Probability vs. payoff
BTC has the highest probability of finishing 2025 higher; SOL has the highest possible percentage payoff but also the highest chance of under-performing or collapsing; ETH sits in the middle.
Portfolio construction matters
A common barbell for 2025-focused investors is 60 % BTC / 25 % ETH / 15 % high-beta alts such as SOL or AVAX.
Use dollar-cost averaging; chasing green candles is how most traders lose money.
Set exit rules today
Decide in advance whether you’ll scale out when a coin doubles, triples, or hits a specific on-chain metric (e.g., active addresses). Emotional selling during a crash destroys otherwise solid theses.
Bottom line: Analysts widely expect BTC to make new all-time highs, ETH to narrow the valuation gap thanks to fee burns plus the Pectra upgrade, and SOL (or a similar high-speed chain) to lead any speculative alt-season. None of this is guaranteed—treat forecasts as probability scenarios, size positions accordingly, and keep a diversified core outside of crypto.