If 2024 was the year of cryptocurrency revival, 2025 marks the critical year for regulatory recognition and a shift in public perception from speculation to financial market infrastructure.
Here are the core winners of 2025:
1. The United States and Trump: Shifting the industry's focus, defining stablecoins through the GENIUS Act, issuing a Bitcoin reserve executive order, and driving leadership changes at the SEC/CFTC to clear regulatory hurdles.
2. Spot ETFs: IBIT ranks among the top 10 ETFs by inflows in the U.S., surpassing traditional giants; the SEC approves a universal listing standard to streamline approvals, paving the way for Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and other ETFs.
3. Solana: Shedding its "beta" label, on-chain transaction volume ranks among the top for three consecutive months, transforming into a global liquidity layer and shifting from competing with Ethereum to rivaling Nasdaq.
4. Ripple: Ending its long-standing lawsuit with the SEC, pivoting the narrative to "liquidity engine" and launching a spot ETF; Ripple invests $4 billion to acquire traditional financial infrastructure, evolving into a full-stack institutional payment giant.
5. RWA: Transitioning from pilot projects to critical infrastructure, BlackRock's BUIDL fund becomes an off-exchange collateral, tokenized assets exceed $200 billion, with traditional finance giants entering the space.
6. Stablecoins: Market capitalization surpasses $300 billion, holders reach a historic high of 200 million, becoming a global fintech settlement layer; the GENIUS Act provides legal clarity for banks to enter.
7. Hong Kong: The ETP market becomes the world's third-largest, with an average daily trading volume of HKD 37.8 billion; a robust VATP licensing system and stablecoin regulations attract over 30 applicants.
8. Base: Leveraging Coinbase's vast user base, it becomes the preferred platform for consumer applications and stablecoin experiments, building a bridge between the on-chain world and the compliant environment.
9. Zcash and Privacy: Zcash leads privacy coins in shedding the "illegal" stigma, becoming one of the year's top-performing sectors, pushing Ethereum to accelerate privacy protection, with the SEC discussing compliant frameworks.
10. Perpetual DEXs: On-chain derivatives break the trust barrier, successfully capturing trading volume from CEXs, with the rise of DEXs like Hyperliquid marking the maturity of DeFi market structure.
11. Prediction Markets: Platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket set records, with traditional institutions like Gemini and Coinbase, as well as crypto companies, entering the space, bridging the gap between speculation and finance.
12. Early Believers: Enduring industry winters and regulatory pressure, their persistence is finally validated, having entered the market ahead of institutions like BlackRock.
