Forbes: In 2025, Cryptocurrency Will Be Redefined
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
Forbes: In 2025, Cryptocurrency Will Be Redefined
Cryptocurrency made a strong comeback in 2024 and will continue its brilliance in 2025.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy Nina Bambysheva, Forbes
Translated by Luffy, Foresight News
Crypto winter? Over. The fall of the crypto empire and courtroom dramas? All in the past. Survivors? Battle-tested and laser-focused, as if a new gold rush has begun.
After years of clashes with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have finally arrived. According to crypto research firm K33 Research, U.S. Bitcoin ETFs held $129 billion in assets as of December 16, surpassing gold ETFs at $125 billion.
Post-election market euphoria, combined with Donald Trump’s promise to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world” and establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, pushed Bitcoin’s price above $100,000.
Solana is gaining momentum, fueled by memecoin mania and emerging narratives like DePIN—networks that use blockchain to decentralize control and ownership of physical infrastructure. Platforms such as Polymarket (where users bet on U.S. presidential election outcomes) and the battle royale game Off The Grid have achieved mainstream success. A new wave of "degens" is now betting on tokens like fartcoin and dogwifhat, both of which currently boast market caps exceeding $1 billion.
"This year, crypto entered the mainstream consciousness in a way we haven’t seen since 2021," said Rob Hadick, general partner at San Francisco-based crypto venture capital firm Dragonfly. "It's now a sustainable, long-term asset class that will have a voice and play a significant role."
"If you just look at crypto’s impact on the election—whether through political donations or advocacy among legislators and presidential candidates—it’s unprecedented. This marks a major step forward for crypto legitimacy."
Donald Trump speaking at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: The Washington Post
With Trump and a cohort of pro-crypto officials preparing to take office, what industry insiders call the “golden age of crypto” appears to be here. Here are the trends brewing ahead:
All-Time Highs and a U.S. Bitcoin Reserve
The art of bold price predictions is back in vogue. Bitwise, a crypto asset management firm, forecasts that if the U.S. establishes a strategic reserve akin to those for oil or gold, Bitcoin could reach $200,000—or even $500,000. The logic: an official U.S. Bitcoin reserve would trigger global FOMO.
In July, Trump proposed using 200,000 Bitcoins seized from criminals (worth $21 billion) to seed such a reserve during his speech at the Nashville Bitcoin Conference. But the legal path remains unclear—would it require congressional approval, or could the executive branch act unilaterally? Pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced a Treasury-run reserve proposal in July. Skeptics argue Bitcoin’s volatility could threaten financial stability. Trump has remained silent on whether the U.S. would buy more Bitcoin via open markets—an ambiguity that adds further uncertainty.
Crypto Regulatory Reset: A Friendly Washington
The incoming administration is poised to become the most crypto-friendly government yet. Key appointments shaping crypto policy include:
-
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): Former SEC commissioner and crypto advocate Paul Atkins is set to replace Gary Gensler, a staunch crypto critic known for lawsuits and enforcement actions against crypto firms.
-
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC): Brian Quintenz, former CFTC commissioner and head of policy at Andreessen Horowitz, is a leading contender to lead the agency.
-
Treasury Department: Hedge fund billionaire and Bitcoin supporter Scott Bessent is Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary.
-
Commerce Department: Howard Lutnik, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald—the primary custodian of Tether’s USDT reserves—will lead this department.
-
Crypto and AI Czar: David Sacks, a longtime venture capitalist and former PayPal colleague of Elon Musk, will oversee policy for two key pillars of Trump’s national competitiveness strategy.
-
House Financial Services Committee: Arkansas Republican Representative French Hill, who alongside outgoing Chair Patrick McHenry has championed pro-crypto legislation, plans to prioritize a crypto market structure bill within the first 100 days and investigate so-called “Choke Point 2.0,” a campaign many believe unfairly targeted the crypto industry through de-banking practices.
"This is a real opportunity to shape good policy for the industry," said Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association based in Washington, D.C., representing over 100 crypto companies. "The White House has signaled this is a priority. I expect coordinated efforts across government agencies, legislative pushes on market structure and stablecoins, and a major shift bringing innovation back to the U.S.," she added.
New Crypto IPOs and Venture Capital Influx
The pipeline for crypto IPOs is heating up. Bitwise listed five companies potentially going public next year:
-
Circle: The issuer of the second-largest stablecoin USDC secretly filed for IPO in January.
