The crypto market has experienced a remarkable upswing in the last quarter of this year, largely attributable to Donald Trump’s recent victory in the U.S. presidential election. VanEck, an influential American investment management firm, has unveiled ten significant predictions that could substantially increase the crypto market’s valuation in the upcoming year.
VanEck forecasts notable price hikes for leading cryptocurrencies next year. Bitcoin (BTC) might soar to a staggering $180,000, Ethereum (ETH) is expected to surpass $6,000, Solana (SOL) could exceed $500, and SUI is projected to go beyond $10.
These predictions reflect expectations of unprecedented growth. VanEck believes that Trump’s favorable view of cryptocurrencies could lead the U.S. to incorporate Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. Following Trump’s installation of a crypto-supportive chairman at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), it is anticipated that the SEC will approve numerous crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs). Ethereum ETPs, featuring staking capabilities previously limited under Joe Biden's administration, are also anticipated to benefit.
Another important prediction by VanEck addresses the potential for significant growth driven by Bitcoin-based layer-2 networks. These networks might achieve a total value locked (TVL) of 100,000 BTC, marking a 600% increase from this year’s figures. VanEck also highlights the Ethereum Dencun upgrade completed earlier this year, which has enhanced blob activity. The expectation is for Ethereum's blob space to generate $1 billion in fees due to increased activity in layer-2 rollups and high-fee use cases.
The stablecoin sector currently witnesses a daily trading volume of approximately $100 billion. VanEck projects this to rise to $300 billion by next year’s end, propelled by wider adoption in global commerce, remittances, and integration with significant tech and payment networks.
VanEck’s vision extends to artificial intelligence (AI), anticipating the emergence of one million new AI agents within DeFi, social media, gaming, and consumer applications in the next year. In the DeFi domain, VanEck predicts decentralized exchanges (DEX) to attain a trading volume apex of $4 trillion and TVL of $200 billion. This anticipated growth is attributed to AI-centric projects and consumer-facing decentralized applications (dApps).
The firm also foresees narrowing the performance disparity of dApp tokens compared to layer-1 crypto assets, spurred by AI-based and Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) projects. VanEck’s crystal ball extends to the NFT market, forecasting a rebound in traded volume to $30 billion. This resurgence is expected to be fueled by burgeoning projects such as Pudgy Penguins and Milady.
Finally, tokenized securities are predicted to experience notable growth. Their market value, which doubled from $6 billion to $12 billion this year, is anticipated to reach $50 billion next year. These projections portray an optimistic outlook for the digital asset landscape as it strides forward into 2025.