Original title: (Top crypto adopters in 2025: Institutions, retail, low-income countries)
Author: Zoltan Vardai
Translated by: Bai Shui, Golden Finance
With increasing regulatory clarity and soaring cryptocurrency valuations, the global cryptocurrency industry is expected to gain mainstream and institutional recognition again in 2025.
2024 set a historical high, with Bitcoin's price reaching a historic high of $108,300 on December 17, over a month after Donald Trump won the US presidential election, leading to rising optimism among cryptocurrency investors.
Industry experts point out that as expectations for clearer regulations under Trump's new government rise, the cryptocurrency industry could see another milestone year, including more institutional adoption and a record high in the number of global cryptocurrency investors.
Regulatory clarity will lead to a historic peak in the number of cryptocurrency investors.
In 2024, the crypto industry experienced significant regulatory developments across some of the largest jurisdictions.
In Europe, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) — the world's first comprehensive crypto regulatory framework — came into full effect on December 30, providing comprehensive guidelines for crypto service providers.
In Asia, Singapore is becoming the next crypto hub with its 'risk-adjusted' regulations, which helped the country double the number of digital asset licenses issued annually in 2024.
Singapore has 1,600 blockchain patents, 2,433 industry-related job openings, and 81 cryptocurrency exchanges. These numbers are quite impressive for a country with a population of less than 6 million.
Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin stated that these global regulatory developments will lead to the adoption of more retail and institutional investors.
Levin stated: "We can expect an increase in adoption rates among institutional and retail investors next year, especially as these regulations bring greater transparency to the industry."
He added that these new regulations will also enhance industry trust, market integrity, and consumer protection, "making the industry more attractive to retail investors."
Levin stated that regulatory clarity will lead to a historic peak in the number of daily cryptocurrency users and stimulate the growth of institutional products like exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
According to Triple-A's 2024 Cryptocurrency Ownership Report, as of July 12, there are an estimated 560 million cryptocurrency holders, accounting for 6.8% of the global population.
There are a total of 560 million cryptocurrency holders worldwide. Source: triple-a
Pavlo Denysiuk, CEO of crypto payment company Lunu, stated that based on current user growth, the number of cryptocurrency holders could double in the next two years.
Denysiuk stated during a panel discussion at NFT Fest 2024: "This is where we are seeing more adoption in various places and in payments."
ETFs and government BTC reserve plans will drive institutional adoption.
The US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund has brought more institutional adoption by making it easier for traditional financial institutions to gain BTC exposure.
The Bitcoin ETF approached the $110 billion mark in less than a year after its launch, supporting analysts' predictions of a peak of $200,000 for Bitcoin in the 2025 cycle.
Chainalysis CEO Levin stated that this dynamic will pave the way for institutions to increasingly accept Bitcoin as an asset class.
"This is likely to translate into sustained institutional interest, as well as efforts by financial institutions and cryptocurrency companies to build the infrastructure and resilience needed to support investor demand."
As an important sign of Bitcoin's popularity, Bitcoin's status as a savings technology is increasingly rising in the US, thanks to the Bitcoin Bill advocated by Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, which proposes the establishment of a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
Lummis Bitcoin Bill. Source: Lummis.senate.gov
Fideum co-founder and CEO Anastasija Plotnikova stated that due to the expected victory of Donald Trump in the November 2024 election and the Republican majority in the Senate, the Bitcoin reserve proposal is gaining strong support.
Adam Back, co-founder and CEO of Blockstream, inventor of Hashcash, and one of the industry's most renowned cryptographers, stated that if the Bitcoin Bill is accepted by US legislators, the price of Bitcoin could eventually exceed $1 million.
Cryptocurrency adoption in low-income countries is expected to continue to grow.
According to the Chainalysis Geographical Report released in October 2024, cryptocurrency activity increased in 2024, reaching a peak comparable to the 2021 bull market.
The report states that the Chainalysis Global Index, which measures the total value of global crypto activity, rose above 0.75 to a new high in the first quarter of 2024.
Global index measuring the total value of crypto activity. Source: Chainalysis
The report further notes that while the adoption of cryptocurrency in 2023 was primarily driven by middle-income and low-income countries, the peak in 2024 is attributed to increased crypto activity across countries of all income levels, with high-income countries seeing a decrease in crypto activity at the beginning of 2024.
Levin pointed out that the increase in global activity is primarily attributed to the growing use cases of stablecoins in the real world and the debut of Bitcoin ETFs in the US.
"There are many factors driving this trend, from the US launch of Bitcoin ETFs to stablecoins supporting low-income and middle-income countries in real-world use cases, as well as a significant increase in DeFi activity in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe."
2024 Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index. Source: Chainalysis
Countries like India, Nigeria, and Indonesia are leading in adoption, with India ranking first in the Chainalysis Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index.
In Latin America, El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender on September 7, 2021, which brought over $31 million in profit to the country in the first three years.
Despite achieving a profit of $31 million, President Nayib Bukele's decision has faced widespread criticism after Bitcoin dropped from its historic high of $69,000 in November 2021 following the collapse of the FTX exchange. During the bear market, Bitcoin dramatically fell to $16,000, leading to a significant drop in El Salvador's Bitcoin holdings.
Author and intergovernmental blockchain expert Anndy Lian stated that El Salvador's decision to adopt Bitcoin is an important step in the increasing integration of Bitcoin into the global financial system.
Lian stated that similar government initiatives could promote Bitcoin adoption in other countries:
"As more countries consider this path, we may see a gradual redefinition of 'safe' reserve assets. If Bitcoin becomes the primary currency of national reserves, it could fundamentally change the global financial landscape, driving more decentralized and digital approaches to economic stability."
BTC and gold, 1-year chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Bitcoin could even become the next reserve asset after gold. TradingView data shows that in the past year, Bitcoin has risen by over 131%, while the price of gold has increased by about 30%.
Cryptocurrency investors remain highly optimistic about 2025, especially after Bitcoin reclaimed $100,000 two weeks before Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20 — this is seen as a potential catalyst for cryptocurrency prices due to clearer regulations.
The rise of Bitcoin in 2025 is expected to attract more investors' attention to the cryptocurrency industry, with price predictions ranging from $160,000 to over $180,000.
