On August 24, 2025, Ethereum reached a new all-time high of $4,958, just below the $5,000 mark. The price is now about 10% lower but remains within striking distance. While investors are still hoping for further records, leading AI models warn that the next bear market could begin sooner than expected.
Historical Patterns
According to ChatGPT 5.0, Ethereum has historically shown sharper and faster corrections compared to Bitcoin:
During the 2017-2018 cycle, after reaching an all-time high of around $1,430 in January 2018, the price collapsed to $85 by December the same year. This represented a decline of roughly -94%, lasting about 11 months.
The next cycle in 2021-2022 followed a similar pattern, though less dramatic. ETH peaked at $4,870 in November 2021, but by June 2022 it had dropped to $880. The correction amounted to about -82% and took roughly 7 months.
ETH losses were both deeper and faster than BTC during past downturns.
ChatGPT 5.0 Forecast
* Bull Market ATH (2025): conservative $8,000, optimistic $12,000-$15,000
* Bear Market Low: $1,200-$3,000
* Timeline: Q2-Q3 2026
Other AI Forecasts
* Gemini 2.5 Pro (Google): ATH $10,000-$15,000, low $1,500-$3,000, bear market starting Q4 2025
* Claude 4 Sonnet: ATH up to $18,000, low $3,000-$4,500, possible bull run extension into Q1 2026
* Grok 4 (X/Elon Musk): ATH $15,000, low $2,400-$2,800
* Qwen 3 (Alibaba): ATH $11,500-$16,500, low $1,955-$3,630
* Kimi K2 (Moonshot AI): ATH up to $20,000, low $3,000-$5,000
* Llama 4 Maverick (Meta): ATH $12,000, low $1,800
* DeepSeek V3.1: ATH $18,000, low $2,500-$3,000
Conclusion
All AI models expect the Ethereum bear market to start by late 2025, with only a few forecasting an extension into Q1 2026. Most projections anticipate new record highs before a steep correction. The consensus for ETH’s bear market bottom ranges between $2,000 and $3,000.
