Welcome to Trade Secrets — Bitcoin and Ether price predictions from top analysts, along with options data, sentiment analysis and prediction markets to determine what they can tell us about the months and years ahead.
Tick, tock, Bitcoin… the $150,000 window is closing: Peter Brandt
After soaring to new highs in August, Bitcoin is now facing a critical test for its next major move, according to veteran trader Peter Brandt.
“I think there is still room for one more big thrust, perhaps to $125,000 to $150,000, but it is running out of time,” Brandt tells Magazine.
“The market feels toppy,” Brandt says, explaining that the asset is entering the period where he initially thought it would hit a price ceiling. Bitcoin is trading at $109,087 at the time of publication, and Brandt says he will “remain constructive” so long as the price holds above $107,000.
If it falls below that, he will “adopt the attitude that a 50% decline from the highs might occur.”
With Bitcoin reaching new highs of $124,128 on Aug. 14, a 50% drop would drag it back to around $60,000 — a level last seen in October 2024. That kind of move would leave Strategy’s Michael Saylor red-faced after declaring in June that “winter is not coming back.”
But other analysts are still holding out for prices above $150,000 by the end of this year.
Galaxy Digital’s head of research, Alex Thorn, tipped Bitcoin would reach $150,000 to $180,000 this year back in December 2024, while BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, Unchained’s Joe Burnett and Fundstrat’s Tom Lee have all tipped $250,000 by the end of the year.
Ether is quiet for now, but fireworks coming
After topping its 2021 highs recently, Ether is quietly building pressure again, with market signals pointing to a potential surge by November, says Polymath co-founder Trevor Koverko.
“Likely, we’re in a consolidation phase at the moment, but I see a breakout coming,” Koverko tells Magazine, after Ether reclaimed its 2021 all-time high of $4,870 on August 22.
“Ethereum looks poised for a grind higher over the next one to two months,” he adds, especially if ETF inflows stay strong and L2 activity keeps ramping up.
US-based spot Ether ETFs saw a massive $3.87 billion in net inflows in August. Total inflows since their July 2024 launch are up to $13.53 billion, according to Farside data.
Meanwhile, treasury companies now hold 3.3 million ETH, or 2.75% of the supply, worth $14.3 billion at publication, according to StrategicETHReserve.
Koverko says key catalysts for an upward move in the coming months include accelerating real-world asset tokenization and potential interest rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve.
CME’s FedWatch Tool shows market participants see an 86.4% chance of the US Federal Reserve cutting interest rates for the first time this year in September, which is typically seen as a bullish signal for crypto as investors look for higher returns in riskier assets.
Ether bullishness has been growing exponentially lately among treasury company chairs.
Declaring BitMine’s Tom Lee wasn’t bullish enough, Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin recently said in an X post that Ether “will likely 100x from here.” “Probably much more,” Lubin said, claiming that the asset “will flippen” the Bitcoin monetary base.
XRP’s next target may be a 78% surge. Buying opportunity first?
XRP is now at a crossroads after tapping new yearly highs in July, says Swyftx lead analyst Pav Hundal.
“It’s make-or-break time for XRP,” Hundal tells Magazine.
“Historically, September is a red month across markets, and normally, that would have me concerned for XRP’s near-term price, but the tariff wars have thrown seasonal patterns out of the window this year,” he explains.
“The technicals are solid, and if you use a simple Fibonacci extension, you can make a case for XRP’s next target being within the $4.90 range,” he says.
A move up to here would represent a 78% surge from its current price of $2.76 and a 34% spike above its current all-time high of $3.88.
XRP fell short of reclaiming its all-time high in July when it reached a yearly high of $3.66.
Hundal cautions that the move may not be straight upward and that “we could see lower first.”
“The specter of XRP’s monthly token unlock makes me a little cautious about some of the $10 targets I’m seeing right now. We don’t know for a fact that Ripple won’t sell these unlocks into a positive price move,” he says. Ripple releases 1 billion XRP on the first day of each month from a series of escrows it created in 2017, when it locked up 55 billion XRP.
