Cryptonews Features

Expert Reveals Why ETH Can Hit Record High This Year, and Whether Altseasons Are Over

HashKey Capital's Xu Han tells us when he thinks the bull market will end — and what crypto investors should be doing differently this cycle.

Features writer

Connor Sephton

Features writer

Connor Sephton

About Author

Connor Sephton is a journalist based in London, who also works for Sky News and the BBC as a radio newsreader and online reporter. He has covered crypto since 2018 — reporting from major conferences...

Author Profile

Last updated:

June 24, 2025

Why Trust Cryptonews

Cryptonews has covered the cryptocurrency industry topics since 2017, aiming to provide informative insights to our readers. Our journalists and analysts have extensive experience in market analysis and blockchain technologies. We strive to maintain high editorial standards, focusing on factual accuracy and balanced reporting across all areas - from cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects to industry events, products, and technological developments. Our ongoing presence in the industry reflects our commitment to delivering relevant information in the evolving world of digital assets. Read more about Cryptonews

Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies have witnessed a healthy rebound after Donald Trump declared a ceasefire between Israel and Iran has come into force.

The president’s announcement on Truth Social was unlikely to say the least, as it came hours after Tehran fired missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar.

Despite a night of confusion — with both countries at the heart of the conflict slow to confirm there would be a cessation of hostilities — the markets have rallied.

BTC was back above $105,000, meaning it’s now trading at a 5.8% discount to all-time highs of $111,970 set just over a month ago.

And while the likes of Ether and Solana suffered greater losses when America bombed three nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend, both are now outperforming BTC on a 24-hour timeframe — surging by 7.4% and 8.2% respectively.

Stock market futures were on the up as well, but Rodrigo Catril from National Australia Bank cautioned traders against getting too carried away — telling Reuters:

“We need to obviously have a bit more detail in terms of exactly what all this means… I suppose it will be the conditions of the ceasefire, and what are the conditions for a more longer-lasting peace deal.”

Trump appears confident that the deal will hold — describing the ceasefire as “unlimited.”

All of this comes as crypto experts offer advice on how retail investors can achieve healthy portfolio growth and avoid costly mistakes. HashKey Capital partner Xu Han told Cryptonews that everyday consumers should follow in the footsteps of institutions by “focusing less on short-term speculation and more on positioning in fundamentally strong assets.” In the second part of an exclusive interview, Xu said:

“For long-term appreciation, avoiding excessive exposure to meme coins and momentum-driven trades is critical at this stage of the cycle. Dollar-cost averaging into high-conviction plays, especially during periods of consolidation, has historically been a more resilient strategy. And as we’ve noted in our research, understanding usability and network effects is key: Ethereum, for example, still leads in tokenized assets, developer activity, and enterprise integrations, making it a core long-term allocation.”

A dominant theme so far this year has been the tepid performance of ETH, which has plunged by 27.5% since 2025 began. By contrast, BTC has surged by 12%. Xu believes it’s possible that the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency could snap its losing streak and secure a new all-time high by December — “especially if macro tailwinds align” — as inflows into Ether ETFs accelerate.

“In our view, ETH is underpriced relative to its network strength and remains one of the most asymmetric risk-reward opportunities for the rest of this cycle. ETH remains the most widely used and deeply integrated Layer 1 in the ecosystem. Its role in powering tokenized RWAs, Layer 2s, and restaking protocols gives it a central position in the Web3 stack.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Xu dismissed claims that “altseasons” are over, but he conceded that they have evolved compared with past bull cycles.

“What we’re seeing now is more selective, narrative-driven capital rotation rather than broad-based altcoin rallies that were driven by speculation and FOMO. This is partly driven by the rise of memecoin launchers, which can accelerate a new coin to the mainstream quickly. While this can be good for a subset of traders, it doesn’t typically create a rally amongst other coins.”

The analyst went on to say that we’re currently in the mid-phase of the bull cycle as ETF demand continues to grow, with countries now beginning to seriously explore whether to follow in Trump’s footsteps and launch strategic Bitcoin reserves. Revealing exactly when the market may peak, he added:

“Historically, cycles peak a few quarters after spot ETFs and major network upgrades go live, which points to a potential cycle top sometime in late 2025 or early 2026 — barring major regulatory or macro disruptions. Until then, we see further room for upward repricing.”

Bitcoin now has a spring in its step once again — and altcoin traders are continuing to wait for signs that the Securities and Exchange Commission will approve exchange-traded funds tracking the likes of XRP and Solana. Bloomberg analysts now say there’s a 90% to 95% chance that they’ll be given the green light at some point this year.