What are the five major changes in the relationship between Wall Street and BTC by 2025?

Author: Ledn CEO Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, CoinDesk; Translated by: Baishui, Golden Finance

When Michael Saylor announced in August 2020 that MicroStrategy would convert $250 million of its treasury reserves into Bitcoin, Wall Street analysts considered it a reckless gamble. Saylor claimed Bitcoin was "better than cash" at the time, which aroused skepticism in the traditional banking community.

Yet today, the same banks that scoffed at Bitcoin's corporate adoption are now scrambling to participate in Bitcoin mortgage loans as they race to take advantage of Bitcoin's superior characteristics as institutional-grade collateral and its thriving product-market fit.

Traditional collateral, such as real estate, requires manual assessments, subjective evaluations, and complex legal frameworks that vary by jurisdiction. In contrast, Bitcoin provides instant verification of collateral support through public blockchain data, 24/7 real-time settlement and clearing capabilities, uniform quality regardless of geography or counterparties, and the ability to programmatically execute loan terms.

When lenders realize they can instantly validate and potentially liquidate Bitcoin collateral at 3 a.m. on a Sunday morning — while real estate awaits manual assessments, subjective valuations, and potential evictions — there will be no circuits.

1. Traditional banking surrenders to Bitcoin.

MicroStrategy’s (MSTR) approach fundamentally changes how public companies think about Bitcoin as a financial asset. Rather than simply holding Bitcoin, the company has pioneered a financial model that uses the public markets to expand its cryptocurrency position — issuing convertible notes and selling shares on the market to fund Bitcoin purchases. This strategy has enabled MicroStrategy to leverage the same financial engineering that made traditional banks powerful, but with Bitcoin as the underlying asset instead of traditional financial instruments and real estate, allowing MicroStrategy to significantly outperform spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Thus, one of my predictions for 2025 is that MSTR will announce a 10-for-1 stock split to further expand its market share as it will allow more investors to purchase shares and options contracts. MicroStrategy’s actions demonstrate how deeply Bitcoin has penetrated traditional corporate finance.

I also believe that financial services built around Bitcoin will explode in popularity as long-term holders and new investors look to get more yield on their positions. We expect to see rapid growth in Bitcoin collateralized loans and income-generating products for Bitcoin holders around the world.

Furthermore, there is an almost poetic answer to why Bitcoin-backed loans have become so popular – they are a true representation of financial inclusion, with business owners in Medellín facing the same collateral requirements and interest rates as those in Madrid. Everyone’s Bitcoin has the same properties, verification standards, and clearing processes. This standardization eliminates the arbitrary risk premiums historically imposed on emerging market borrowers.

For decades, traditional banks have marketed “global reach” while maintaining vastly different lending standards in different regions. Now, bitcoin-backed lending exposes this inherited inefficiency for what it is: a relic of an outdated financial system.

2. Borders disappear as capital flows freely.

Countries are entering a new era of competition for bitcoin businesses and capital. As a result, we expect to see new tax incentives specifically for bitcoin investors and businesses in 2025. These incentives will be implemented alongside fast-track visa programs for cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and regulatory frameworks designed to attract bitcoin companies.

Historically, countries have competed for manufacturing bases or regional headquarters. They now compete for bitcoin mining operations, trading venues, and custody infrastructure.

El Salvador’s bitcoin vault status represents an early experiment in nation-state bitcoin reserves. While experimental, their moves and the recent proposal for the U.S. to hold a strategic reserve of bitcoin are forcing traditional financial centers to reckon with the role of bitcoin in sovereign finance.

Other countries will study and try to replicate these frameworks, preparing their own initiatives to attract bitcoin-denominated capital flows.

3. Opening the door for banking players.

In debt markets, necessity drives innovation. Public companies now routinely tap bond markets and convertible notes to finance bitcoin-related transactions. This practice has transformed bitcoin from a speculative asset to a cornerstone of corporate financial management.

Companies such as Marathon Digital Holdings and Semler Scientific have successfully followed MicroStrategy’s lead and have been rewarded in the market. For financial managers and CEOs, this is the most important signal. Bitcoin now has their attention.

Meanwhile, the bitcoin lending market has made great strides over the past two years. Serious institutional lenders now demand proper collateral segregation, transparent custody arrangements, and conservative loan-to-value ratios. This standardization of risk management practices attracts exactly the institutional capital that was previously reserved.

Regulatory clarity is growing. This should open the door for more banks to participate in Bitcoin financial products—which will benefit consumers the most, with new capital and competition driving down interest rates and making Bitcoin-backed loans more attractive.

4. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency M&A intensifies.

With regulatory clarity from SAB 121 resolution covering cryptocurrency custody and other guidance, banks will face a critical choice: build or buy their way into the growing Bitcoin and lending markets. As a result,

Banks want to move fast, cryptocurrency infrastructure development timelines are outside the competitive window, and established firms are already processing billions of transactions per month with battle-tested systems.

These operational platforms represent years of specialized development that banks cannot quickly replicate. Acquisition premiums have narrowed relative to the opportunity cost of delayed market entry.

The combination of operational maturity, regulatory clarity, and strategic necessity creates a natural fit for the banking industry to acquire cryptocurrency capabilities.

5. Public markets validate Bitcoin infrastructure.

The cryptocurrency industry is poised for a breakout year in the public markets. We expect at least one high-profile cryptocurrency IPO in the U.S. with a valuation in excess of $10 billion. Major digital asset firms have built sophisticated institutional service layers whose revenue streams are now identical to those of traditional banks, processing billions of dollars in daily transactions, managing large volumes of custody business through strict compliance frameworks, and generating steady fee income from regulated activities.

Thus, the next chapter in finance will be written not by those who resist this change, but by those who recognize that their survival depends on embracing it.