Organized by: Deep Tide TechFlow
As 2024 comes to a close, 2025 arrives with anticipation.
Amid the noise of the bull market, various major crypto institutions have released their market outlook for 2025. According to the published content, institutions generally believe that 2025 will be a key year for the crypto market: Bitcoin is expected to break the $200,000 barrier, crypto assets will further mainstream, and multiple crypto unicorns may go public in the U.S.
Notably, many institutions expect 2025 to mark the peak of this bull market cycle, where inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, traditional financial institutions opening up crypto asset allocations, and AI-enabled innovative applications will become important driving forces for market development.
Let's review the core predictions from major institutions regarding the crypto market in 2025.
VanEck: The crypto market will hit new highs by the end of 2025, and the NFT market will recover
The crypto bull market will reach a mid-term peak in the first quarter and set a new high by the end of the year;
The U.S. will further embrace Bitcoin through strategic reserves and policy support;
The total value of tokenized securities will exceed $50 billion;
The daily transaction settlement volume of stablecoins will reach $300 billion;
On-chain activities of AI agents will exceed 1 million;
The total locked value (TVL) of Bitcoin's second-layer network will reach 100,000 BTC;
Ethereum's blob space fee revenue will reach $1 billion;
DeFi trading volume will set a new high of $4 trillion, with total locked value reaching $200 billion;
The NFT market will recover, with annual trading volume reaching $30 billion;
The performance of decentralized application (DApp) tokens will gradually catch up with mainstream public chain tokens.
Read more
Bitwise: Bitcoin breaks $200,000, Ethereum breaks $7,000
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana will reach historical highs, with Bitcoin trading prices exceeding $200,000;
In 2025, inflows into Bitcoin ETFs will exceed those in 2024;
Coinbase will surpass Charles Schwab to become the world's most valuable brokerage, with its stock price breaking $700 per share;
2025 will be the 'Year of Crypto IPOs', with at least five crypto unicorns listing in the U.S.;
Tokens issued by AI agents will lead to a larger-scale meme coin craze than in 2024;
The number of countries holding Bitcoin will double;
Coinbase will enter the S&P 500 index, and MicroStrategy will enter the NASDAQ 100 index, adding crypto exposure to (almost) every American investor's portfolio;
The U.S. Department of Labor will relax restrictions on cryptocurrencies in 401(k) plans, allowing hundreds of billions of dollars to flow into crypto assets;
As the U.S. passes long-awaited stablecoin legislation, the size of stablecoin assets will double to $400 billion;
As Wall Street's acceptance of cryptocurrencies deepens, the value of tokenized real-world assets (RWA) will exceed $50 billion.
Read more
Coinbase: The stablecoin market will continue to experience explosive growth
Macro:
The Federal Reserve's monetary policy will ease, potentially providing a favorable backdrop for the development of the cryptocurrency market;
The new U.S. Congress will bring a clearer regulatory environment for the cryptocurrency industry and may see the emergence of 'strategic Bitcoin reserves';
Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs will reshape the market ecology, and in the future, ETFs covering more assets may emerge;
The stablecoin market will continue to experience explosive growth and may expand into global capital flows and business payments;
RWA will further optimize the construction and management processes of investment portfolios;
The DeFi ecosystem is expected to revive and further integrate with traditional finance.
Disruption:
Telegram trading bots have become one of the most profitable cryptocurrency applications;
The performance of prediction market platforms far exceeds that of traditional polls, showcasing the unique advantages of blockchain technology;
Crypto games are shifting from 'making money' to providing quality gaming experiences, lowering the entry barriers for new users;
The decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) model is expected to address the challenges of physical resource allocation, but long-term revenue sustainability still needs assessment;
AI applications in the crypto space are continuously exploring, but challenges remain in converting their value into lasting liquidity tokens;
Multi-chain ecosystems may become the main pattern in the future, with their differentiated advantages allowing them to coexist and develop;
Improving user experience, including simplifying registration processes, optimizing wallet functions, and enhancing cross-chain experiences, is one of the key factors driving the adoption of crypto technology;
Decentralized identity authentication helps meet regulatory requirements and becomes a core element of future on-chain experiences.
