Written by: Ada, Deep Tide TechFlow
If one word must be used to summarize the cryptocurrency industry in 2025, it is certainly not "bull market," nor is it "compliance," but rather Institutionalization.
This year, for the first time, cryptocurrency no longer stood in opposition to the global financial system but was formally integrated into its institutions, capital, and power structures.
Traditional financial giants such as Wall Street capital, sovereign wealth funds, and pension funds began to systematically enter the crypto market. Led by Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), publicly traded companies incorporated Bitcoin into their corporate balance sheets. Coupled with the large-scale capital inflows from ETFs, Bitcoin broke its historical high in 2025, reaching $126,000.
At the same time, the market capitalization of USDT exceeded $183.4 billion, with Tether becoming a crucial component of the global "dollar alternative payment system." Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal extensively expanded their on-chain payment capabilities, while USDC was widely adopted in e-commerce settlements, overseas remittances, and cross-border payments for small and medium-sized enterprises. Stablecoins, for the first time, genuinely penetrated the structure of the real economy.
The passage of the GENIUS Act, the shift in the power center of U.S. regulatory agencies, and the systematic inflow of ETF funds... all contributed to a deep structural transformation:
The crypto world transitioned from its grassroots phase into the era of institutionalization.
Behind these significant advancements lies the support of industry leaders. It was their guidance that ushered crypto into a new era of "institutionalization, globalization, and corporatization."
As the year draws to a close, we have reviewed and summarized 2025, compiling a list of ten influential figures to reflect with our readers on the impact they had on the crypto industry this year.
1. Donald Trump: The Monetization of Political Capital
On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, marking a fundamental shift in Washington's attitude towards cryptocurrency.
During his campaign, Trump promised to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the world," a stance that won him broad support from crypto businesses and capital. However, more notably, he demonstrated how to directly convert political influence into economic gain.
Three days before his formal inauguration, Trump launched a token named "Trump" on the Solana blockchain. Leveraging the implicit endorsement of his presidential status and its market positioning as the "official Meme coin," the token quickly attracted massive speculative capital, with its price soaring to approximately $75. According to a March 2025 analysis by the Financial Times, the project generated net proceeds of $350 million from token sales and fees, with Trump's personal paper assets once skyrocketing to $20 billion.
Trump's policy framework also reflected an institutional mindset. On January 23, he signed Executive Order 14178, establishing the "Presidential Working Group on Digital Assets," explicitly prohibiting the federal government from creating, issuing, or advancing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), and pledging to promote the development of "dollar-pegged stablecoins."
An executive order on March 6 held even greater strategic significance: it established the "U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Inventory," designating Bitcoin seized by the Justice and Treasury Departments as national "strategic reserve assets." This move essentially formalized Bitcoin's position within the national financial system.
The signing of the GENIUS Act on July 18 became a milestone in cryptocurrency institutionalization. This federal law provided the first systematic regulatory response to stablecoins, offering a legal framework for the integration of crypto assets into the mainstream financial system.
However, Trump's tariff policies also became a significant variable in market volatility. After the "Liberation Day Tariffs" were announced in April, the market panicked, and Bitcoin briefly fell to around $85,000. The market jokingly referred to these policy-driven price fluctuations as "TACO trades" (Trump-driven Cryptocurrency Operations).
Beyond his personal token project, the Trump family also reaped substantial profits through World Liberty Financial, a company founded by the family. The company operates the governance token WLFI and the dollar stablecoin USD1. According to Financial Times calculations, the company earned $550 million from selling WLFI tokens and $2.71 billion from its USD1 stablecoin business, with the Trump family holding a 38% stake in the company.
The Trump phenomenon can be summarized as follows: political authority is becoming a key anchoring factor for crypto value, and the traditional ideal of decentralization is converging with an orderly reality.
2. Michael Saylor: Pioneer of the Crypto Reserve Revolution
If Trump represents the crypto monetization of political capital, then Strategy founder Michael Saylor symbolizes a paradigm shift in corporate treasury management.
In August 2020, Strategy announced the purchase of approximately 21,454 Bitcoin for about $250 million in cash, explicitly proposing a strategy to "use Bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset instead of cash." The significance of this move far exceeded a mere investment decision; it redefined the concept of value storage for the corporate world.
Saylor systematically constructed a theoretical framework for corporate Bitcoin reserves. He articulated in various occasions that the company was not speculating on new technology but making a deliberate long-term asset allocation decision to protect shareholder value. This narrative effectively repositioned Bitcoin from a "speculative tool" to "financial infrastructure."
