Summary
2025 will not be a year of singular emotions for the crypto industry. The bull market narrative seems to have ended, but price volatility is no longer the only theme; regulatory implementation, institutional entry, security incidents, and infrastructure construction are collectively shaping a more complex and realistic industry landscape. Reviewing ten key moments in 2025 may help us understand where the crypto industry is at and where it is headed.
2025 will not be a year of singular emotions for the crypto industry. The bull market narrative seems to have ended, but price volatility is no longer the only theme; regulatory implementation, institutional entry, security incidents, and infrastructure construction are all shaping a more complex and realistic industry landscape. Reviewing ten key moments in 2025 may help us understand where the crypto industry is at and where it is headed.
2025
2025
1 Trump Begins Second Term, Signs GENIUS Act
In January, Trump officially began his second term as president and quickly released unprecedented crypto-friendly signals. Shortly after taking office, Trump signed an executive order announcing the establishment of a federal-level digital asset task force to promote a unified regulatory framework for crypto assets. More noteworthy was Trump's high-profile launch of the eponymous meme coin, Trump. The token quickly attracted market attention after its launch, with trading volume surging and prices fluctuating wildly in a short period, its market capitalization once reaching billions of dollars.
Mid-year, the Trump administration officially signed the GENIUS Act, the first federal-level legislation in the United States to systematically regulate stablecoins.
The bill explicitly includes payment stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies such as the US dollar within the regulatory framework, making clear requirements on the qualifications of issuers, the composition of reserve assets, information disclosure, and auditing obligations. In February, the North Korean hacking group Lazarus compromised Bybit's multi-signature cold wallet used to store Ethereum and related derivative assets. Through a carefully designed attack process, they bypassed internal risk control and authorization mechanisms, transferring a large amount of assets to external addresses in a very short time. According to estimates from multiple on-chain security organizations, the stolen assets amount to approximately $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion, involving hundreds of thousands of ETH and related tokens, making it one of the largest hacking incidents in the history of the crypto industry. Bybit subsequently activated its emergency response mechanism, including suspending some on-chain operations, collaborating with security agencies to track fund flows, and setting up a high reward to encourage the community to assist in freezing stolen assets. 3. Ethereum Pectra Upgrade Successfully Launched: A Key Step in Network Evolution In May, the Ethereum network successfully completed the highly anticipated Pectra upgrade, the largest and most impactful systemic technical iteration since the merger. The Pectra upgrade integrates multiple improvement proposals at the execution and consensus layers, comprehensively optimizing performance, scalability, and user experience. After the upgrade, the maximum staking limit for validators has been increased from 32 ETH to a higher limit, enabling institutions and large nodes to participate in network security maintenance more efficiently, while reducing the complexity of staking operations. On the user side, Pectra introduces a more mature account abstraction mechanism, enabling ordinary external accounts to have some smart contract capabilities, simplifying transaction signing, fee payment, and wallet interaction processes. Circle's successful IPO on the NYSE: Stablecoin giant moves towards mainstream finance. In October, Circle officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Circle's IPO is not only the first time a crypto company has completed a large-scale public offering in a traditional capital market, but also a significant milestone for stablecoin and blockchain infrastructure companies in their full integration into the mainstream financial sector. Circle's core product, USDC, is the world's second-largest stablecoin, with its scale and circulation continuing to grow. It is widely used in ecosystem scenarios such as payments, clearing, decentralized finance, and cross-border transfers. The company emphasizes its commitment to compliant development in its prospectus and proposes to further expand its payment network, custody services, and interface cooperation with traditional financial systems to promote the deep integration of digital assets and traditional finance. 5. US Stock Tokenization Accelerates: Bridging Traditional Markets with Blockchain Becomes a Trend In 2025, multiple trading platforms and financial institutions began launching US stock tokenization products based on blockchain technology, allowing investors to hold equity in stocks such as Apple, Tesla, and Microsoft through on-chain tokens. These tokenized US stock assets are typically pegged 1:1 to real stocks, and transparency and compliance are ensured through trust holding mechanisms and regular audits, enabling retail and institutional investors to trade, settle, and transfer funds across borders within crypto wallets. 