The crypto market entered 2025 with strong momentum. Many expect a rally to new all-time highs, driven by regulatory, institutional, and cyclical factors. Regulatory clarity has significantly improved. The EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation has set a global standard for crypto regulation. In the US, the Trump administration’s stance is markedly pro-crypto. Already, it has rescinded SAB 121 (which discouraged banks from offering crypto custody), appointed a crypto-friendly Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair, and formed a crypto working group to guide digital asset policy.
Key highlights
- Institutional adoption continues to grow, driven by the SEC’s approval of US spot bitcoin and ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in 2024, which further integrated crypto into mainstream finance. BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF became the fastest-growing ETF in history, with further approvals expected in 2025, including for solana and XRP. Beyond ETFs, fintechs like Robinhood and PayPal have expanded crypto offerings, focusing on stablecoins and trading services. Meanwhile, crypto’s cyclical nature is also relevant. Market peaks have historically occurred 12 to 18 months after a bitcoin halving event. If past cycles hold, late 2025 could mark a new market high.
- While 2025 may set new records, sustaining momentum will be a challenge. Historically, crypto rallies have been followed by profit-taking phases that dampen speculative fervor. External risks-including macroeconomic shifts or overly lenient regulation enabling illicit activities-could test market resilience. While the macroeconomic landscape has improved, it remains uncertain. The crypto market has reacted adversely to shifting expectations of interest rate cuts and Trump’s tariffs, underscoring its status as a risk-on asset. While fueling short-term optimism, the Trump administration’s pro-crypto stance raises long-term concerns. The launch of Trump-themed meme coins and Trump Media’s expansion into crypto have drawn scrutiny. Whether 2025’s potential bull run results in another cyclical downturn or drives structural changes toward crypto’s maturation may hinge on institutional investors-whether they help stabilize the market or mirror the speculative tendencies of retail participants.
Scope
- This report provides an overview of the cryptocurrencies theme.
- It identifies the key trends impacting growth of the theme over the next 12 to 24 months, split into three categories: technology trends, macroeconomic trends, and regulatory trends.
- It includes a comprehensive industry overview and analysis of the key trends in the analyst's proprietary signals data, including M&As, venture financing, patents, company filings, and hiring.
- The detailed value chain is divided into four layers: infrastructure, software, application, and services.
Reasons to Buy
- The crypto market is immature and constantly evolving. This report is the perfect introduction to a controversial and fast-moving theme. It will help readers make sense of the technology behind cryptocurrencies, understand the potential implications of the theme, avoid the pitfalls, and identify the leading players.
Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Players
- Technology Briefing
- Trends
- Industry Analysis
- Signals
- Value Chain
- Companies
- Sector Scorecard
- Glossary
- Further Reading
- Thematic Research Methodology
Companies Mentioned (Partial List)
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:
- 0x Labs
- 21Shares
- Aave Companies
- Abra
- ACI Worldwide
- Adobe
- Advanced New Technologies
- Alchemy
- Algorand Foundation
- Allnodes
- AlphaPoint
- Amazon
- Amber Group
- Amina
- Anchorage Digital
- Animoca Brands
- Antier
- ApeCoin DAO
- Apple
- Applied Blockchain
- APY.vision
- Arch Finance
- Argent Labs
- Argo Blockchain
- Ark Invest
- Athena Bitcoin
- Atomic Wallet
- Audius
- Ault Alliance
- Auradine
- Ava Labs
- AvaTrade
- Awesome Moner
- B2BPinPay
- B2Broker
- Baidu
- BDO Italia
- Beam Foundation
- BeinCrypto
- Bera Labs
- BFGMoner
- Bicoin Suisse
- BigCommerce
- Binance
- BingX Technology
- Bit Digital
- BitAccess
