Moonbeam is designed to build a bridge between Ethereum and Polkadot. Does it have legs?
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Moonbeam's bridge-building capabilities suggest it might have the potential to be the hot new crypto in 2022. But what is moonbeam (GLMR)? How does moonbeam work? What is moonbeam used for? And what is the moonbeam price prediction?
Let’s take a look.
Moonbeam explained
Moonbeam is a crypto token based on the Polkadot blockchain. Polkadot allows users to create their own blockchains, called parachains, which are linked to Polkadot’s main relay chain. The idea behind moonbeam is that, while it operates on Polkadot, it is able to connect to and interact with the Ethereum blockchain.
This means that developers can create and build their own programs that are compatible with Ethereum, meaning they can use such features as the Ethereum Virtual Machine, a program which acts like a massive decentralised computer and helps run the blockchain, and smart contracts, computer programs that automatically execute once certain conditions are met.
In effect, the Moonbeam program serves as a kind of bridge, allowing people to operate on both Ethereum and Polkadot. The idea is that, as time goes on, more people will want to take advantage of features that exist on more than one blockchain, creating things on one platform and then using them on another.
GLMR is the native token of Moonbeam. It helps to power smart contracts on the network, helps decentralised apps (DApps) perform, and keeps the system secure. It is also used for paying for transaction fees on the network and to pay people who run the system’s nodes. Holders are also able to vote on proposals relating to the governance of the network.
Moonbeam price history
GLMR is a new coin, even if it has got a lot of attention from investors. While moonbeam’s price history is a relatively short one, it is still worth taking a look at – even though past performance is no indicator of future results, considering what little history there is could potentially give us some clues when it comes to making a moonbeam price forecast.
The token was being traded in early 2022 and, at the start of 11 January, the price was $11.00. It then, suddenly and freakishly, spiked dramatically, shooting up by not far off 4,000% to hit $437.07. Just as quickly and dramatically, the price fell down, and it closed the day at $11.91.
The first few trading days of any cryptocurrency that isn’t a stablecoin can be pretty volatile, and GLMR, aka glimmer, fits the bill well enough. As well as the 11 January super spike, there was a drop to below $10, with $8.40 on 12 January serving as an all-time low for the freshly minted crypto. It then hit $15.88 the next day, before floating downwards in price.
As of 17 January, it was trading at around the $10 mark. At the same time, it had a market cap of around $796m, making it the 219th largest crypto by that metric. CoinMarketCap reported that there were 76,146,361 GLMR in circulation out of a maximum supply of one billion.
Moonbeam (GLMR) price prediction
Because Moonbeam is so new, that means there is less information for people to base their GLMR price forecast on. Similarly, because it is so new, there are not many price predictions out there.
Always remember, in any case, forecasts can be and often are wrong, especially in the long term. Longer-term crypto price predictions are often made using an algorithm, which can change at any moment.
That said, PricePrediction.net has a Moonbeam price prediction for 2022 which sees it trade at an average price of $14.07 this year before reaching around $19.67 in 2023. In 2024, the coin should reach $29.14, the site says. The pattern of an annual rise somewhere in the region of 50% continues into 2025, when the GLMR price prediction reaches an average of $43.59.
In 2026, according to PricePrediction.net, GLMR’s growth should slow slightly to get to around $62.70, the site believes, with a jump to $94.74 the following year. In 2028, the token is forecast to stand at about $144.50, and it should hit $218.26 at the end of the decade, PricePrediction.net reckons.
The site has stuck its neck out and has not only made a moonbeam price prediction for 2030 of an average of $323.36, but has also made one for 2031, when it says the price should be around $474.37.
DigitalCoinPrice, meanwhile, makes a Moonbeam price prediction which sees the coin reaching $12.60 in 2022, $14.41 in 2023 and $16.05 in 2024. The site has a Moonbeam coin price prediction for 2025 of $20.29. However, the growth will stop and a price drop take place in 2026, it suggests, when the coin should, if the forecast is accurate, go down to $18.36.
In 2027, though, DigitalCoinPrice believes GLMR will undergo a resurgence and shoot up to $26.43, before breaking through the $30 mark in 2028 to reach $34.80. In 2029, the site says, Moonbeam will undergo further growth and reach $39.74.
Final thoughts
GLMR was subject to an initial coin offering (ICO), which ended in September 2021 and raised $30.5m. The system was founded by Derek Yoo, CEO of the blockchain infrastructure company PureChain.
Technically speaking, GLMR is not being traded on the open market yet. The people behind the coin say that will not happen until there have been some Polkadot parachain auctions, although when this will be is unclear. That is not to say that some people are not buying and selling the token as of 17 January, but you will be hard pressed to find it on exchanges.
Since GLMR is very much in its infancy, you will need to be careful. Plenty of cryptos have had interesting early weeks, but have then dropped down, never to recover.
There is also the fact that other systems and cryptos do what Moonbeam does, meaning that it could be one of those, rather than Moonbeam, that becomes the go-to crypto for cross-blockchain development. We simply cannot be certain as to what might happen in the future.
FAQs
As of 17 January, there were 76,146,361 Moonbeam coins in circulation, out of a maximum supply of one billion.
It might be. Although we are still very much in the early stages of the token, the signs are encouraging, with what few predictions there are bullish. It also appears to be legitimate, having been set up by respectable people in the crypto sphere.
However, you still have to be careful. There have been plenty of cryptos which looked promising and ultimately crashed, so you will have to do your own research, remember that prices can go down as well as up, and never invest more money than you can afford to lose.
It might do. The forecasts look encouraging. On the other hand, forecasts are often wrong and it can be difficult to know what will happen when a cryptocurrency is so new.
Remember that cryptos can be incredibly volatile, and that prices can go down as well as up. You will need to do your own research and never invest more money than you can afford to lose.
This is a question that only you can answer. Before you do that – and you may have to be patient and wait until it is listed on exchanges – you will need to do your own research and remember prices can go down as well as up.
Regardless, you should never invest more money in any crypto than you can afford to lose.
