Push2 - Network Change

Interview with Maksim Balashevich, CEO of Santiment

Complexity and Expertise in the Virtual Asset Market to Increase

Trump Effect... Regulatory Environment Expected to Improve

Bitcoin and Ethereum Likely to Remain Strong

Maksim Balashevich, CEO of Santiment / Photo = Santiment

"The virtual asset (cryptocurrency) market will experience a wave of institutional market entry starting in 2025. The market will become more complex, and bidirectional volatility will also increase."

Maksim Balashevich, CEO of the global on-chain analysis platform Santiment, predicted this about next year's virtual asset market in an interview with Bloomingbit on the 19th.

We listened in detail to his expectations for the blockchain industry and market outlook, as a veteran in the virtual asset industry and a data analysis expert.

Virtual Asset Market, Complexity and Expertise to Increase

CEO Balashevich thought that institutional participation in the virtual asset market would increase sharply from next year. The reason is that as the market size grows, virtual assets have become sufficiently attractive assets for institutions.

He said, "Since the debut of the Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the market this year, institutional participation in the virtual asset market has continued," and predicted, "Following this year, next year, various asset managers such as hedge funds, family offices, and pension funds are likely to allocate assets to multiple virtual assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH)."

However, he pointed out that the idea that institutional participation will unconditionally lead to a rise in virtual asset prices is wrong. CEO Balashevich explained, "The increase in market participation by institutional investors is generally a positive signal. However, as institutional investors like BlackRock increase, they will view the market from both long and short positions. This can increase volatility, making the market more professional and complex."

Trump Effect... Virtual Asset Regulatory Environment Expected to Improve

CEO Balashevich predicted that after the inauguration of the Donald Trump administration in January next year, the global virtual asset regulatory flow would change positively.

He said, "Trump showed a very friendly attitude towards the virtual asset industry through his election pledges," and added, "Virtual asset regulation is likely to become open and flexible, centered on the United States and Switzerland, and will have a positive impact on the European and Asian markets."

Donald Trump has proposed election pledges to promote the virtual asset industry, such as △strategic asset reserve of Bitcoin △support for Bitcoin (BTC) mining in the United States △end of virtual asset regulation crackdown △abolition of Bitcoin capital gains tax △ban on CBDC.

He saw that with the improvement of the regulatory environment, web3 use cases such as AI data processing would be more actively researched. CEO Balashevich stated, "Santiment is also actively investing and researching various use cases, such as stablecoins, decentralized lending markets, and AI-based data processing."

Bitcoin and Ethereum Likely to Remain Strong

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), which have already risen to major asset classes, are likely to continue their strength.

CEO Balashevich said, "No one knows when the market turning point will come in the future, but Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are currently leading the market, are likely to continue their strength," and added, "Especially in the case of Ethereum, I see a high possibility of a rebound from negative sentiment and oversold conditions."

He continued, "The market always follows cycles. We need to simplify indicators and analysis to effectively respond to the up and down cycles."

Meanwhile, he expressed somewhat negative opinions about other altcoins except for Ethereum. He predicted, "Major altcoin projects like Solana (SOL) may face difficulties in growth due to technical issues and competitive pressure."

Lee Young-min, Bloomingbit Reporter 20min@bloomingb