Deng Tong, Golden Finance
2025 is a pivotal year for the crypto industry, marked by gradually clearer regulatory frameworks, deep penetration of traditional finance, and accelerated technological iteration. Every key turning point has been driven by core figures, whether they are steering policy direction, leading institutional entry, tackling technical challenges, or stirring market trends. This article focuses on the influential figures in the 2025 crypto industry.
I. U.S. President Donald Trump
1. Returning to the White House, the First "Crypto President"
On January 20, Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, becoming the first "Crypto President" in American history.
On January 23, Trump issued his first crypto executive order. Specific contents include: protecting and promoting the ability of citizens and the private sector to access and use public chains; U.S. citizens can develop and deploy software, participate in mining and validation, conduct transactions, and self-custody digital assets; promoting and protecting the sovereignty of the U.S. dollar, and fostering the development and growth of dollar-backed stablecoins; protecting and promoting fair and open access to banking services for all law-abiding citizens and private sector entities; providing regulatory clarity and certainty; protecting Americans from the risks of CBDCs, prohibiting the establishment, issuance, circulation, and use of CBDCs within U.S. jurisdiction; revoking Executive Order 14067 "Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets" and the Treasury's "International Engagement Framework for Digital Assets"; establishing a Presidential Digital Asset Markets Task Force; proposing a federal regulatory framework to govern the issuance and operation of U.S. digital assets (including stablecoins); and assessing the possibility of establishing and maintaining a national digital asset reserve, proposing standards for such a reserve.
2. Wielding the Tariff Stick
February 1: Trump signed an executive order, citing issues like fentanyl, to impose an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods imported into the U.S. on top of existing tariffs; simultaneously imposing a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada, with a separate 10% tariff on Canadian energy products; April 3, "Liberation Day," Trump formally signed an executive order on reciprocal tariffs; April 8, announced an increase in the "reciprocal tariff" on Chinese goods from 34% to 84%, with a total cumulative tariff of 104% after previous tariffs; April 10: first announced a 90-day tariff suspension period, significantly reducing reciprocal tariffs on relevant countries to 10%, but simultaneously raising tariffs on China to 125%, with a final cumulative tariff of 145% including the fentanyl tariff; May 12, after U.S.-China economic talks in Geneva, a joint statement was released, with U.S. tariffs on China reduced to 30%, formally adjusted by the U.S. on May 14; August 12: after U.S.-China economic talks in Stockholm, a consensus was reached, suspending the implementation of the 24% mutually imposed tariffs effective that day for 90 days, with both sides retaining the 10% tariff on each other's goods, and China simultaneously suspending some non-tariff countermeasures against the U.S. November 5, following the previous U.S.-China tariff suspension agreement, China announced that it would continue to suspend the implementation of the 24% tariff rate on U.S. goods for one year starting November 10, retaining the 10% rate, with the U.S. synchronously maintaining corresponding tariff policies and not introducing new tariff increase measures.
The crypto market was significantly affected by tariff policies. In late February, when Trump suddenly announced plans to impose tariffs on Canada and the EU, BTC fell by about 15% in the following days; in early April, as Trump frequently escalated tariffs, the total market capitalization of the crypto market fell by about 25.9% from its January high, with nearly $1 trillion in market value evaporated, highlighting the high sensitivity of the crypto market to macroeconomic instability.
3. Launching TRUMP, Promoting WLFI
On January 18, Trump announced the launch of his personal Meme coin, TRUMP. TRUMP immediately began a surge upon launch, recording a high of over $44 on January 22, then falling all the way. As of press time, it is reported at $5.09, down 82.4% from its January high.
The launch of the TRUMP Meme coin directly ignited the celebrity Meme coin craze at the beginning of the year. TRUMP's price trend is also a microcosm of all celebrity Meme coins. First, after the Meme coin is launched, it uses celebrity influence to pump the price, for example, Trump launched TRUMP three days before taking office to create short-term狂热炒作 opportunities; second, Meme coins have no real value support. TRUMP has been full of controversy since its birth, with criticisms of political bribery and other voices incessant; finally, most Meme coins have internal manipulation issues, with sell-offs at price highs causing sharp price drops.