Read more
Hashed: Asia will become the core engine of blockchain innovation and adoption
Hashed believes that 2025 will mark the true entry of blockchain into a phase of large-scale adoption, with Asia becoming the core engine of blockchain innovation and adoption, as the technology-friendly environment in Asian markets drives innovative consumer experiences;
Stablecoins will become more integrated into traditional markets;
Smart creators will be able to continuously generate high-quality content, and in the future, intelligent entities (AI AIGENT) will dominate. These entities will convert users' attention into economic value through smart contracts. This mechanism will redistribute profits to Token holders, building a self-reinforcing attention economy;
Blockchain can ensure data ownership and source tracking while securely using sensitive data and protecting privacy, incentivizing data sharing through a transparent economic model. Notably mentioned are Zettablock and Story Protocol;
The next wave of growth in blockchain technology will be driven by consumer-centric applications that make the use of crypto technology as simple and smooth as traditional applications;
The open ecosystem of Telegram and TON is still in its early stages, with rapid user growth but low activity and retention rates. Compared to the centralized ecosystem of WeChat, Telegram and TON face infrastructure shortages and need to build intermediaries to enhance platform scalability and support ecosystem development;
Read more
Blockworks: The ICO model will return, with Base becoming a dark horse
The U.S. will re-emerge as the core center of global cryptocurrency;
More than 10 DeFi protocols will officially activate fee switches, including Uniswap;
DeFi protocols will gradually adopt customer asset rehypothecation as a new business model;
The Ethereum community's debate on the 'North Star' roadmap will reach a conclusion, ultimately confirming the Rollup-centric roadmap, with Max's scaling proposal failing to gain sufficient support. This result will bring much-needed cohesion to the Ethereum community and improve overall market sentiment;
ETH token prices are expected to perform strongly;
Rollup-based solutions are still unlikely to achieve significant breakthroughs in 2025;
Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) will gradually become an important component of L2 infrastructure and eventually become a permanent feature;
Solana's momentum will continue during this cycle, but issues will gradually emerge by 2025;
The Firedancer client is set to launch officially in Q4, at which point Solana's network will achieve a processing capacity of 100,000 TPS;
Solana may adjust its token issuance policy to reduce inflation, while Ethereum will not make similar changes;
Base will become a dark horse in the Rollup ecosystem and a major competitor to Solana;
Base will also become the preferred chain for AI agents and other AI applications;
Stablecoins will gradually become the dominant asset on L2 networks, with their quantity expected to exceed twice that of ETH; the stablecoin market will see breakthrough growth in the coming year;
More than 5 large fintech companies or traditional financial institutions are expected to launch their own stablecoins in 2025;
More than 10 companies (including banks and Web2 giants) are expected to launch their own L2 networks in 2025;
With a large user base and strong brand influence, Robinhood is expected to become one of the dominant forces in the industry by 2025;
Investment opportunities in L1 blockchains still exist and will not disappear in the short term;
The ICO model will return, but it will not dominate like in 2017;
Crypto companies will face a window for IPOs, but a massive wave of listings is unlikely;
The mainstream trend in 2025 will be the combination of AI and crypto;
The application scenarios for AI will become more diverse, not limited to agents;
TikTok's influence in the crypto space will reach unprecedented heights;
Bitcoin's L2 solutions will still struggle to achieve breakthroughs in 2025.
Read more
DeFiprime: The deep integration of DeFi and AI will lead the market to reach a cyclical peak in 2025
Clarification of the regulatory environment;
DeFi and Web3 may return to the U.S.;
Stablecoins will become the main force in the payment sector;
The market may reach a cyclical peak in 2025;
Ethereum will continue to explore new development narratives;
The token craze sweeps Web3;
The focus of investment in crypto infrastructure will shift;
The deep integration of DeFi and AI;
New token distribution and fundraising models;
NFT 2.0: Moving towards dynamism and efficiency.
Read more
Messari: Base and Solana will continue to dominate DEX market share
The macro environment will provide strong support for crypto assets, further expanding the depth and breadth of institutional participation, shifting the view of crypto from merely an investment asset to recognizing its potential as financial infrastructure;
The inflow of Bitcoin ETFs has far exceeded expectations, and over time, institutions are likely to become the main drivers of daily BTC price movements;
The Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem will have advantages over Layer 1, facing two value capture paths: token valuation models based on security demands and fee capture through native Rollups;
Solana's development is expected to surpass purely speculative application scenarios, potentially launching a spot Solana ETF, with the AI x Crypto space continuing to lead Solana's ecosystem innovation;
Base and Solana will continue to dominate DEX market share;
Prediction markets and RWA will continue to develop;
AI agents may surpass traditional meme coins to become new speculative hotspots;
Mobile applications will become a decisive trend, with Solana continuing to lead meme coin trading activities;
Exchanges will accelerate the integration of on-chain and off-chain services, and new governments may ease restrictions on exchanges listing tokens.
Read more
Framework co-founder: The inflow of funds into Ethereum and Bitcoin ETFs will reach the same level
Trump will establish a new global monetary framework, similar to the Plaza Accord of 1985. This framework will promote a gradual and significant devaluation of the dollar, facilitating the return of manufacturing to the U.S. while directing liquidity toward high-risk asset markets like cryptocurrencies;
Major global armed conflicts are expected to end in the first half of 2025, ushering in an era of optimism characterized by peace and security;
The inflow of funds into Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs will reach the same level in the second half of 2025, with average daily inflows of $1 billion each. This trend is primarily attributed to the launch of composite ETFs;
The listing plans for other cryptocurrency ETFs, excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum, will be postponed until 2026;
The combination of gaming and artificial intelligence (AI) will become the vertical field with the highest user volume (MAUs/DAUs), thanks to the significant enhancement of gaming experiences and interactions through AI technology;
Memecoins will be segmented into multiple categories, including transient, AI-driven, factory-produced, and large-cap types, with increasing market differentiation but intense competition remaining;
The total fee revenue of decentralized finance (DeFi) is expected to exceed $10 billion in 2025, while the supply of stablecoins is projected to reach $500 billion by the end of the year;
Assets of large banks are beginning to be tokenized, a trend that will significantly reduce resource waste in the U.S. financial system and enhance efficiency.
Read more