In 2025, publicly traded companies purchasing Bitcoin experienced explosive growth, with Strategy continuously expanding its Bitcoin holdings. To date, the company holds 671,268 Bitcoin, with the most recent purchase occurring on December 15, spending approximately $980 million to acquire 10,645 Bitcoin.
Due to the surge in Bitcoin's price, Strategy's stock reached a high of about $414 during the year. More importantly, a host of public companies began emulating this model, further driving up Bitcoin's price. According to BitcoinTreasuries data, 192 public companies currently hold approximately 1,087,857 Bitcoin, accounting for about 5.45% of Bitcoin's global circulating supply.
ARK Invest, in a research report,首次 referred to Strategy as a "DAT model pioneer" (Digital Asset Treasury) and defined companies following suit as DAT companies. The introduction of this concept signaled Bitcoin's transition from an "alternative investment" to a "foundational asset in the corporate financial system."
However, the MicroStrategy model also faces market tests. As the market recently turned bearish, Strategy's stock price fell to around $200, with its market net asset value multiple (mNAV) nearing the critical point of falling below 1. Should mNAV drop below 1, Strategy's "BTC value appreciation cycle" model would face severe challenges.
Despite this, Michael Saylor remains committed to the long-term strategy. On November 17, he stated in a media interview that Strategy would not sell its holdings unless Bitcoin falls below $10,000.
3. Tom Lee: The Bridge Between Wall Street and the Crypto World
In the historic shift of traditional finance towards crypto assets, Fundstrat Global Advisors founder Tom Lee played a pivotal bridging role. As one of Wall Street's earliest and most influential Bitcoin bull analysts, his views shaped institutional investors' perception of crypto assets.
In 2017, when mainstream finance was highly hostile towards Bitcoin, Lee first proposed during a CNBC interview that Bitcoin could break through $25,000, a prediction that made him "Wall Street's most famous crypto bull." More importantly, his Bitcoin Misery Index (BMI) introduced in 2018, along with cost models and network effect models, built a serious valuation framework for Bitcoin, models that are still widely cited in the industry today.
In 2020, when companies like Strategy and Tesla began allocating to Bitcoin, Lee repeatedly stated publicly: "Companies will use Bitcoin as a treasury asset; this is an irreversible trend." His prediction for the 2021 bull market was ultimately validated.
In 2025, Lee expanded his focus to the Ethereum ecosystem. He pointed out in media interviews that Ethereum was entering the early stages of a "super cycle" similar to Bitcoin's post-2017 phase. Through his active advocacy, market sentiment remained high, and Ethereum broke its historical high in August, approaching $5,000.
Lee is not just a theorist but also a practitioner. BitMine, the Ethereum treasury company where he serves as board chairman, continuously increased its Ethereum holdings. As of December 21, 2025, the company disclosed holdings of 4,066,062 Ethereum, accounting for approximately 3.37% of Ethereum's total supply.
Although Ethereum recently fell below $3,000 and BitMine's stock price is only $32, Lee maintains his year-end target price of $10,000.
Lee's influence lies in his success in introducing Wall Street's analytical frameworks and investment logic into the crypto world while communicating the innovative value of crypto assets to traditional financial institutions, making him an indispensable catalyst in the fusion of these two worlds.
4. Changpeng Zhao (CZ): The Unwilling Silence of the Will to Power
2025 was a crucial year for CZ (Changpeng Zhao), marking his rebirth from legal shadows and his reassertion of influence over the industry's narrative.
Trump's presidential pardon not only restored CZ's freedom but also demonstrated his top-tier political lobbying capabilities. However, what is truly noteworthy is not this political event itself, but how CZ reestablished his dominant position in the crypto world within just a few months.
Someone who once stood at the pinnacle of power in the crypto industry cannot completely relinquish it. CZ's return was filled with the strategic foresight and restlessness of an emperor. Binance's launch of the Alpha 2.0 platform in March 2025,表面上 was a "launchpad for discovering early Web3 projects," but in essence, it was a meticulously planned commercial revolution. It not only achieved an overtaking maneuver against OKX Wallet, bringing on-chain asset issuance into the Binance ecosystem, but also reshuffled the entire industry landscape.
Activating the BSC chain, threatening Solana's position, delivering a dimensional打击 to listings on second and third-tier exchanges... it certainly had impact.
Even more impressive was his precise manipulation of market sentiment. When the "Binance Life" meme coin saw its market cap突破 $500 million in four days, surging 6000x in 96 hours, a seemingly casual "#BNB meme szn" tag from CZ on platform X instantly ignited a meme coin frenzy across the entire BNB chain.
