The Crypto Landscape is About to Get a Whole Lot More Interesting
If you’re a part of the crypto community, you’re probably still basking in the glow of mainstream recognition. It’s been a long time coming, and 2024 was the year that finally brought crypto to the table. But with great power comes great responsibility, and 2025 is shaping up to be a wild ride.
Every year, we take a peek into our Crypto Crystal Ball to see what the future holds. This time around, we’re looking at some major narratives that are likely to shape the next 12 months. From Donald Trump’s crypto agenda to the impact of an upcoming Ethereum upgrade, there’s a lot to unpack. But one thing is clear: traditional finance is about to play a huge role in reshaping the crypto landscape.
You might think that the arrival of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs on Wall Street in 2024 was a big deal (and it was!). But according to Ryne Miller, a veteran attorney with experience at the CFTC, FTX, and some of New York’s top corporate law firms, that was just the tip of the iceberg. “The digital asset economy has not yet had to compete with Wall Street,” he told us.
And when it does, things are going to get interesting. Miller thinks that 2025 will be the year that TradFi (that’s traditional finance, for the uninitiated) unleashes its full force on the crypto industry. With their marketing, lobbying, and acquisition powers, they’re going to change the game. And that means we can expect a lot of upheaval.
One of the biggest changes we can expect is a wave of consolidation. Miller predicts that many TradFi firms will start buying up smaller crypto companies at a rapid pace. “Many of the players who sat out are going to want to catch up quickly,” he said. “They’re going to buy well-managed, responsibly run crypto companies.” And that means the definition of a successful crypto company might change overnight.
For a while now, crypto has been drifting in two different directions. On one hand, you have the privacy and decentralization-minded projects and founders who are all about keeping it pure. On the other hand, you have blockchain companies that are all about integrating with major institutions and household brands.
Miller thinks that TradFi’s entrance to the crypto ecosystem in 2025 could finally bring about a clean rupture between those camps. “You might see two types of crypto communities emerge,” he said. “One is purist, and the other is more of a packaged Wall Street product.”
So, what does this mean for you?
Well, for starters, it means that the crypto landscape is about to get a whole lot more interesting. With TradFi firms entering the scene, we can expect a lot of changes in the way crypto companies operate. And that might mean new opportunities for some, and new challenges for others. Stay tuned, folks.
2025 is shaping up to be a wild ride.
Reported by Decrypt.co
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