On September 16, 2024, the Trump family's decentralized finance project, World Liberty Financial, was established. On September 1 this year, several cryptocurrency exchanges listed WLFI for trading. But obviously, WLFI was also just a temporary热潮, reaching a high of $0.24 in the month of its launch. As of press time, it has fallen 45.1% to $0.1284.
WLFI's product architecture is based on the governance token WLFI and the stablecoin USD1, aiming to connect traditional finance with DeFi. Its core consists of the institution-grade stablecoin USD1 and the community-driven governance token WLFI. The product architecture features multi-chain deployment, compliance management (including KYC and third-party audits), and community governance mechanisms, providing transparent and secure digital asset services through the dollar reserve-backed stablecoin USD1.
However, since its first appearance in September last year, WLFI has not had any remarkable achievements. WLFI co-founder Zach Witkoff recently announced that its real-world asset product will be launched next January, but the final implementation remains to be seen.
II. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins
In April 2025, after Atkins took office as SEC Chairman, he proposed Project Crypto, considered the clearest crypto strategy by a U.S. regulator to date. Its主旨 includes: clarifying that most digital assets are not securities, reducing legal uncertainty;免除复杂监管, i.e., clarifying the financial and legal attributes of crypto tokens as commodities, avoiding cumbersome case-by-case reviews; supporting on-chain capital raising, making compliant tokenized markets possible; establishing stablecoin and on-chain settlement systems, promoting the dominant position of the U.S. dollar in the crypto market; promoting inter-agency cooperation (with CFTC, Treasury, White House task force); supporting crypto innovation, even supporting platforms integrating trading, staking, and lending to improve financial efficiency. He believes that if the U.S. wants to maintain financial leadership, it must establish compliance and market advantages in the digital asset field.
Under his leadership, the SEC turned to pro-crypto policies. In 2025, the SEC ended its illegal enforcement case against Coinbase and ended investigations into crypto industry projects such as Ondo, Aave, and Yuga Labs.
III. Ethereum Co-founder Vitalik Buterin
1. Ethereum Upgrades
On May 7, the Ethereum Pectra upgrade was triggered and completed on the mainnet around UTC 10:05. This is the most significant upgrade since the Merge in 2022. This update aims to simplify the staking process, enhance wallet functionality, and improve overall efficiency. One of the key elements of this upgrade is increasing the amount of ETH users can stake from 32 to 2048. This change aims to help staking institutions and infrastructure providers by meeting the needs of validators who stake ETH to keep the blockchain running.
On December 3, the Ethereum Fusaka upgrade was officially activated at mainnet block slot 13,164,544.
Fusaka marks an important step in Ethereum's scaling roadmap. It enhances Layer 1 performance, expands blob capacity, improves the cost-effectiveness of Rollups, and brings user experience upgrades. It also introduces a "blob-only parameter" fork mechanism to safely increase blob capacity as Rollup demand grows.
2. Focusing on the Privacy Track
At the Ethereum Developer Conference from November 17 to 22, Vitalik released Kohaku, an Ethereum privacy protection encryption tool.
For developers, the Ethereum Foundation provides an open-source framework including a modular software development kit (SDK) and a reference wallet. The SDK provides reusable components for private sending, more secure key management and recovery, and risk-based transaction controls, so teams don't have to build the entire privacy protocol stack from scratch. For users, the first version is a browser extension wallet for advanced users, developed based on Ambire. It supports private and public transactions, separate accounts for each decentralized application, peer-to-peer broadcasting (instead of centralized relays), and tools to hide Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and other metadata as much as possible.
On November 27, Vitalik again focused on the privacy track and endorsed two decentralized messaging applications, Session and SimpleX Chat, donating 128 ETH to each. Vitalik pointed out: Digital privacy protection for encrypted messaging is crucial. The next two important development directions in this field are: (i) creating accounts without permission; (ii) metadata privacy protection.