- Bitcoin Depot
- Bitcoin Group
- Bitdeer
- Bitfarms
- Bitfinex
- BitFuFu
- Bitfury
- Bitget
- BitGo
- Bitmain
- BitOasis
- Bitpay
- Bitski
- Bitstamp
- BitStop
- Bitwise
- BlackRock
- Block
- Blockpass
- Blockratize
- Blockstream
- Blockware Mining
- Blockworks
- BlueWallet
- BNY Mellon
- Boyaa
- Braiins
- Brave Software
- BTC.com
- BTCM
- BTCS
- Bullish Global
- ByteFederal
- Caleb & Brown
- Canaan
- CapitalOne
- Cardano Foundation
- Cathedra
- Celestia Foundation
- Celsius
- Certik
- CGMiner
- Chainalysis
- Chainlink Labs
- ChainUp
- Charles Schwab
- Checkout.com
- Chiliz
- Chorus
- Cipher Mining
- Circle
- CleanSpark
- Coin360
- Coinbase
- CoinCodex
- CoinDCX
- Coindesk
- CoinFlip
- Coingate
- CoinGecko
- CoinHub
- Coinify
- CoinMetrics
- CoinPayments
- Coinplug
- CoinRabbit
- CoinShares
- Cointelegraph
- CoinZoom
- Comply Advantage
- ConsenSys
- Core Scientific
- CoreWeave
- CryptAPI
- Crypto Finance
- Crypto Manufaktur
- Crypto.com
- Cryptonews
- CryptoPay
- CryptoSlam
- Crystal
- Cudo Minder
- Dapper Labs
- DBS
- Decentraland Foundation
- Decrypt
- DeepDAO
- Desiweminer
- Devexperts
- Dfinity Foundation
- Digital Currency Group
- Dogecoin Foundation
- Dune Analytics
- DZ Bank
- EasyMiner
- Ebang
- Eclipse Labs
- ECOS
- Edge
- EigenLabs
- Electric Capital
- Ellipal Limited
- Elliptic
- ENS Foundation
- ETC Group
- ether.fi
- Ethereum Foundation
- Etherscan
- eToro
- Everstake
- Exodus Movement
- FalconX
- Fantom Foundation
- Farside Investors
- Fetch.AI
- Fidelity
- Figment
- Finoa
- Fireblocks
- FIS
- Fleza
- Forbes
- Franklin Templeton
- FTX
- FutureBit
- Gala
- Galaxy
- GameStop
- Gate Group
- GBG Idology
- Gemini
- General Bytes
- Genesis Coin
- Genisis Mining
- Glassnode
- Goldshell
- Grant Thornton
- Grayscale
- Greenidge Generation
- Griid
- Gryphon Digital Mining
- Guarda
- Haskkey Group
- Hayvn
- Hedera Hashgraph
- Hero
- Hive
- HiveMapper
- Hiveon
- HollaEx
- HTX
- Hut 8
- iBeLink
- IBM
- iDplanet
- iFinex
- InfStones Global
- Injective Labs
- Innosilicon
- InteractiveBrokers
- intotheblock
- iPollo
- IrisEnergy
- ITrustCapital
- Jupiter Exchange
- Kaiko
- Kering (Gucci)
- Komainu
- Kraken (Payward)
- Kryptex
- KuCoin
- Kzen Networks
- L1 Digital
- Lancium
- Layer Zero
- Ledger
- Ledn
- Lido DAO
- Livepeer
- LMAX Group
- LocalCoin
- Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey
- Lukka
- Luxor Mining
- MakerDAO
- Mantra
- Mara Holdings
- Mastercard
- Masverse
- Matrixport
- Mawson
- Merkle Science
- Messari
- Meta
- MEXC Global
- MicroBT
- Microsoft
- MicroStrategy
- Minerstat
- Monad Labs
- MoonPay
- Morpho Labs
- MultiMiner
- Mysten Labs
- Nano Foundation
- Nansen
- Nasdaq
- Nash
- nChain
- Near Foundation
- Netflix
- New World Solutions
- Nexo
- Ngrave NV
- NiceHash
- Northland Power
- Notebene
- Nova Labs
- NowPayments
- Nydig
- Offchain Labs
- OKX
- Opencart
- Openledger
- Opentensor Foundation
- Openware
- Parallel Studios
- Paxos
- PayBito
- PayPal
- Phantom Technologies
- Pionex
- Plus500
- Plutus
- Polygon Labs
- Protocol Labs
- Pudgy Pengiuns
- Rainbow Studio
- Rakkar Digital
- Ramp
- Render Network Foundation
- Revolut
- Riot Blockchain
- Ripple
- Robinhood
- RocketPool
- RockItCoin
- Samsung
- Santiment
- SBI Holdings
- Scorechain
- Sei Labs
- Shopify
- Silicon Valley Bank
- SimpleMining
- SingularityNET
- Skalez
- Sky Mavis
- Skynet Labs
- Société Générale
- Soft-FX
- Solana Labs
- Solidus Labs
- Solscan
- Soluna
- SpectroCoin
- SpicePay
- Spiderpool
- Spotify
- Staginglabs
- Stake Fish
- Stakewise
- Stakewithus
- Stakin
- Staking Facilitites
- Standard Chartered
- Standard Custody & Trust Company
- State Street
- Stellar Development Foundation
- StormGain
- Stripe
- Stronghold Digital Mining
- Succinct Labs
- Sui Foundation
- Sumsub
- Sunlane
- Swissquote
- Talos
- Tangem AG
- Taurus
- TaxBit
- Terawulf
- Tesla
- The Block
- The Daily HODL
- Theta Labs
- Ton Foundation
- Toposware
- TradeDog
- TradeStation
- TradingView
- Trezor
- TRM
- U.Today
- Ultimate
- Uniswap Labs
- Upbit
- VanEck
- Velmie
- Visa
- Wallet Guard
- WazirX
- Web3 Foundation
- Webull
- Wirex
- Wix
- WonderFi
- WOO Network
- Wormhole Foundation
- X
- xMoney
- xtb
- YouHodler
- Zama
- Zcash Foundation
- Zengo
- zk.Link
- Zodia Custody
