Unlocking the Encryption New Era: A Preview of Major Industry Events in 2025

Written by: Lei, Golden Finance

The year 2025 is considered an important year for the cryptocurrency industry to move towards maturity and standardization. A series of significant events and technological breakthroughs will drive the market into a new phase, while having a profound impact on the global financial system. Here are the eight major events in the cryptocurrency industry to watch in 2025, along with their backgrounds and implications.

1. Trump's New Administration Takes Office: A Turning Point for Cryptocurrency Market Regulation

Trump's second term is expected to bring new directions to U.S. financial regulation, particularly in the policy-making of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The new leadership may adopt a more open and flexible regulatory approach to promote market development.

Background

1. The advancement of CFTC

• More commodity-type cryptocurrency assets to be included in regulatory scope: CFTC may classify more mainstream cryptocurrencies (such as Solana and Polygon) as commodities, clarifying their regulatory framework.
• Promoting the expansion of the cryptocurrency derivatives market: The CFTC may accelerate the approval of more cryptocurrency futures and options trading, providing institutional investors with a broader range of hedging tools.
• Global cooperation: Promote the compliance and standardization of cross-border transactions by strengthening cooperation with regulatory agencies in other countries.

2. The SEC's transformation

• Expansion of spot ETFs: Following the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, more mainstream asset ETFs (such as Solana and Hedera) may be approved, further driving capital inflow.
• Stablecoin regulatory framework implementation: Stablecoins may be included in the "payment tool" framework, facilitating the integration of mainstream payment and settlement systems.

3. Joint Action of the CFTC and SEC

• Launch a unified classification standard for cryptocurrency assets.
• Facilitate smoother entry of institutional funds into the cryptocurrency market.

impact

• Increased market transparency: A clear regulatory framework will reduce market uncertainty and attract large institutional funds to enter.
• Industry reshuffle: More stringent compliance requirements may eliminate some small and medium-sized projects, and the market will develop towards a more concentrated and mature direction.

2. Ethereum Dencun Upgrade and Pectra Technical Innovation

Ethereum will undergo several technical upgrades in 2025, including the full implementation of Danksharding and an upgrade called "Pectra." These technological improvements will significantly enhance Ethereum's scalability and user experience.

Background

• Account Abstraction (EIP-7702): Simplifies user operations and supports complex decentralized applications (DApp).
• Zero-Knowledge Proof Support (EIP-2537): Enhancing Privacy and Scalability.
• Validator staking limit increase (EIP-7251): Improve network efficiency and facilitate institutional participation in staking.
• Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS): Reduce Layer-2 transaction costs and promote ecosystem expansion.

influence

• Attract more developers and users into the Ethereum ecosystem.
• Promote the further development of decentralized finance (DeFi) and the NFT market.

3. Global Stablecoin Regulatory Framework Implementation

In 2025, the G20 is expected to complete a unified regulatory framework for global stablecoins, which will have a significant impact on the issuance, reserve requirements, and cross-border payment applications of stablecoins.

Background

• Financing Dynamics: In 2024, financing in the stablecoin sector reached $1.86 billion, with Stripe acquiring Bridge Network for $1.1 billion.
• Traditional Institutions Entering the Market: PayPal's PYUSD market value has surpassed $1 billion, promoting the integration of stablecoin payments with traditional payments.
• Regional Regulation: The EU's MiCA regulation and Hong Kong's stablecoin sandbox program will be fully implemented in 2025.

impact

• International payments are accelerating in popularity: stablecoins will play an important role in high inflation areas and international trade.
• Market scale expansion: The market value of stablecoins is expected to surpass $400 billion, becoming the fastest-growing sector in the crypto space.

4. Deep Integration of AI and Blockchain

The combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain is leading technological innovation, especially in the fields of AI wallets, decentralized AI agents, and AI training networks. By 2025, this integration will give rise to multiple new technologies and applications.

Background

1. Decentralized Autonomous Chatbots (DACs): Blockchain-based AI chatbots can autonomously manage assets and complete complex tasks.

2. AI Wallet: The AI agent will support autonomous investment and payment functions.

3. Identity Verification and Privacy Protection: The combination of AI technology and blockchain ensures the authenticity and privacy of interactions.

4. AI Agent: Virtual, as the next generation AI and blockchain protocol, promotes the application of AI in the metaverse and Web3 through fast deployment, autonomous agents, and plug-and-play infrastructure, attracting widespread community participation and investment support. Eliza, as the world's first chatbot, laid the theoretical foundation for human-computer interaction, providing important inspiration and historical accumulation for the logic and functions of modern AI agents.

