As the year 2024 comes to a close, crypto industry observers are looking ahead to 2025 with excitement and anticipation. From the potential listing of Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States to the rise of AI-powered trading bots, here are three significant crypto predictions for the upcoming year.
US-Listed Solana ETF: A Potential Price Catalyst
The market capitalization of Solana ($91 billion) is significantly lower than that of Ethereum ($403 billion), making it a prime candidate for an approved US-listed ETF. The approval of a Solana ETF in the United States could have a positive price impact on the cryptocurrency, as the probability of its success is low and therefore not yet priced in.
Alejo Pinto, former IBM blockchain growth lead and founder of Solana layer-2 network Lumio, notes: "Since it is still very uncertain, an ETF approval in the US would have a positive price impact on Solana since the probability is low and therefore not yet priced in."
The spot Solana ETFs are currently under review by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with a deadline for a preliminary decision by the end of January 2025. The deadline for Grayscale’s Solana ETF application is January 23, while the four other applicants expect a preliminary decision by January 25, 45 days after the SEC formally accepted the ETF application for review in November.
Alex Svanevik, CEO of crypto intelligence platform Nansen, has tipped a US-listed Solana ETF to go live in 2025 as part of nine predictions that could make the next year "the mother of all bull markets." He wrote in a Nov. 27 Xpost:
"SOL ETF. And it does better than the ETH ETF did at launch."
Brazil’s first Solana ETF was approved on August 7, setting a precedent for other global jurisdictions. Solana climbed back above $230 on December 11, fueled by growing trader anticipation for a SOL ETF, along with Bitwise setting a $750 price target for Solana, which was trading above $189 as of 7:30 am UTC.
AI-Powered Crypto Scams and Irresistible Hack Targets
In a significant hit for mainstream crypto acceptance, crypto hackers stole $2.3 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 2024, highlighting the growing concern of AI-powered crypto scams and hack targets.
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