Bitcoin topped $100,000 this year. Will 2025 bring cryptocurrency fans similar good fortune?

Investors, experts and industry executives surveyed by CNBC in a report published Tuesday (Dec. 31) say they expect the world’s most popular crypto to reach new record highs in the coming year.

Some even project that bitcoin will double in price, such as Carol Alexander, finance professor at the University of Sussex. According to the report, she correctly predicted bitcoin would reach $100,000 in 2024, and now says its price could double in the coming year.

“I’m more bullish than ever for 2025,” Alexander said, telling the network that bitcoin “could easily reach $200,000 but there are no signs of volatility reducing. By the summer I expect that it will be trading around $150,000 plus or minus $50,000.”

The professor — who noted that she herself does not own bitcoin — said that pro-crypto regulation will drive up the price of bitcoin, though a lack of regulation for crypto exchanges will keep the market volatile due to highly leveraged trades pushing prices up and down.

Even more optimistic is Elitsa Taskova, chief product officer at crypto lending platform Nexo, who told CNBC her company sees bitcoin more than doubling to $250,000 inside of a year. And in the long term, cryptocurrency’s market capitalization will exceed that of gold.

“These projections align with ongoing trends and social markers: increasing recognition of Bitcoin as a reserve asset, more Bitcoin and crypto-related exchange-traded products (ETPs), and stronger adoption,” Taskova said.

Most other experts featured in the report projected bitcoin’s price would remain below $200,000, but still had it easily surpassing the $108,000 record it achieved earlier this month. Some sounded notes of caution about the market, such as Sid Powell, co-founder and chief executive of centralized finance platform Maple Finance.

“I think you’ll of course see corrections — crypto remains a cyclical industry,” Powell said.

In other crypto news, PYMNTS recently looked back at the year in stablecoins. This year saw the blockchain-based digital tokens gain traction as financial services firms ventured into blockchain, while Trump’s victory suggests a pro-crypto administration in the U.S.

“Stablecoins have transitioned from speculative tools to potentially foundational elements of global finance,” that report said.

“While challenges remain, particularly around the need for clear regulatory frameworks, the potential for stablecoins to drive greater efficiency, inclusivity and transparency in financial services is considerable. And as 2024 revealed, the near-term impact is focused across three areas: cross-border payments, real-time treasury management, and B2B transactions.”