Peter Chung Highlights Bitcoin’s Dual Role as Both Risk Asset and Digital Gold
Peter Chung, head of research at quantitative trading firm Presto, has reiterated his bullish forecast that Bitcoin (BTC) could reach $210,000 by the end of 2025, citing growing institutional adoption and global liquidity expansion as primary catalysts.
In an interview with CNBC on April 28, Chung acknowledged that 2025’s market conditions have been challenging but characterized recent corrections as a “healthy adjustment” that strengthens Bitcoin’s foundation as a mainstream financial asset.
Bitcoin's Dual Identity: Risk-On Asset and Digital Gold
Chung emphasized Bitcoin’s unique dual behavior:
In favorable market environments, Bitcoin acts as a risk-on asset, driven by network effects and user adoption.
During financial instability, Bitcoin increasingly behaves like digital gold, serving as a safe-haven asset, particularly when confidence in the U.S. dollar system falters.
“These moments are rare,” Chung noted, pointing to examples like the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022 and the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in 2023 where Bitcoin's safe-haven properties became evident.
Despite lagging gold during recent turbulence, Chung believes Bitcoin could catch up and outperform traditional safe-haven assets by the end of 2025.
Institutional Adoption Accelerates Bitcoin’s Growth
Supporting Chung’s outlook, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley observed that Bitcoin’s rise to around $94,000 has occurred with limited retail investor participation. Google search trends for "Bitcoin" remain near historical lows, suggesting that the current rally is primarily driven by:
Institutional investors
Financial advisers
Corporations
Sovereign entities
Corporate treasuries already hold nearly $65 billion worth of Bitcoin, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET data.
Further reinforcing the bullish sentiment, analysts from Standard Chartered and Intellectia AI recently stated that institutional demand via Bitcoin ETFs and macroeconomic hedging strategies could cause Bitcoin’s price to more than double in 2025.
Ethereum Outlook Remains Strong
Chung also reaffirmed Presto’s positive outlook for Ethereum (ETH), citing ongoing network improvements and valuation models based on the ETH-to-BTC ratio, signaling continued confidence in Ethereum's role within the crypto ecosystem, according to Cointelegraph.
