market cap of nearly $5 billion. But Standard Chartered thinks total USDe stablecoin supply will hit $40 billion by 2028. So there's a lot of growth coming right around the corner.
Even better, Ethena is now using buybacks to boost its token price. Going forward, 95% of net revenue will be used to buy back and burn the ENA token. So, the more money that Ethena makes from its USDe stablecoin, the more money it will have for token buybacks. As a result, the ENA token should continue to move higher next year.
Just keep in mind that there is a tremendous amount of risk in investing in any relatively unproven DeFi coin. In 2024, for example, Ethena looked like it was easily going to break through the $2 mark. It didn't. After hitting an all-time high of $1.52 in April 2024, Ethena fell back to earth, and it's still down a whopping 84% from that high.
I'm looking to 2020, and not 2024, for my historical evidence. That's when the first DeFi boom arrived, lifting the fortunes of every major DeFi coin. Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) soared 472% in 2020 and 395% in 2021. Riskier, more speculative DeFi coins soared even higher.
Of course, there's no guarantee that the same phenomenon will happen in 2027. But I'm banking on the rapid growth of stablecoins, combined with a pro-crypto regulatory environment in the United States, to boost the fortunes of Ethena. If it's trading for more than $1 by the end of next year, I wouldn't be surprised.
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Dominic Basulto has positions in Ethereum and USDC. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum and Hyperliquid. The Motley Fool recommends Ethena and Standard Chartered Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Can This Surging Altcoin Hit a Price of $1 in 2027? The Answer Will Surprise You. was originally published by The Motley Fool
