Despite the recent pullback in the crypto market, experts suggest Bitcoin will remain the leader in the coming year.

The latest Franklin Templeton’s 2025 crypto outlook report, for one, predicted its continued dominance. Bitcoin is expected to solidify its position as a global financial asset, increasingly viewed as a digital store of value.

Bitcoin Dominance Forecasted to Strengthen in 2025

The report anticipates sovereign and institutional adoption will drive this trend, with several nations strategically adding Bitcoin to their reserves. The forecast points to BTC’s role as the foundational asset in the digital economy, which is expected to be further accelerated by evolving regulatory landscapes and institutional interest.

Looking beyond Bitcoin, the report highlighted significant advancements in the broader crypto ecosystem as well. Regulatory clarity, especially in the US after Donald Trump’s presidential win, is poised to enable more diversified financial products, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and tokenized securities, and ultimately represent a major shift towards more mainstream adoption.

With a stablecoin regulatory framework expected, major financial institutions are likely to issue their own stablecoins, helping to bridge traditional finance with the burgeoning crypto sector. The growing adoption of tokenized products and stablecoins will fuel decentralized finance (DeFi) growth, expanding the reach of blockchain technology.

AI-Crypto Synergy

Moreover, decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) are predicted to see rising demand, especially in sectors like logistics and the Internet of Things (IoT), as industries seek more efficient, decentralized solutions. The intersection of AI and crypto will also intensify, with blockchains providing essential transparency and verification for the AI-driven economy.

As AI agents leverage blockchain to automate transactions and manage portfolios, the synergy between digital content, social media, and on-chain activity is expected to expand, further reshaping the digital landscape.

“Overall, 2025 will mark a shift from speculation to utility, as crypto’s foundational technologies become integral to global financial and operational systems. Stakeholders should watch regulatory developments, institutional moves, and advancements in AI-crypto convergence to navigate this dynamic landscape.”

TL;DR

• XRP is up 230% YTD, with analysts pointing to tightening Bollinger Bands and similarities to 2017’s pre-bull run patterns as signs of a possible further rally.
• Some market observers suggest the price could hit $4 or even much higher, supported by declining exchange holdings, which reduce the immediate selling pressure.

Major XRP Rally on the Way?

Ripple’s XRP has been among the worst-performing leading cryptocurrencies in the past seven days. On December 30, it briefly tumbled under $2 before it recovered some losses to the current $2.07 (per CoinGecko’s data).

Despite the bearish outlook in the last week, 2024 has been highly successful for XRP. Recall that it was worth around $0.62 at the start of the year, meaning it has experienced a 230% price increase since then. Multiple analysts believe it has much more room for growth.

One of those is Ali Martinez, who claimed that the Bollinger Bands on the token’s price chart have been squeezing lately, indicating a “big movement” underway.

This technical indicator, developed by John Bollinger in the early 1980s, assists traders in detecting when an asset may be overbought or oversold and spot potential price breakouts or reversals.

Tightening the bands means XRP has experienced relatively low volatility for a prolonged time and might be headed for a huge rally (or correction). 

JAVON MARKS remains an optimist and suggested that XRP’s current price condition looks very similar to what transpired in 2017 (shortly before the bull run that took it to a new all-time high of over $3.4). 

“Prices right now may only be getting ready to come out of an ‘Intermission Phase’ before yet another ‘groundbreaking’ bullish rally! It may be time to strap in,” the X user assumed. 

Previous Predictions

Other market observers who have set bullish targets for Ripple’s native token include Mikybull Crypto and Coach, JV. The former expects a rise to a new peak of $4, whereas the latter thinks that XRP would be one of those cryptocurrencies that investors will regret not buying at current rates:

“XRP will be one of these assets where people will say, “I could have bought XRP at $2, $5, or $7, and will FOMO in at $100.” The beauty in this. Everyone will win in the long run! It’s the short-term mindset that destroys portfolios!”

Meanwhile, the amount of XRP stored on exchanges has been declining in the past week. This suggests a shift from centralized platforms towards private wallets and could be considered bullish since it reduces the immediate selling pressure.

Bitcoin (BTC) is consolidating between $94,000 and $92,000, but investors are moving their assets out of exchanges. The asset has plunged in the last two weeks and was hovering around $93,750 at the time of writing.

Analysis by CryptoQuant official AxelAdlerJr revealed that crypto exchanges are recording very low levels of BTC deposits while investors are moving assets away from the platforms, possibly to their personal wallets. AxelAdlerJr said these trends suggest BTC could see robust price movements in the near term.

Lower Daily BTC Deposits

According to AxelAdlerJr, crypto exchanges have witnessed around 30,000 BTC daily deposits over the past few weeks, similar to record lows seen in 2016. In contrast, 10-year average daily deposits hover around 90,000 BTC, and this bull cycle’s peak sits at 125,000 BTC, especially when the asset hit the bullish mark of $66,000.

The last time bitcoin’s daily deposit figures were at this low level was during the onset of its major rally.

“When users send fewer coins to trading platforms, it typically suggests they prefer to keep their BTC in personal wallets rather than gearing up to sell,” stated AxelAdlerJr.

A decrease in deposits on exchanges could lead to a shortage of BTC on the spot market, triggering positive price movements, per the laws of demand and supply. While low deposits do not guarantee a swift price upswing for BTC, they could create an environment that would trigger positive momentum.

Traders Move BTC From Exchanges

In addition to the plunge in daily BTC deposits on exchanges, traders are moving their bitcoins away from these trading platforms. AxelAdlerJr cited the Netflow-to-Reserve Ratio, a metric that monitors the relationship between net inflows and outflows to exchanges and their total reserves.

When the Netflow-to-Reserve Ratio turns negative, it signals a dominance of outflows from exchanges, meaning BTC is being withdrawn. While the metric is currently negative, the CryptoQuant official noted that the most pronounced negative values were seen at the end of the bear market when traders bought BTC from forced sellers at roughly $17,000.

“The drop in daily deposits to exchanges to a level not seen since 2016 suggests a large-scale trend of holding Bitcoin in personal wallets, while the Netflow-to-Reserve Ratio confirms a continued outflow of coins. Taken together, these signals set the stage for potentially more robust price movements in the future,” AxelAdlerJr added.