In a recent interview with FOX Business, Fred Thiel, CEO of Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm MARA Holdings, advocated an “invest and forget” strategy for retail investors looking to gain exposure to the world’s leading digital currency.

Thiel Cites Positive Historical Performance Of Bitcoin

BTC continues to trade within the mid-$90,000 range after a recent pullback from its all-time high (ATH) of $108,135. While crypto analysts keep a close eye on the flagship cryptocurrency’s price movements, major BTC holders appear less concerned about short-term fluctuations.

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Citing Bitcoin’s historical performance, Thiel advised retail investors to adopt a long-term approach. He noted that Bitcoin has closed the year at a lower price only three times in its 14-year history, including during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thiel stated:

My recommendation, to my kids, for example, is they put just a little bit away every month in Bitcoin and forget about it. Over two, three, four years, it grows, and that’s what people do.

Thiel also emphasized BTC’s consistent growth, highlighting that it has appreciated annually by an average of 29% to 50%. However, BTC remains a high-risk asset, and risk-averse investors may shy away until the asset class achieves broader acceptance or gains official recognition from a major global economy.

For instance, the establishment of a US strategic Bitcoin reserve could solidify the cryptocurrency’s legitimacy as an asset and potentially spark a domino effect, encouraging other nations to follow suit. Thiel described such a reserve as a key catalyst for driving Bitcoin’s price to new highs in 2025.

Additionally, Thiel pointed to high institutional involvement through Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and favorable digital asset regulations under the Trump administration as other factors that could support BTC’s growth this year.

Although Thiel’s advice was aimed at retail investors, recent data suggests that many are already planning to increase their Bitcoin holdings. According to a poll conducted by MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, over 75% of 65,164 respondents intend to end 2025 with more BTC than they started with.

The poll reflects growing enthusiasm among retail investors, buoyed by bullish developments in 2024 such as ETF approvals, the Bitcoin halving, and Trump’s election victory in November.

More Companies Adding BTC To Balance Sheet

Bitcoin adoption among corporations continues to grow. While MARA Holdings already holds BTC on its balance sheet, rival crypto mining company Hut 8 recently expanded its holdings to more than 10,000 BTC.

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Other firms, such as Japan-based Metaplanet and Canada’s Rumble, joined the Bitcoin movement in 2024. Additionally, Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated over 1 million BTC in under a year since their launch.

However, skepticism remains. Japan’s Prime Minister recently expressed caution about the idea of establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve, reflecting lingering doubts in some quarters. At press time, BTC trades at $97,229, up 0.7% in the past 24 hours.

Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView.com

The recently launched Destra crypto, DSYNC, leaps as high as 32% following an announced 0% tax from Destra. DSYNC is the native token of Destra network, a decentralized AI computing platform.

According to data from CoinGecko, DSYNC has gone up by more than 30% in the past day of trading. At the time of writing, it is trading hands at $0.406. At the beginning of December, DSYNC reached a new all-time high, surging to more than half a dollar. The token’s current price is only 22% lower than its recent ATH.

In the past week, DSYNC has been on an upward trend. The token has gone up by more than 21%. However, it has gone down by 7.6% in the past month of trading.

A day before DSYNC’s price surge, the Destra Network announced via an X post that DSYNC is now tax free. Shortly after the announcement, the token spiked by 13% before seeing bigger gains the day after.

It is possible that the recent boost was fueled by the broader AI token rally. According to data from CoinGecko, the total market value of AI meme coins crossed the $10 billion threshold, increasing by nearly 30% in the past 24 hours. At the time of writing, its combined market cap is nearing $11 billion.

The Destra Network is known for its optimization of AI technology within the blockchain and cloud solutions using GPU. The project has been a champion of using decentralized AI agents.

According to its X account, Destra is in the process of developing a platform called Destra Sentient, that would provide traders with specially designed AI agents that “think like humans, communicate naturally, and bring a new level of interaction to your digital world.”

As previously reported by crypto.news, major networks such as ZKsync and Ripple Labs have made strides to combine AI and blockchain technology, whether it is through partnering with AI platforms or launching their own.

According to Syncracy Capital, AI technology is still fairly new to the crypto space, with only 1% of the total crypto market cap credited to AI-integrated projects. Though, this may soon change as AI tokens continue to reign.

According to a recent report by Steno Research, Ethereum (ETH) is poised to outperform Bitcoin (BTC) in 2025. This outlook is attributed to historical trends and the anticipated impact of favorable cryptocurrency regulations following Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s victory in the November election.

Will 2025 Be The Year Of Ethereum?

While the overall cryptocurrency market surged to unprecedented heights this year – reaching an all-time high (ATH) total market cap of $3.9 trillion – Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, has lagged behind in terms of price performance.

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However, Steno Research’s report suggests Ethereum could finally achieve a new ATH in 2025, driven by increased institutional investment and supportive regulatory developments. The report predicts that ETH could climb to at least $8,000 in the upcoming year.

Bitcoin is also expected to hit a new ATH of $150,000 in 2025, but Ethereum may more than double from its current price of $3,400. Additionally, the ETH/BTC trading pair is forecasted to rise from 0.035 to 0.06 within the next 12 months.

The weekly chart below illustrates ETH’s declining performance against BTC since September 2022. However, the pair is now hovering near a crucial support level at 0.035, with expectations of a rebound to the 0.06 level, which was last seen in February 2024.

Steno Research’s optimistic forecast for Ethereum underscores a potential bullish momentum for altcoins in 2025. Mads Eberhardt, an analyst at Steno Research, stated:

This expectation is partly based on the argument that Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential victory is more favorable for altcoins than for Bitcoin.

The report adds that Bitcoin dominance (BTC.D) – a metric used to gauge the proportion of the total crypto market cap commanded by BTC – is expected to tumble to as low as 45% from its current level. 

The following weekly chart demonstrates BTC.D’s sustained uptrend since September 2022, rising from a low of around 39% to a peak of 61%. However, recent price action suggests a lower high has been formed, signaling a potential sharp decline to around 45%.

DeFi Activity To Rebound In 2025

The report further predicts a resurgence in decentralized finance (DeFi) activity within Ethereum’s ecosystem in 2025. Specifically, the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized applications is expected to hit a new high of $300 billion next year.

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Renewed interest in DeFi could further drive higher altcoin prices in 2025. Notably, ETH jumped 10% following Trump’s November election victory, as improved sentiment surrounding DeFi regulations boosted market confidence.

In addition, strong inflows attracted by spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETF) further strengthen the bullish case for ETH heading into 2025. At press time, ETH trades at $3,417, up 3% in the past 24 hours.

Featured image from Unsplash, charts from Tradingview.com