-
Figure: Known for blockchain-based financial services such as mortgage lending, personal loans, and asset tokenization, it has been exploring a public listing since last year.
-
Kraken: The U.S.-based crypto exchange has had IPO plans dating back to 2021.
-
Anchorage Digital: Its status as a federally chartered bank could pave the way for an IPO.
-
Chainalysis: A leader in blockchain compliance and intelligence services, it is also expected to go public.
Additionally, Dragonfly’s Hadick noted: "I expect the LP (limited partners in crypto VC funds) market to improve—they’ll want to allocate more capital into crypto. Many traditional Web2 crossover funds will return to Web3. We’re already seeing this trend in areas like stablecoins and payments." He added that venture deals typically lag behind public market price increases by one or two quarters.
Crypto-Linked Companies Joining Major Stock Indices
MicroStrategy’s stock surged over 400% this year. Thanks to new accounting rules allowing companies to reflect their Bitcoin holdings at market value on balance sheets, the firm is now part of the Nasdaq 100 index. Analysts predict it may soon join the S&P 500. This inclusion could funnel MicroStrategy into passive index-tracking funds, embedding it into countless American investment portfolios. Michael Saylor, co-founder and executive chairman of MicroStrategy, pursued a “Bitcoin treasury” strategy—selling bonds and shares to accumulate Bitcoin—elevating the $86 billion company into the top 100 firms of the S&P 500. Analysts say Coinbase, up 70% this year, might also enter this coveted index.
Stablecoin Surge
With anticipated U.S. stablecoin legislation on the horizon, the sector is poised for explosive growth—potentially doubling in market cap to $400 billion. According to Bitwise, stablecoin transaction volume reached $8.3 trillion in 2024, nearly matching Visa’s $9.9 trillion in payment volume.
Tether and Circle remain dominant. However, Hadick warns their growth could stall if they continue operating more like asset managers than payment providers.
Stripe sent a strong signal in October by acquiring stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion, suggesting stablecoins could become the foundation of fintech. Stripe calls them “superconductors for financial services,” praising their unmatched speed, low cost, and global reach. Robinhood is following suit, exploring the creation of a global stablecoin network.
Meanwhile, next-generation “stablecoin 2.0” models are quietly emerging. Ceteris, research lead at New York-based crypto analytics firm Delphi Digital, explains: "Many new stablecoin models are sharing revenue with token holders or directly funding user-facing applications. I believe these models are disruptive."
Accelerated Tokenization of Traditional Assets
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has long championed tokenization. From real estate to art, everything could soon be tokenized. Key benefits include instant settlement, lower costs compared to traditional securitization, 24/7 liquidity, and transparency.
Three years ago, the crypto industry had tokenized only $2 billion in real-world assets (RWA), including private credit, U.S. debt, commodities, and equities. Today, that figure approaches $14 billion. Venture firm ParaFi predicts the tokenized RWA market could soar to $2 trillion by 2030—a sign of transformative shifts in asset ownership and trading.
New Applications, Better Infrastructure
The buzzword at the end of 2024? AI agents. Get ready for the convergence of artificial intelligence and crypto—a fusion edging closer to science fiction.
This trend is already emerging. Take TruthTerminal, an AI agent that not only received $50,000 from Marc Andreessen but turned itself into a millionaire via X (formerly Twitter). Its success stemmed from promoting a token based on an absurd meme from the early 2000s—the anonymous creator transferred a large sum into TruthTerminal’s wallet, managed by Andy Ayrey.
But analysts remain cautious. Practical AI agents—such as those attempting to execute complex cross-chain transactions on behalf of users—are rare and still in early stages. "Agents are exciting because they’re so novel," says Delphi’s Ceteris, "but for better or worse, they could be the biggest bubble of this cycle."
Despite fragmentation in the blockchain space and most decentralized apps remaining far from mainstream adoption, work continues on building robust infrastructure. "Solana set the tone for the high-throughput blockchain era," Ceteris explains. "Almost every new chain launches under this paradigm, creating abundant cheap blockspace."
Thus, the narrative around crypto has shifted—from survival to prosperity. This is only part of what may surprise us next year. You can either grab popcorn for the show or pull out your wallet for the opportunity. Caution remains essential—the market will experience highs and lows. But this time, the stakes feel higher than ever before.
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
Forbes
