Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, including Ripple's XRP, have suddenly shot higher, with the bitcoin price now again within touching distance of $100,000 after suddenly crashing back this week.
Now, as Elon Musk quietly confirms a bitcoin and crypto market game-changer, bitcoin bulls are ramping up their 2025 price predictions after Donald Trump's election triggered a regulatory "green light."
"U.S. institutional investors will deepen their exposure to crypto assets and the rest of the world will play catch up," Ed Hindi, chief investment officer at Switzerland-based crypto hedge fund Tyr Capital, said in emailed comments—putting his bitcoin price prediction for 2025 at $250,000.
"Trump’s win is a massive regulatory green light that will broaden both participation and position sizes in bitcoin, ethereum and blue chip decentralized finance (DeFi) altcoins."
Trump, who has leaned into bitcoin and crypto this year, promising to create a bitcoin strategic reserve and loosen regulations that crypto companies have complained are stifling the technology, is weighing whether to replace outgoing chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Gary Gensler with a pro-crypto regulator.
Ripple's XRP has surged 13% this week as traders bet Trump's pick for SEC chair will mean an end to Ripple's drawn-out legal battles, with the XRP price soaring almost 200% since the U.S. election at the beginning of November.
"The price of bitcoin recovered from $91,000 on Wednesday as pro-financial technology former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins has been eyed as the new SEC chair under the second Trump administration," Yuya Hasegawa, bitcoin and crypto market analyst at Tokyo-based Bitbank, said in emailed comments, adding the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday could be a catalyst for the bitcoin price to climb over the closely-watched $100,000 per bitcoin level.
"In the crypto market, there also is a market anomaly surrounding Thanksgiving. During a bull market, bitcoin tends to suffer losses around Thanksgiving, but the price restarts rallying after a week or two. This 'Thanksgiving anomaly' was observed during the bull run of 2016 and 2020, the years when bitcoin’s halving happened. Bitcoin went through its fourth halving this April, so a lot of market participants may be believing that a dip around Thanksgiving could be a huge opportunity."
However, Hindi and other bitcoin and crypto market watchers expect the recent volatility to continue into the next few weeks after the bitcoin price and other smaller cryptocurrencies, including Ripple's XRP, have rocketed higher through November.
"We expect both the bull run and volatility in bitcoin to continue for the rest of the year," said Hindi.
"A range of $75,000/$120,000 would not be surprising. Corrections will probably be swift as dip buying and profit-taking are in full force driven by incredible levels of fomo [fear of missing out]. The Trump Trade has lifted bitcoin and equities to record highs. We believe the early Santa Claus rally is over-extended and foresee profit taking into year-end."