Meanwhile, pseudonymous analyst XForceGlobal recently said XRP may be preparing another bullish impulse and that “$20 remains the primary cycle target.”
$1,000 SOL is “pure hopium,” says one trader; others see it as conservative
Solana won’t hit a four-figure price tag this cycle, according to crypto trader The Bitcoin Express, though others are far more optimistic.
“SOL is never hitting $1,000 this cycle,” the trader said in an X post, arguing that while Solana’s market cap is at record highs, token inflation is keeping the price suppressed. “SOL can keep climbing, but inflationary supply keeps the per-token price down,” he said.
“I love SOL long-term, but $1K this cycle is pure hopium,” he added. Solana’s current inflation rate is 4.318% and continues to decrease every year, according to Solana Compass data.
Solana is trading at $197 at the time of publication, up nearly 20% over the past month but still 49% below its January all-time high of $293.
Not everyone shares that skepticism. Crypto trader Curb.sol said that “nobody’s targets are high enough” as eight US-based Solana ETFs await SEC approval.
“$1,000 is conservative,” he said. The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently delayed rulings on 21Shares’ and Bitwise’s Solana ETFs, pushing back the decision to October 16.
What the derivatives markets are saying about Bitcoin and Ether
Onchain options protocol Derive founder Nick Forster tells Magazine that futures traders have become more bearish over the past seven days about the chances of Bitcoin and Ether tapping levels that traders have been hoping for.
Future traders are pricing in a 7% chance of Bitcoin reaching $150,000 by the end of October, down 14% from last week.
The odds of Bitcoin reaching $150,000 by the end of this year stand at 22%.
For Ether, futures traders are pricing in a 30% chance of ETH hitting $6,000 by the end of October, down 15% from last week. By year’s end, the odds rise to 44%.
Forster says the highly anticipated US Federal Reserve rate cut decision on September 17, along with institutions continuing to stockpile ETH, means that “markets are setting up for explosive potential heading into Q4.”
“Institutional adoption of ETH is building serious momentum,” Forster says.
Sentiment is soaring for Solana: Santiment
More and more retail traders are turning their attention to Solana even as broader sentiment across the crypto market remains volatile, sentiment platform Santiment says.
“Solana has finally enjoyed a mini breakthrough of its own,” Santiment said on August 28, pointing to its recent jump above $210.
“Retail is making 5.8 bullish comments for every 1 bearish comment, which is at an 11-week high,” Santiment said.
It comes as sentiment across the broader crypto market has been all over the place lately.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which measures overall crypto market sentiment, slipped into the “fear” zone on Saturday, recovered to “neutral” and then dropped back into “fear” by Monday.
Meanwhile, signs of altcoin season may already be fading.
CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index, which tracks how the top 100 altcoins have performed against Bitcoin over the past 90 days, has dropped back to “Bitcoin Season” with a score of 48 out of 100 — after briefly signaling “Altcoin Season” on August 28 for just four days.
What prediction markets say about Bitcoin and Ether
Prediction markets have become more bearish for Bitcoin since it reached new all-time highs of $124,128 on August 14.
Bitcoin has a 68% chance of dipping below $100,000 again before 2026, according to crypto prediction platform Polymarket.
The likelihood of Bitcoin dropping below the six-figure mark is now 17% higher than it was 30 days ago, as the cryptocurrency continues to trade under $110,000.
Since the July Trade Secrets column, Polymarket’s odds of Solana hitting new all-time highs by year-end have increased.
Pundits believe Solana now has a 45% chance of surpassing its previous peak of $293 by the end of 2025, up 19% from its odds last month, as its price spiked 22.50% over the same period.
Meanwhile, Dogecoin has a 14% chance of surpassing its May 2021 all-time high of $0.73 by 2026.
Ciaran Lyons
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