2025 is coming to an end, but several heavyweight figures in the crypto circle are still "paying the price" for their optimistic predictions at the beginning of the year.

Once bold claims have now become awkward. BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes confidently stated in the first half of the year that Bitcoin would break through the $200,000 mark, and in a November podcast, he even said, "I will stick to this prediction." By December, he finally admitted that his judgment was "quite bad."

The most aggressive price prediction came from Tom Lee, an influential voice in the Ethereum ecosystem. This industry analyst claimed on CNBC at the beginning of the year that Bitcoin would surge to $250,000 by the end of the year. In just 10 months, he was forced to cut his target by more than half—above $100,000. Although he changed his tune, he clearly did not escape the fate of "getting called out."

Michael Saylor also was not spared. As a co-founder of Strategy, he was confident at the start of the year that institutional influx would push Bitcoin prices higher. By late October, his expectations had been adjusted to around $150,000 by the end of the year—significantly lower than his optimistic forecast at the beginning of the year.

From $250,000 to $100,000, from $200,000 to admitting "quite bad," these prediction gaps highlight one thing: forecasting the crypto market is really not that easy.