The crypto market has kicked off 2025 with a bang as bitcoin (BTC) blasts past $95,000 and XRP skyrockets 11%, shaking off the sluggish end to last year. Fueled by optimism around the incoming Trump administration’s crypto-friendly policies and anticipation of the next bitcoin halving, analysts are now boldly predicting a surge to $185,000 for BTC and continued growth across the market.
XRP’s 11% Surge Leads Market Charge
While bitcoin’s push above $95K captured headlines, it was XRP that stole the show over the past 24 hours. The Ripple-affiliated token rocketed 11% higher, supported by a whopping $1.3 billion in trading volume on the Korea-focused Upbit exchange alone. This continues a trend identified by CoinDesk earlier this week, which noted unusually high XRP volumes emanating from South Korean exchanges – a phenomenon that has historically foreshadowed significant price moves to the upside.
Altcoins Join the Party
XRP wasn’t the only altcoin to post impressive gains. Cardano’s ADA, Solana’s SOL, and Chainlink’s LINK each surged up to 8%, while market leaders Ethereum (ETH) and BNB Chain’s BNB added a solid 3%. Even memecoins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) got in on the action, climbing 5%. The broad-based rally lifted the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index, which tracks the performance of the top 20 cryptocurrencies excluding stablecoins, by a robust 5.8%.
Trump Tailwinds and Halving Hype
So what’s driving this sudden surge of bullish sentiment? Analysts point to two key catalysts:
- The incoming Trump administration’s perceived crypto-friendly stance. President-elect Donald Trump made campaign promises to enact supportive policies and even establish a “strategic bitcoin reserve.” This has the market buzzing about the potential for greater mainstream adoption and institutional investment in the coming years.
- Mounting excitement for the next bitcoin “halving” event in 2024. This quadrennial occurrence, where the supply of new bitcoins entering circulation is cut in half, has historically ignited bullish moves, often spilling over to the broader market. With the halving less than a year away now, hype is already building.
Outlandish Predictions Abound
With crypto-mania taking hold, prognosticators are racing to plant their flags with evermore ambitious price targets. Galaxy Research is aiming high, setting a $185,000 year-end goal for bitcoin and $5,500 for Ethereum. They foresee a forthcoming boom in institutional adoption, predicting that at least five Nasdaq-100 companies and five sovereign nations will add bitcoin to their balance sheets or reserves in 2025.
Not to be outdone, Singapore-based QCP Capital gushed in a recent investor note:
For 2025, while optimism surrounds crypto-friendly regulations post-Trump inauguration, we think the key catalyst may come in January as institutions readjust asset allocations…
With BTC now broadly adopted by a broad spectrum of institutions, allocations are likely to increase, strengthening Bitcoin dominance, stabilizing spot movements, and shifting volatility dynamics closer to equities.
Volatility Vanishing Act
Interestingly, even as prices climb, bitcoin’s trademark volatility is noticeably absent so far this year. For some analysts, this is a sign of crypto’s maturation into a mainstream asset class.
Mainstream’s effect on crypto is most evident through BTC’s high correlation to the SPX, remaining the most correlated asset as we end 2024. Another sign of BTC heading towards being a mainstream asset class is its declining realized volatility, which would eventually add more diversification benefits and alpha to the traditional 60/40 portfolio.
Augustine Fan, head of insights at SOFA
Fan suggests that reduced volatility will beget greater institutional comfort, sparking a virtuous adoption cycle:
Volatility should continue to decline as an asset class matures, as our long-standing view is that crypto would be no different.
Chart the Course
Of course, price predictions are a dime a dozen in the crypto world. The real question is whether the bulls can sustain this early momentum. Bitcoin’s path to $185,000 is far from assured, with a hefty slate of economic, regulatory, and adoption hurdles to clear along the way.
For now though, the market is basking in the glow of a new year and a new outlook. If bitcoin can consolidate its position above $100K and XRP can maintain its Upbit-powered surge, it may well set the stage for the landmark advances so many are anticipating. At the very least, 2025 is shaping up as a year to remember in the colorful chronicles of crypto.