IV. MicroStrategy联创 Michael Saylor
1.疯狂Buying BTC
On December 30, 2024, MicroStrategy's total BTC holdings were 446,400; as of December 15, 2025, MicroStrategy's total BTC holdings were 671,268. In nearly a year, MicroStrategy bought 224,868 BTC. Its holdings account for 3.197% of the total BTC supply.
2. Responding to MSCI Index Exclusion Risk
In October, MSCI announced that it was soliciting opinions from the investment community on whether digital asset reserve companies with crypto assets accounting for more than 50% of their balance sheets should be excluded from the indices. MSCI pointed out that some feedback believes that such companies "exhibit characteristics similar to investment funds, which currently do not qualify for index eligibility." The consultation period will last until December 31, with a final decision to be announced on January 15 next year, and any resulting changes will take effect in February. The preliminary list of affected companies under consideration by MSCI includes 38 companies such as Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy Inc., Sharplink Gaming, and cryptocurrency miners Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital Holdings.
Michael Saylor responded to the MSCI index exclusion risk issue on social media, stating that MicroStrategy, as a listed operating company, is fundamentally different from funds, trusts, and holding companies. MicroStrategy not only has a software business worth $500 million but also uniquely uses Bitcoin as productive capital for treasury management. Index classification cannot define MicroStrategy. The company's long-term strategy is clear, its belief in Bitcoin is firm, and its mission has always been to become the world's first digital currency institution based on sound money and financial innovation.
3. Promoting Government Development of a BTC-backed Digital Banking System
In early December, Michael Saylor promoted the development of a Bitcoin-backed digital banking system by governments, offering high-yield, low-volatility accounts that could attract trillions of dollars in deposits. Saylor stated that countries could use over-collateralized Bitcoin reserves and tokenized credit tools to create regulated digital bank accounts whose yields would be higher than traditional deposits. Bank deposits in Japan, Europe, and Switzerland yield almost nothing, while euro money market funds yield about 150 basis points, and U.S. money market rates are close to 400 basis points, explaining why investors are turning to the corporate bond market.
V. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino
1. Intending to Acquire Juventus
On December 12, Tether announced plans to fully acquire the Italian football club Juventus FC. Tether submitted a binding all-cash offer to the controlling shareholder Exor for its 65.4% stake and is prepared to launch a public offer for the remaining shares after the transaction is completed, aiming to increase its stake to 100% control. However, the EXOR group rejected Tether's proposal to acquire Juventus shares, reiterating that it has no intention of selling Juventus shares.
2. Creating Fiat-Pegged Tokens
On December 9, Tether's stablecoin USDT was officially recognized as a "fiat-pegged token" in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), allowing licensed institutions to provide regulated custody and trading services, marking an important step in stablecoin regulation in the UAE. The USDT it issued has been officially recognized as a fiat reference token on multiple blockchains including Aptos, Cosmos, and Near. This layout helps Tether open the door to the compliant digital asset market in the Middle East, leveraging Abu Dhabi's status as a regional financial center to further expand the influence and circulation of its stablecoin in global compliant markets.
3. Mobile Payments
On December 9, the mobile payment application Oobit, backed by Tether, announced a partnership with Bakkt and officially launched in the United States. This "tap-and-pay" solution integrates non-custodial wallets such as Base, Binance, MetaMusk, Phantom, and Trust Wallet, allowing users to spend cryptocurrency directly through iOS and Android devices. Merchants receive fiat settlements in real time through the existing Visa payment network. Tether's cooperation with Oobit began as early as last year. In 2024, Oobit completed a $25 million Series A funding round, led by Tether, with participation from Solana co-founders and other investors. This funding became an important support for Oobit's subsequent technological iteration and global market expansion.
4. Digital Asset Lending
On November 18, Tether announced a strategic investment in the digital asset lending platform Ledn. This move aims to expand access to credit, supporting individuals and businesses in obtaining loans without selling their digital assets. Ledn focuses on Bitcoin-backed loans and has issued over $2.8 billion in loans since its inception, with lending in 2025 exceeding $1 billion, setting the company's strongest annual performance. Its annual recurring revenue (ARR) has exceeded $100 million.
