Mike Ippolito of Blockworks sees a resurging Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), an evolution for Solana's (CRYPTO: SOL) and the expanding role of stablecoins and AI as key trends in crypto in 2025.
What Happened: In a thread on X on Sunday, Ippolito said he believes the U.S. will dominate the global crypto scene, with domestic conferences surpassing Asian counterparts in size and influence.
He further predicted Ethereum dissenters to diminish, boosting sentiment and price recovery.
Efforts to scale Ethereum's Layer-1 will remain minimal and stablecoins will outnumber Ethereum 2:1 on Layer-2 solutions, with valuations exceeding $450 billion.
Solana's cycle will continue, but inflation concerns will prompt changes to its issuance policy, while AI-focused tokens and use cases will gain momentum despite early challenges.
Crypto VC funding is projected to reach $20–$25 billion, with multiple raises exceeding $50–$100 million.
Layer-1 blockchains like Sui (CRYPTO: SUI) and Hyperliquid (CRYPTO: HYPE) will be the fastest-growing chains, according to Ippolito, and by year-end, Robinhood will rival Coinbase as the top U.S. crypto exchange.
Also Read: Crypto Analyst: '2025 Will Continue To Be a Great Year for Bitcoin'
Why It Matters: Santiment data shows an increase in cryptocurrency holders for the top coins: Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) saw a 27% spike, while Ethereum posted a 47% increase.
Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) registered a 66% and 28% surge, respectively.
In another post, the data firm showed a sharp sentiment shift from bullish to bearish, with altcoin market caps declining and attention returning to Bitcoin.
This crowd-driven fear may create opportunities for patient traders to capitalize on market pessimism.
The crypto majority has flipped their moods from bullish to bearish in an alarming fashion these past 2 weeks. As market caps have corrected (particularly altcoins), there is far less interest in meme coins and far more interest back on Bitcoin. This crowd FUD is a healthy... pic.twitter.com/9ByahlY7MZ
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) December 23, 2024
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