ETF issuer Bitwise has released its latest forecast report for 2025, stating that 2024 will be a milestone year for cryptocurrencies, but 2025 will mark the beginning of the crypto gold era.
Here are Bitwise's predictions for the coming year:
Bitcoin Target Price: $200,000
Record inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, the supply reduction due to the halving in April 2024, and new purchases from corporations and governments will continue to drive Bitcoin up. If the U.S. government establishes a strategic reserve of 1 million Bitcoins, the price could soar to $500,000 or more.
Ether Target Price: $7,000
Despite Ethereum growing 75.77% in 2024, a narrative shift is expected in 2025. Activity on Layer 2 blockchains (like Base and Starknet) will accelerate, and spot Ethereum ETFs will see billions in inflows. The growth of stablecoins and Ethereum-based tokenization projects will also be significant factors.
SOL Target Price: $750
Solana is expected to rise significantly in 2024 and continue to maintain momentum. The network will attract other projects to complement its dominance in meme coins. Institutional investment, corporate purchases, and a better regulatory/political environment will drive growth.
Coinbase's stock price will exceed $700
Coinbase's stablecoin business is thriving, benefiting from its partnership with USDC issuer Circle. Year-to-date, stablecoin revenue has grown by $162 million (+31%). If the development trajectory of stablecoins is correct, this trend should continue.
Last year, Coinbase launched Base, a new Layer 2 network based on Ethereum. It is now the top L2 in terms of trading and TVL. With this growth, revenue has also significantly increased. Base now generates tens of millions of dollars in revenue each quarter, and this growth is expected to continue as more developers, users, and capital flow into the ecosystem.
Staking and custodial services have generated $589 million in revenue in the first three quarters of this year, an increase of $304 million (+106%) compared to the same period last year. Both are driven by asset balances and net new asset flows. Bitwise expects both to increase significantly in 2025, pushing annual revenues for these business lines above $1 billion.
For the above reasons, Bitwise believes Coinbase is more than just a brokerage and has raised its target price to $700.
At least five crypto unicorns will go public in the U.S.
The cryptocurrency IPO market has been relatively calm in recent years. However, Bitwise expects a wave of IPOs from crypto unicorns in 2025.
Potential candidates expected by Bitwise include: stablecoin issuer Circle, blockchain financial services company Figure, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, digital asset infrastructure service company Anchorage, and the market leader in blockchain compliance and intelligence services, Chainalysis.
(Coinbase valued at only $1.4 billion, Circle's second IPO expected to succeed?)
Tokens launched by AI agents will lead the meme coin frenzy
Bitwise expects 2025 to bring a greater memecoin frenzy, led by tokens launched by AI agents. Bitwise also mentions Clanker, a design for Coinbase's Layer 2 scaling solution, where users simply tag Clanker on Farcaster, instructing the AI agent to launch a token with a given name and image, and it will automatically deploy the token. In less than a month, Clanker has launched over 11,000 tokens, generating over $10.3 million in fees.
While Bitwise also believes meme coins are unlikely to have real-world applications and that most will go to zero, they represent an interesting collision of two breakthrough technologies: AI and cryptocurrency, which is worth watching.
The number of countries holding Bitcoin will double
According to BitcoinTreasuries.net, currently, nine countries hold Bitcoin, with the U.S. leading. Bitwise expects this number to double by 2025.
The consideration by the U.S. to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve could trigger a Bitcoin buying competition among global governments. Legislators in countries like Poland and Brazil have already proposed bills to push for the establishment of a strategic Bitcoin reserve in their countries.
Coinbase will enter the S&P 500 index, and MicroStrategy will enter the Nasdaq 100 index
Bitwise expects Coinbase and MicroStrategy may be included in these two important indices during the next major updates this month, which will passively give many index-tracking investors exposure to cryptocurrency-related stocks.
(MicroStrategy may join the Nasdaq 100 index, automatically seeping into ETF holdings like QQQ)
The U.S. will relax its guidance on cryptocurrencies in 401(k) plans
With the new government in power, Bitwise expects the Department of Labor to relax its guidance on cryptocurrencies in 401(k) plans.
401(k) plans hold $8 trillion in assets. More funds are flowing into these funds every week. If cryptocurrencies can capture 1% of 401(k) assets, it would bring $80 billion in new funds to the sector, with steady inflows thereafter. Capturing 3% would reach $240 billion.
Stablecoin assets will double to over $400 billion
It is anticipated that the market capitalization of stablecoins will reach $400 billion or more by 2025. The following four catalysts will drive this growth:
Stablecoin Legislation
Global Trade and Remittances
Financial Technology Integration
Cryptocurrency Bull Market Growth
The RWA market will reach $50 billion
Tokenization offers immediate settlement, significantly lower costs than traditional securitization, and around-the-clock liquidity while bringing transparency and accessibility to nearly all asset classes. Bitwise expects the tokenized RWA market to reach $50 billion next year, with the potential for exponential growth.
Moreover, Bitwise makes a bolder prediction: by 2029, Bitcoin will surpass the $18 trillion gold market, with Bitcoin prices exceeding $1 million.
This article Bitwise 2025 forecast: Bitcoin $200K, Ether $7K, AI agents will continue to lead the meme coin frenzy first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.