In 2025, CZ began interacting more frequently with various KOLs, and his tweets also spawned several MEME coins. Although he later claimed it was "pure coincidence," a single tweet redistributing hundreds of millions of dollars in wealth is a symbol of power.
Every public move by Changpeng Zhao carries the mark of the will to power. His $2 million token investment in the Aster project in November,表面上 expressed confidence in the decentralized perpetual contracts sector, but also served to announce to the market: even after regulatory pressure, he still possesses the ability to redefine the industry's direction. He no longer needs to control the market directly through Binance but maintains his influence through investment布局, social media impact, ecosystem building, and other more subtle yet effective methods.
This transition from direct rule to indirect manipulation反而 made his power even more unshakeable. Changpeng Zhao proved a truth with his actions: True power never relies on a specific position or title but lies in the ability to manipulate rule-making and market expectations.
5. Vitalik Buterin: Maintaining Balance Between Decentralized Ideals and Institutional Reality
On July 30, 2025, Ethereum celebrated its tenth anniversary, with founder Vitalik Buterin continuing to seek a delicate balance between decentralized ideals and institutional trends.
Ethereum experienced dramatic price volatility in 2025. In April, its price一度 fell to around $1,793, with extreme market bearishness. However, with Circle's IPO and the rise of stablecoin and RWA concepts, Ethereum regained attention as core infrastructure.
On June 2, Consensys founder Joseph Lubin initiated an "ETH reserve" strategy through the U.S.-listed company SharpLink Gaming (SBET). Companies like BitMine, Bit Digital, and GameSquare followed suit, driving a continuous rise in Ethereum's price. It recorded a 40% gain in July alone and broke its all-time high in August, reaching $4,946.05.
On this symbolic day, July 30, Vitalik published "Ethereum 2035: Vitalik's Vision for the Next Decade." In this "decade vision" article, he outlined Ethereum's development direction for the next ten years, including scalability, privacy protection, governance transformation, and the importance of maintaining Ethereum's experimental culture. His roadmap描绘了 Ethereum's vision of evolving from supporting crypto applications to becoming global critical infrastructure.
On October 20, Vitalik announced the GKR protocol (Goldreich–Kahan–Rothblum), a Proof-of-Stake/ZK computation framework designed for high-speed proof generation, applicable to blockchain and AI large-scale computing. This was seen as Ethereum's next-generation "super proof system" and the underlying technical support for Ethereum's lightweight strategy.
However, Vitalik maintained a cautious attitude towards institutionalization trends. Although Ethereum treasury companies and institutional holdings drove price increases, he believed that continuous institutional accumulation posed two major threats: first, it could drive away users and core developers truly concerned about decentralization, causing community loss; second, institutional pressure might push for inappropriate technical decisions, deviating from Ethereum's technical roadmap.
At the Devconnect conference held this year, Vitalik issued an important warning, stating that quantum computing could potentially break elliptic curve cryptography before the 2028 U.S. presidential election, urging Ethereum to upgrade to quantum-resistant algorithms within four years.
For emerging applications like prediction markets, Vitalik suggested using distributed oracles to avoid malicious manipulation.
Vitalik's thinking represents a deep dialogue between crypto-native mindset and institutional reality. He must ensure Ethereum can bear the responsibility of global financial infrastructure while preserving its decentralized and experimental nature.
6. Kim Jong-un: Taxing the Entire Crypto Industry
Beneath the glossy surface of the cryptocurrency institutionalization process in 2025, a covert force from the Korean Peninsula is reshaping the risk landscape of global digital assets.
Hacking groups under the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB) of the Korean People's Army, including Lazarus Group, APT38, and Kimsuky, have shifted from traditional political espionage to systematically targeting economic gains.
In 2025, North Korean hackers demonstrated astonishing technical capabilities.
In February, a North Korean hacking group attacked cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, stealing approximately $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency. In November, South Korea's largest exchange, Upbit, was infiltrated, with $30 million stolen.
Additionally, North Korean agents began大规模伪装身份申请加密公司职位. According to investigations, about 30% to 40% of job applications received by some cryptocurrency companies were suspected to be submitted by infiltrating North Korean agents.
According to year-end 2025 tracking reports from Chainalysis and TRM Labs, North Korean hackers cumulatively stole approximately $2.02 billion worth of crypto assets in 2025.
As assessed by a UN expert panel, about 60% of these seized digital assets were used to circumvent international sanctions and fund nuclear weapon programs; 30% maintained regime stability; and 10% were invested in upgrading cyber attack infrastructure.
For a long time, the international community attempted to cut off North Korea's foreign exchange sources through financial sanctions, but the emergence of cryptocurrency changed the underlying rules of this game.
