Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency, is likely to reach new highs next year and will “test or best” $185,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025, Galaxy Research said in a report last week.
Ether (ETH), the second-largest crypto, is predicted to rise above $5,500 in the next 12 months, the report said.
“A combination of institutional, corporate and nation state adoption will propel bitcoin to new heights in 2025,” wrote Alex Thorn, Galaxy’s head of research.
Galaxy said it expects five Nasdaq-100 companies and five nation states to say they have added bitcoin to their balance sheets or sovereign wealth funds next year, and competition among these countries will drive the next wave of adoption, the report said.
The total assets under management (AUM) of U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is expected to surpass $250 billion in 2025, Galaxy forecast, and at least one leading wealth management platform will announce a bitcoin allocation of 2% or higher next year.
Bitcoin decentralized finance (DeFi) is also expected to boom, Galaxy said. The total amount of BTC locked in DeFi is forecast to double next year from the current $11 billion.
The trend of miners pivoting to high-performance computing (HPC) is expected to continue, and more than half of the 20 largest listed bitcoin mining firms will announce deals with artificial intelligence firms (AI) or hyperscalers in 2025, the report added.
Bitcoin will reach 20% of gold’s market cap next year, the report predicted.
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