Steno Research said in a research note that 2025 could be the best year for cryptocurrencies, with potential “surprising positive developments” for both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) hitting record highs. He said he expected it to happen.
Steno Research predicts that spot prices for BTC and ETH will surpass $150,000 and $8,000, respectively. Analysts are “increasingly optimistic about the impending altcoin season,” according to a December research note.
The report said the optimistic price outlook for BTC and ETH reflects “an unprecedentedly favorable regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies, a favorable macroeconomic environment characterized by falling interest rates and improving liquidity, and historically strong post-Bitcoin halving performance.” He said he would.
“In addition to this, we expect institutional adoption to reach unparalleled levels due to significant inflows into US-based Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.”
Steno expects BTC and ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to record net inflows of $48 billion and $28.5 billion, respectively, in 2025.
source: Steno Research
relevant: Grayscale adds AI Launchpad and Solana DeFi app to top tokens in Q1 2025
Altcoin Season
Steno said Ethereum will perform particularly well in 2025, significantly outperforming Bitcoin. Steno expects the ETH/BTC ratio to reach “at least 0.06” in 2025. According to TradingView, this is almost double the current level of around 0.035.
According to the report, this will usher in a broader alternative cryptocurrency (or “altcoin”) season in 2025, with Bitcoin dominance likely to fall from its current level of nearly 57% to around 45%.
Bitcoin dominance measures BTC’s share of the cryptocurrency’s overall market capitalization.
Steno’s prediction is “based in part on the argument that a Donald Trump victory in the US presidential election would be more beneficial to altcoins than Bitcoin.”
Trump’s presidency “will encourage more robust on-chain activity, resulting in significant benefits for altcoins like Ethereum and Solana,” Steno said.
According to the report, the total value of decentralized applications (TVL) is expected to exceed $300 billion in 2025, well above the 2021 peak of about $180 billion.
The total value locked in DeFi protocols is expected to reach $300 billion. source: Steno Research
trump pumps
Others, including asset manager Grayscale, are similarly optimistic. Last December, Grayscale added several decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, including two from Solana, to its list of the top 20 tokens to watch in Q1 2025.
Grayscale cited the warming policy environment in the United States as a key factor. Trump promised to appoint industry-friendly leaders to key regulators and make the United States the “crypto capital of the world.”
“In the U.S., we are actively optimistic that Trump’s victory will make the U.S. the global leader in this space by the end of the year,” Raj Brahmbhatt, CEO of Web3 payments company Zeebu, told Cointelegraph in December.
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