In a sense, this is an extreme form of "national-level crypto finance," not relying on taxes and market financing but directly drawing value from the global open financial system.
It reminded the entire industry of a harsh fact:
Once cryptocurrency becomes global infrastructure, it inevitably becomes an extension of national博弈.
7. Elon Musk: A Symbol of Power Centralization Trends
In the institutionalization process of cryptocurrency, Musk's influence exemplifies a significant trend: the enormous impact of individual authority on markets.
On August 14, 2025, according to media reports, the BTC held by Musk's SpaceX had surpassed $1 billion in value. In contrast, Tesla sold 75% of its Bitcoin holdings at an inopportune time, missing out on massive potential gains.
Musk's influence in the crypto space isn't limited to Bitcoin. As a long-time supporter of Dogecoin, although he didn't heavily advocate for it in 2025, his social media activity could still trigger significant market reactions. Merely retweeting posts related to the "Green Octopus" concept caused Meme coins on the Solana chain to surge violently.
In the first half of 2025, Musk ventured into politics, leading the Ministry of Government Efficiency. Although he had激烈冲突 with Trump over the "Great Beauty Act" and even announced the formation of the American Party, they eventually reconciled, and Musk refocused on his business ventures.
The most notable event in the second half of the year was Tesla shareholders approving Musk's total compensation plan of up to $1 trillion with over 75% of the vote. If this agreement is fully realized, Musk would become the world's first "trillionaire."
The deeper significance of this event is that it completely binds Tesla's valuation, strategy, brand, and technological pace to the will of one individual. In the cryptocurrency world, many protocols are similarly sustained centered around a "core founder + token narrative."
The world is entering a "strongman era," where individual authority is becoming a key variable in value creation and market volatility. This creates an interesting tension with cryptocurrency's original decentralized ideal.
8. Justin Sun: Learning the Rules, Exploiting the Rules
In March 2025, Justin Sun graced the cover of Forbes magazine (English edition), hailed as the "crypto billionaire who helped the Trump family realize $400 million in profits."
This year, his布局 was equally remarkable: In April, he provided $456 million in support for TUSD to avoid depegging; in the same month, Canary filed an application for a staked TRX ETF; in June, he completed a reverse merger listing for TRON through an investment bank linked to the Trump family; in July, he spent $28 million to become the youngest Chinese commercial astronaut...
However, the most notable change in 2025 was the profound shift in public perception surrounding Justin Sun. On social platforms like Zhihu and Xiaohongshu, his past courses and statements were rediscovered, such as his 2016 call to buy Tesla and Bitcoin and his advocacy for focusing on asset accumulation before age 30 rather than marriage and home buying.
These views, once questioned as "eccentric," received全新解读 in the current market environment. Someone on Zhihu commented, "Justin Sun completely embodies an oceanic civilization mindset—embracing the unknown, not seeking the庇护 of islands and walls, but only searching for the ability to balance in storms, revaluing all values, not aligning with any external order, good, or evil as camps. He is true chaotic neutral, a superman loyal only to his own will to power."
This舆论反转 also reflects, to some extent, the困境 of young people in this era. Following traditional social rules and proceeding step-by-step doesn't necessarily yield satisfactory results; young people are enveloped in an intangible sense of disillusionment.
Justin Sun remains the clever individual familiar with the rules and懂得如何利用它们,俗称 finding bugs, accurately catching the rhythm of the times with each move.
9. Brian Armstrong: Spokesperson for Compliant Infrastructure
Coinbase founder and CEO Brian Armstrong's performance in 2025 perfectly illustrated how crypto enterprises reposition themselves during the institutionalization process.
Early in 2025, Armstrong, via the Coinbase official blog, explicitly supported the establishment of a U.S. national "Bitcoin Strategic Reserve." On January 21, he stated at the Davos Forum that if U.S. leadership embraced cryptocurrency, it would significantly attract investment into the industry. On January 25, he boldly predicted that Bitcoin could surpass gold's $18 trillion market capitalization before 2030.
On March 20, a validator report released by Coinbase showed: the company runs approximately 120,000 validator nodes, staking 3.84 million ETH, accounting for about 11.42% of the total staked Ethereum on the network, making Coinbase the largest single node operator for Ethereum. This position established Coinbase as a key infrastructure provider for the Ethereum network.
On May 8, Coinbase announced its intention to acquire Dubai-based crypto derivatives exchange Deribit for $2.9 billion, comprising $700 million in cash and 11 million shares of Coinbase Class A stock, aiming to create the "world's most comprehensive crypto derivatives platform."
