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As speculation swirls around the future trajectory of bitcoin (btc) and the broader cryptocurrency market, asset management firm VanEck has released a series of predictions that reinforce optimism about continued bullish momentum.
VanEck predicts bitcoin will skyrocket to $180,000
VanEck <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/vaneck_us/status/1867610972237521256″ target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>predict that the cryptocurrency bull market will reach a “medium-term peak” in the first quarter of 2025, followed by new all-time highs by the end of the year. The firm estimates that bitcoin could skyrocket to approximately $180,000, while ethereum (eth) may surpass $6,000, Solana (SOL) may surpass $500, and Sui (SUI) may reach above $10.
The report further suggests that the United States will begin to adopt bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, as promised by President-elect Donald Trump, anticipating a rise in overall cryptocurrency adoption.
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With anticipated changes in leadership at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), numerous spot cryptocurrencies exchange traded products (ETP) are also expected to be approved. This includes ethereum ETPs with staking options, as well as in-kind transaction capabilities for both bitcoin and ethereum.
According to the report, the asset manager predicts that the value of tokenized securities will exceed $50 billion in the coming months, following a 61% growth to $12 billion over the course of this year.
Most of this value currently resides in licensed chains, but 2025 is expected to be a watershed year, particularly as organizations like the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) explore bridging the gap between the public and the public. private blockchains.
The firm projects that stablecoins will revolutionize payment systems, and that daily settlement volumes could triple to reach $300 billion by the end of 2025.
This growth, driven by increased adoption in global trade, remittances, and integration with major technology and payment networks, would position stablecoins to handle transactions equivalent to 5% of daily DTCC volumes.
DeFi will reach all-time highs
Another intriguing prediction is the emergence of a million new ai agents, which VanEck describes as “digital workers” that execute tasks or make decisions autonomously.
These agents are expected to generate significant activity in the chain as they expand their functions further decentralized finance (DeFi) in areas such as social networks, games and consumer applications.
VanEck anticipates that bitcoin Layer-2 solutions will accumulate a total value locked (TVL) of 100,000 btc, building on an impressive 600% growth in 2024 that brought the TVL to 30,000 btc.
The report forecasts that the ethereum blob space will generate $1 billion in fees, driven by rapid adoption of Layer 2 solutions, cumulative optimizations, and high-fee use cases such as tokenized assets and enterprise applications.
VanEck predicts decentralized finance (DeFi) will hit all-time highs, with decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes reach $4 trillion and total value locked in DeFi increases to $200 billion.
This growth will reportedly be driven by ai-related tokens, consumer-facing decentralized applications (dApps), and asset tokenization that drive liquidity and user adoption.
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The non-fungible token (nft) market is expected to recover, with trading volumes projected to reach $30 billion by 2025. Despite recent recessionsProminent projects such as Pudgy Penguins and Miladys have managed to thrive by leveraging strong community ties and transitioning into consumer brands.
Finally, VanEck predicts that decentralized application (dApp) tokens will narrow the performance gap with Layer 1 tokens.
In 2024, Layer 1 blockchain tokens will outperform dApp tokens by a factor of two, but innovative dApps in artificial intelligence and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs) are expected to drive a shift in performance dynamics.
At the time of writing, the market-leading cryptocurrency has managed to reclaim the $101,820 level, recording a 2% increase in the 24-hour time frame.
Featured image of DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
