ChainCatcher news, trader Eugene Ng Ah Sio posted a Q1 2025 outlook and expectations on X:

"It feels like a long time since Trump won the election two months ago, and now we are approaching 2025, with prices significantly higher than just a short while ago. With the U.S. leading the way in creating crypto-friendly policies and regulations, the industry is filled with hope for a new pro-crypto world.

Considering the local peak we experienced in December, I believe the bull market will continue in a similar manner, where some assets perform excellently while others lag behind.
For the next quarter, I believe the biggest beneficiary will be ETH. There are three reasons for this:

  1. 10 IQ price fractal: BTC has risen 40% from its previous high, while ETH is 30% lower than its previous high. Although this doesn’t mean much, both assets have ETF products, and it's not hard for the public to believe that ETH is cheaper than BTC (thus having more room for growth);

  2. Trump's pro-crypto government: This has always been most favorable for utility/smart contract-related assets. We have seen some DeFi assets (AAVE/UNI) perform excellently in anticipation of this, but the asset that benefits the most is undoubtedly ETH. Trump's WLF has done nothing on Solana, but has been consistently acquiring Ethereum-based assets, and I believe this will continue;

  3. Base ecosystem development: Among all L2s on Ethereum, Base is the most prominent chain this year. With Coinbase's native distribution channel and Virtuals-led AI agent organic development, the value proposition of Base is very similar to Solana and can undoubtedly be classified as a competitor. This creates natural demand for ETH as a base asset (because Base itself does not have its own token) and provides positive liquidity as ecosystem activity increases.

I expect ETH to break $4000 as early as January next year and possibly hit an all-time high sometime in the first quarter.

Additionally, I think three verticals that continue to perform well are:

  1. AI agents;

  2. Utility fee generating tokens;

  3. Potential ETF cryptocurrencies.

In terms of cycle peaks, I suspect that most of 2025 will resemble 2023 or 2024, where we have some funding or re-rating followed by huge PvP reductions. Ultimately, one of these rebounds will become a global peak, but I don’t think we are close to that high yet."

#BTC #ETH