A data breach incident the same month showcased Armstrong's crisis management skills. Faced with hackers collecting personal data of approximately 70,000 users and demanding a $20 million Bitcoin ransom, Armstrong publicly refused to pay. Instead, he allocated $20 million to establish a "Bounty Fund for Apprehension," promising to compensate affected users. This decision was estimated to cost $180-$400 million but upheld the company's reputation and principles.
Mid-year, Coinbase hosted the State of Crypto Summit 2025 industry conference, where Armstrong announced a series of strategic products targeting the enterprise market, including Coinbase Business, Coinbase Payments, and DEX Trading on Coinbase. He particularly emphasized the ability of stablecoins (especially USDC) to solve "real pain points" in enterprise payments, such as reducing settlement fees, speeding up cross-border payments, and expanding financial accessibility.
In November, Coinbase announced it would move its corporate registration from Delaware to Texas. Armstrong publicly praised Texas for "supporting economic freedom and being crypto-friendly." This move involved not only tax and corporate law considerations but also served as a clear signal of the company's alliance with "pro-crypto political forces."
Armstrong's strategy embodies the key characteristics of a successful crypto enterprise: operating compliantly within the regulatory framework while driving the完善 of industry infrastructure, all while maintaining a keen嗅觉 for innovation.
10. Peter Thiel: Building a Crypto Financial Empire
The investment布局 displayed by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel in 2025 revealed how top Silicon Valley investors build systemic advantages in the decentralized crypto world.
In July 2025, an SEC filing caused a sensation in the crypto space: Peter Thiel's company quietly acquired a 9.1% stake in BitMine Immersion Technologies, becoming the largest investor in this Ethereum treasury company.
A month later, Bullish, which Peter Thiel invested in back in 2021, successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Bullish (BLSH) debuted on the NYSE at an issue price of $37, opened at around $90, surged up to 170% during the session, and closed with a gain of about 84%, reaching a market capitalization exceeding $13 billion.
Beyond asset holdings, Peter Thiel also supported the creation of Erebor Bank (planning to hold stablecoins) specifically serving crypto companies and controls industry narrative through CoinDesk.
In his book "Zero to One," Peter Thiel repeatedly emphasized that competition is for losers, and monopoly brings超额利润. The answer to building a monopoly in a decentralized world is: control the underlying infrastructure. When all transactions require stablecoins, controlling the stablecoin protocol is equivalent to obtaining "seigniorage rights."
Looking across Thiel's Founders Fund investment portfolio, the strategic intent is clear. The fund hardly invests in decentralized applications (DApps), only dabbles slightly in GameFi, and has minimal exposure to NFTs. What truly interests them are: Layer 2 scaling solutions (Caldera), compliance infrastructure (Paxos), derivatives protocols (Avantis), and stablecoin networks (Ubyx).
In November, DeFi perpetual DEX Lighter raised $68 million in a new funding round led by Founders Fund. This round valued Lighter at $1.5 billion, making it a unicorn. Peter Thiel is building a complete crypto financial empire through diversified布局.
Recently, Peter Thiel expressed cautious views on Bitcoin's prospects in a media interview. He believes that after being "co-opted" by institutions like BlackRock and governments, Bitcoin's upside potential is significantly compressed, but volatility will remain high. He described the future path as a "bumpy and volatile road," where opportunities still exist but it is no longer the era of 10x or 100x returns.
Peter Thiel's strategy reflects the long-term thinking of top investors: establishing infrastructure advantages during the chaotic phase of an emerging industry to ultimately achieve influence over the entire ecosystem.
Conclusion
Looking back at the end of 2025, it's a mix of excitement and reflection.
This year, as Wall Street giants incorporated Bitcoin into their asset portfolios, the U.S. government established a strategic Bitcoin reserve, and stablecoins became vital infrastructure for international payments... cryptocurrency completed its华丽转身 from an "anti-system tool" to a "core component of the system."
More importantly, 2025 showcased the complex flow of power between the old and new worlds. Traditional financial elites like Tom Lee paved the way for institutional capital to enter the crypto market; political leaders like Trump directly participated and profited; native crypto builders like CZ and Vitalik adapted to institutional requirements while maintaining innovative vitality.
This institutionalization process also prompted deeper reflection. When decentralized technology is adopted on a large scale by centralized institutions, when individual authority (like Musk and CZ) can significantly influence "decentralized" markets, are we heading towards a more centralized future?
The impact of cryptocurrency has transcended technology and finance, becoming an important component of geopolitics and cultural soft power. From Wall Street to the White House, from Silicon Valley to Shenzhen, new power networks are forming.
