Key Takeaways
According to experts, Bitcoin could drop as low as $70,000, while Ethereum is poised for a stronger 2025.
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index signals “Fear” as Bitcoin’s dominance hits a one-year high of 60.7%.
Bitcoin is down 7.2% at $89,008, while Ethereum has dropped 9.97% to $2,421.
Rampant volatility has pushed Bitcoin (BTC) under $90,000 for the first time since taking the price level in November 2024.
Ethereum (ETH), which has underperformed in recent months, may also be at risk if the decline continues.
However, several bullish indicators suggest ETH could finally gain momentum in 2025.
Ethereum’s Moment in 2025?
Ethereum may be set to break its trend of underperformance, according to CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju, who remains bullish on the second-largest cryptocurrency.
He points to several key factors.
Firstly, he explains that following the Bybit hack, which saw over 500,000 ETH worth $1.5 billion stolen from the exchange, there was—surprisingly—no major selling pressure.
Furthermore, ETH whales appear more than eager to get in on the action, as wallet balances containing 10,000 to 100,000 ETH have increased by 24% in the past year.
In addition, the Ethereum network hosts more than half of the entire stablecoin market cap.
Favorable pro-crypto regulatory developments in the U.S., particularly concerning stablecoins, could accelerate ETH-based stablecoin and smart contract adoption this year.
Spot U.S. Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have also begun to experience more consistent inflows in recent weeks.
This uptick in activity also coincides with news that staking could soon be enabled on ETH ETFs, which is more than likely to draw significant institutional capital.
Ju also notes that further positive regulatory developments could kick off a “large cap ETF altseason” that will ultimately boost ETH.
So what about Bitcoin? More importantly, the age-old question remains: when will altseason begin?
Bitcoin’s Outlook Amid ETF Profit-Taking
Despite the recent drop, Ju believes altcoins will dominate in 2025, driven in part by the wave of altcoin ETF applications currently under review by the U.S. SEC. These include Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), Litecoin (LTC), and others.
“The era of everything pumping is over. It’s a selective altseason—most altcoins won’t make it,” the CryptoQuant CEO notes.
Indeed, this could be another memorable shakeout period for the bloated crypto markets. However, altcoin season is a double-edged sword for crypto as the gains of alts often come at the expense of BTC as traders switch out from satoshis, weakening its market dominance.
CryptoQuant’s CEO Ki Young Ju thinks that a 30% correction during a bull cycle is “pretty normal,” which could mean a retreat to as low as $77,000 for BTC. Echoing this, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes adds Bitcoin ETFs to the equation.
According to Hayes, investors are probably going to begin realizing profits when trading kicks off today, and he thinks Bitcoin could sink as low as $70,000.