5. Robotics
On December 8, news indicated that Tether is supporting the development of a new type of industrial humanoid robot that will take on dangerous and physically demanding jobs in factories and logistics centers. Tether, together with AMD Ventures, an Italian state-supported AI fund, and other investors, provided €70 million in funding for Generative Bionics (a new spin-off company of the Italian Institute of Technology).
6. Large Language Models
On December 2, Tether Data announced the launch of the large language model framework QVAC Fabric, enabling users to execute, train, and personalize large language models directly on everyday hardware, including consumer-grade GPUs, laptops, and even smartphones. Tasks that previously required high-end cloud servers or NVIDIA dedicated systems can now be accomplished on users' existing devices. It is reported that this model supports training on various GPUs including AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, Apple Silicon, and mobile chips.
VI. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink
BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) continued to lead throughout the year, firmly holding the top spot in the global Bitcoin spot ETF market. At its peak, it ranked 23rd among all global ETFs. The latest total assets under management (AUM) are approximately $70.84 billion.
IBIT successfully established its dominant position in the field of combining crypto assets with traditional finance in 2025. Its performance is closely linked to Bitcoin market fluctuations and institutional capital sentiment, exhibiting characteristics of "long-term capital attraction" and "short-term剧烈波动"并存.
VII. BitMine Board Chairman Tom Lee
In June 2025, BitMine officially appointed Tom Lee as Chairman of the Board, simultaneously launching an ETH reserve strategy. He became the core decision-maker for the company's transformation. He proposed the positioning of "becoming the MicroStrategy of Ethereum," promoting the "5% Alchemy" vision, with the goal of holding 5% of the global circulating supply of ETH, reshaping the company's valuation logic with "ETH per share" as the core performance indicator.
Currently, BitMine holds 3,967,210 ETH, worth $11.73 billion.
Even though the overall crypto market has been sluggish recently, Tom Lee has expressed his determination not to sell ETH: Bitmine is close to holding 4% of Ethereum's total supply. If we stake these ETH now, it will generate over $1 million in net income per day.
VIII. Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ)
On October 22, Trump signed a pardon for CZ, which was disclosed to the public the next day.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt issued a statement saying: "The President exercised his constitutional power to pardon Mr. CZ, who was prosecuted in the Biden administration's war on cryptocurrency. The Biden administration's war on cryptocurrency is over." After his release, Changpeng Zhao quickly expressed his gratitude to Trump, saying he would "do everything he can to help the United States become the cryptocurrency capital and advance Web3 development globally."
IX. Circle Co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire
On June 5, Circle was officially listed on the NYSE. During the day, Circle triggered multiple trading halts. On its first day of listing, it closed with a gain of 168.48%, at $83.23 per share. The market capitalization exceeded $18.5 billion at the close that day and rose nearly 30% the next day. Circle's listing brought stablecoins, which were only recognized by a certain group of people, onto the "main stage" and gained the favor of some Old money. It was one of the most successful IPOs in recent years.
After Circle's listing, Jeremy Allaire stated: Stablecoins may be the most practical form of currency ever, but the entire industry has not yet reached a key节点 similar to the "iPhone moment." He pointed out that once the stablecoin industry enters this stage, developers will be able to unlock programmable digital dollars just like unlocking programmable phones. At that time, digital dollars will release huge potential and bring broad opportunities on the Internet. He believes this era may not be far away.
X. HashKey Director and Board Chairman Xiao Feng
On December 1, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange disclosed that HashKey Holdings Limited had passed the hearing of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and was about to IPO, with J.P. Morgan, Guotai Junan International, and Haitong International as joint sponsors. On December 17, HashKey Holdings Limited was officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Under Xiao Feng's leadership, HashKey successfully IPOed. This is an important milestone in the compliant development of Hong Kong's cryptocurrency industry and a microcosm of global crypto enterprises embracing mainstream capital markets.
