Options traders piled some $640 million on bets that Bitcoin will hit $120,000 on December 27.
However, there’s only a 10% chance that those bets will pay out, and investors should instead tap into other cryptocurrencies, according to research firm Kaiko.
“While the chances of BTC gaining another $15,000 in the next 10 days or so are slim, this doesn’t mean there won’t be gains in other assets,” Kaiko analysts wrote in a Monday note.
Smaller cryptocurrencies like Solana, XRP, and Cardano have outperformed both Bitcoin and Ethereum this year, especially after Donald Trump’s election win, Kaiko wrote.
“These assets are all set to be major winners amid changing regulatory landscape in the US,” as Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler is set to exit on January 20, they wrote.
Gensler spearheaded the agency’s crackdown of the crypto industry. His approach turned off the crypto industry, which is now counting the days until his departure.
XRP
Ripple-linked XRP has been the standout winner in the post-election rally. It has skyrocketed over 400% since November 5 and is now the third biggest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Arthur Azizov, CEO of crypto payment provider B2BInPay, recently told DL News that he expects it to break its $3.4 price record before the end of the year.
“It will potentially trade between $5 and $7 in the first half of 2025,” he said.
Solana
Solana reached a record $263 in late November, but the price has fallen over 15% since. Even so, it’s still up about 33% since the election.
Market watchers are still bullish. UK bank Standard Chartered projects that the cryptocurrency could climb close to $700 by the end of 2025.
“Then SOL could even overtake Ethereum,” in total value, Philippe Bekhazi, CEO and co-founder crypto trading firm XBTO, recently told DL News.
Bitcoin and Ethereum
Bitcoin and Ethereum will also see their prices skyrocketing over the next year to $200,000 and $10,000 respectively, according to Standard Chartered.
On Monday, crypto analysis firm 10x Research predicted that Bitcoin will surge to $120,000 by Trump’s inauguration.
Crypto market movers
Bitcoin is up 2.9% over the past 24 hours to trade at $106,804.
Ethereum is up 2.3% to trade at $3,998.
What we’re reading
Crypto’s ‘debanking’ debate is headed to Capitol Hill next year — DL News
Are these top performers in you portfolio? — Milk Road
Crypto Investment Firm CoinFund Expands Investment Team in 2024, Plans Further Growth — Unchained
What you missed this week — Milk Road
Ripple’s new stablecoin is here. How it plans to rival Tether, PayPal, and Robinhood — DL News
Eric Johansson is DL News’ News Editor. Got a tip? Email at eric@dlnews.com.