6 Naver Acquires Upbit's Parent Company Dunamu: Reshaping the South Korean Crypto Finance Landscape In November, South Korean internet and technology giant Naver announced the completion of its acquisition of Dunamu through its fintech subsidiary. Dunamu operates Upbit, South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange. The transaction, conducted entirely through a stock swap, valued the company at approximately 15 trillion won, making it one of the largest mergers and acquisitions in the history of the South Korean and even Asian crypto industry. According to the disclosed transaction structure, Dunamu shareholders will exchange their existing shares for equity in Naver's financial subsidiary, making Dunamu a wholly-owned subsidiary. 7. EU MiCA Regulation Enforcement: Crypto Industry Enters Era of Unified Regulation The EU's Crypto Asset Market Regulation (MiCA) has officially entered the full mandatory implementation phase. As the transition period gradually ends, EU member states are beginning to strictly require crypto asset service providers to obtain operating licenses in accordance with MiCA standards and meet unified requirements in areas such as capital adequacy, information disclosure, asset segregation, risk management, and consumer protection. Institutions that fail to meet compliance are required to rectify within a specified period or exit the market, accelerating industry consolidation. The MiCA regulation is particularly stringent on stablecoins, setting issuance thresholds, reserve disclosure, and liquidity requirements for asset-backed tokens and fiat-pegged tokens, significantly increasing entry costs. 8 Hyperliquid Faces "Sniping" from Centralized Exchanges: The Dilemma of Decentralized Exchanges Emerges In mid-2025, Hyperliquid launched innovative liquidity incentive programs on three major decentralized trading pairs, attempting to attract users from centralized exchanges (CEXs) to on-chain trading and liquidity provision. However, some large centralized exchanges quickly adjusted their trading pair fee structures and rebate programs, offsetting Hyperliquid's competitive advantage by significantly increasing market maker incentives and reducing user fees, thereby forcing some liquidity and trading volume to rapidly flow back to centralized platforms. Amidst a continued erosion of market confidence, Hyperliquid even faces the possibility of chain liquidations and systemic risks, pushing the security boundaries of decentralized derivatives protocols to their limits. At this critical juncture, Hyperliquid adopted a highly controversial but quickly effective emergency measure. The team chose to temporarily suspend some trading and matching functions, restricting high-frequency and large-scale operations, essentially "unplugging" the system to prevent potential liquidity collapse and a vicious cycle. 9 A Wall and a Window: China Implements a Dual-Track System for Crypto Asset Regulation In 2025, China continued and strengthened its dual-track approach to crypto asset regulation, characterized by "strict control within the mainland and pilot programs in Hong Kong." At the mainland level, cryptocurrency-related transactions, financing, and promotional activities remain strictly restricted. Regulatory authorities continue to emphasize preventing financial risks and capital outflows, maintaining a high-pressure stance against cryptocurrency speculation, and the policy tone remains stable and clear. In contrast, Hong Kong is further advancing its pilot role for crypto assets in 2025. Hong Kong regulators are continuously improving the compliance framework for exchanges, custody, stablecoins, and tokenized assets, attracting international crypto companies and financial institutions to establish operations there. Several licensed platforms are gradually opening services to retail investors, and the banking system's account support for virtual asset companies has also improved.
10 Strategy Continues to Increase Bitcoin Holdings: High-Leverage Bitcoin Accumulation Strategy Receives Only a B- Rating
In 2025, Strategy continued to strengthen its extreme Bitcoin asset allocation strategy, repeatedly increasing its Bitcoin accumulation through convertible bonds, preferred shares, and debt financing throughout the year, further solidifying its market image as the "first stock to hold Bitcoin."
This aggressive strategy has also triggered a cautious assessment from traditional financial markets. S&P Global Ratings assigned Strategy a long-term credit rating of B-, explicitly pointing out that its high-leverage structure, continuous reliance on financing, and concentrated exposure to a single high-volatility asset significantly weakened the company's credit quality.
However, this rating action itself is seen by the market as a significant sign that crypto assets have officially entered the traditional credit system. Strategy is no longer just a "publicly listed company holding Bitcoin," but has become a real-world example of how crypto assets can influence corporate credit, debt costs, and capital structures.
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