Russia’s BitRiver Says Bitcoin Will Hit $160k Before Year’s End

Bitcoin will hit the $160k price mark before the end of 2025, an analyst from the Russian crypto mining player BitRiver claimed on February 5.

The claims were published by the state-run news agency TASS in a report that focused exclusively on BTC prices.

However, the experts warned that “unfavorable market and geopolitical conditions” could also see Bitcoin “correct to $75-82,000.”

‘Bitcoin Will Hit $160k’ in Oct-Nov – BitRiver

Vladislav Antonov, a financial analyst at BitRiver, said that his firm “estimates” that Bitcoin prices “will continue to grow to $130,000 in March-April and $160,000 by October-November 2025.”

Antonov claimed this prediction depended on favorable financial and regulatory developments, as well as positive geopolitical developments.

Nikolay Dudchenko, an analyst at the financial and media group Finam, concurred. He stated that “in a base scenario,” upward “movement will continue.”

He said that “before the start of a deeper correction,” Bitcoin may reach the $130-135,000 mark.

Dudchenko also agreed that BTC could “possibly reach the level of $160k.” But he emphasized that this rise would only come “after a corrective movement.”

The BitRiver analyst said that the “key level for restoring optimism in the market” would be a return to “the $100,500 mark.”

“Consolidation above $100.5k can give the market a new impetus for growth.”

Vladislav Antonov, Financial Analyst, BitRiver

Alt Prices Hang on Bitcoin News

Antonov added that the “dynamics” of altcoin prices would continue to “depend on Bitcoin.” He explained:

“The movement of the entire cryptocurrency market depends on [Bitcoin prices]. In the current conditions of increased uncertainty, altcoins demonstrate even greater volatility due to lower liquidity.”

The duo both claimed that BTC’s drop below the $100k mark was “caused by a range of factors.”

But most of these factors appear to center around events in Washington, the analysts suggested.

Antonov said that the “escalation of trade wars” had taken its toll on BTC prices in recent days.

In particular, he made mention of US President Donald Trump’s tariff-related announcements for Mexico, Canada, and China.

Antonov also said that the “threat” of “100% tariffs for BRICS countries” had stunned the market into reverse.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, had a fourth consecutive quarterly loss as the company faced a $1 billion impairment charge against its Bitcoin holdings https://t.co/CkOjW29teO

— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) February 5, 2025

Investors Quest for Dollar Security Sparked BTC Slump – Expert

The tariff-related news has “led to an outflow of funds from Bitcoin and allocations to the dollar.”

The BitRiver executive also claimed that the news had sparked “mass liquidations of [Bitcoin market members’] positions amounting to more than $2 billion.”

The slump “was exacerbated by low market liquidity and a large amount of leverage,” the experts noted.

Trump’s later decisions to “suspend” 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico “brought some optimism back to the market, which prevented BTC from falling below $90,000,” Dudchenko said.

Drops to $75k Not Impossible in ‘Short Term’

The experts claimed that there are “risks of further decline in crypto prices in the short term.”

The Finam expert “did not rule out a fall to $85-87,000, while the BitRiver analyst spoke of a fall to $82-85k “with a subsequent sharp rebound.”

Below this amount, the next key “support” level would be $75,000, the Finam expert opined.

Institutional Investors ‘Still Keen’

The duo concluded that BTC demand “remains high” among “institutional investors, politicians, and even central banks.”

“Further dynamics in the crypto markets will largely depend on macroeconomic factors. These include upcoming data on the US labor market, the Fed’s decisions on monetary policy, and trade war developments.”

Nikolay Dudchenko, Analyst, Finam

The European Central Bank hopes US President Donald Trump's plan to support cryptocurrencies pegged to the US dollar will speed up legislative backing for the digital euro, ECB board member Piero Cipollone told @Reuters https://t.co/Zk5hgXodWH

— Reuters (@Reuters) February 6, 2025

The report’s publication is significant in and of itself. Bullish sentiments about BTC and detailed analysis of future price movements were once the exclusive prevail of specialist Russian crypto media outlets and social media forums.

However, Moscow’s crypto pivot has seen this change rapidly, with TASS frequently seeking out the opinion of Russian experts in BTC price analysis and forecast reports.

Much of the reason for this is the growth of crypto mining companies like BitRiver, most of whom focus their efforts on Bitcoin mining.

BitRiver has begun working with Moscow-based government organs, and has unveiled plans to build crypto mining data centers in fellow BRICS nations.

In recent days, the nation’s Deputy Prime Minister has also indicated that Moscow wants to turn Russia’s Far East into a crypto mining hub.