5. Tech giants like Google and Apple are launching AI agent products. Decentralized AI networks (such as Fetch.ai) are becoming market hotspots.

affect

• The combination of AI and blockchain helps to lower the technical barriers of Web3, enhances user privacy and security, and promotes the integrated development of the virtual economy and the real economy. It is expected that by 2025, more mainstream applications and technological breakthroughs will emerge, leading the industry toward maturity.

5. The Global Expansion of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs

The approval of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs has brought inflows and mainstream recognition to the crypto market, and more assets may enter the ETF space by 2025.

Background

• Capital inflow: As of December 2024, the management scale of Bitcoin ETFs has exceeded 100 billion US dollars.
• Expansion to other assets: Several institutions have submitted applications for Solana ETFs, including Bitwise, VanEck, 21Shares, and Canary Capital. These applications are mainly focused on submissions in November 2024, with the final approval deadline expected in early August 2025. At the same time, institutions like Canary Capital and Bitwise have submitted applications for a spot XRP ETF to the SEC.

impact

• Acceleration of Mainstream Adoption: The popularity of ETFs will enhance market liquidity and transparency.
• More institutions involved: Traditional institutional funds will flood in on a large scale.

6. Breakthroughs in the Tokenization of Real-World Assets (RWA)

Real-world asset tokenization (RWA) achieved significant progress in 2024, and the market size may further expand in 2025.

Background

• Locked amount in 2024: The total value of the RWA market has reached 60 billion USD.
• Major projects: Ondo Finance, Maple Finance, and Centrifuge are driving asset tokenization.
• Stablecoin Market Value: As of March 2024, stablecoins, as the largest segment of RWA, have a market value exceeding $150 billion.
• Tokenized financial products: Institutions such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Ondo Finance have launched their own tokenized financial products.

impact

• Market Size Breakthrough: RWA locked assets are expected to exceed $200 billion.
• More asset classes: Tokenization of stocks, real estate, and commodities will accelerate.

7. NFT Renaissance

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are gradually transforming from their initial role as art collectibles and speculative tools into more practical on-chain tools. By 2025, with the development of blockchain technology and the expansion of the Web3 ecosystem, the potential of NFTs in practical applications will be more widely explored.

Background

• Practicality becomes the core driver: NFTs are no longer limited to collectible value but are gradually integrated into actual application scenarios, such as on-chain identity (DID), in-game assets, membership, and consumer rewards.
• Emerging markets and cross-industry cooperation: Projects like Sofamon achieve economic value development of digital identities and on-chain wearable devices by combining NFTs with the emoji market.
• Technical and Industry Support: NFTs demonstrate greater technical flexibility in 2024, being used to tag, transfer, and assess digital and real-world assets.

Impact

• Promoting the maturity of the Web3 ecosystem: The practical application of NFTs injects new vitality into the Web3 ecosystem. By integrating identity management, membership rights, and innovative applications across industries.
• Rebuilding the relationship between brands and consumers: The involvement of traditional brands (such as IWC) indicates that NFTs have become an important tool for brands to redefine user experience and brand loyalty.
• Promoting the protection and monetization of intellectual property: Projects like Story Protocol demonstrate that NFTs can become an important tool for protecting intellectual property, particularly in combating counterfeit products and empowering creators.
• Accelerating the integration of on-chain and off-chain economies: Through the tokenization and valuation capabilities of NFTs, the connection between crypto assets and the real economy will become closer, providing higher transparency and liquidity for the capital markets.
• The activity and standardization of the investment market: The NFT market in 2025 will be more standardized, and NFTs will no longer be merely speculative tools, but rather asset classes supported by long-term value.

8. DeFi 2.0: Enhancing Capital Efficiency and Compliance

DeFi protocols will further develop in 2025 by enhancing capital efficiency, introducing on-chain credit, and integrating RWA.

Background

• DeFi protocols significantly enhance capital efficiency in 2024 by optimizing funding utilization models through innovative mechanisms. Traditional DeFi protocols (like Aave and Compound) rely on high collateralization rates, leading to low capital efficiency, while emerging protocols adopt a Protocol-Owned Liquidity (POL) model, reducing dependence on external capital by holding liquidity pool assets or introducing locking mechanisms. For example, the "liquidity lock rewards" of Balancer and Curve significantly improve liquidity stability.
• The introduction of on-chain credit is an important direction for DeFi development in 2024. It evaluates credit through users' on-chain behavior (such as transaction and repayment records), thereby reducing collateral requirements and releasing more capital liquidity. For example, credit scoring protocols like Arcx and Spectral have begun to be applied to multiple lending platforms, while mainstream protocols like Aave and Maple Finance are testing low-collateral or no-collateral lending models, bringing new paths for capital release in the DeFi space.
• The integration of Real World Assets (RWA) is another highlight of DeFi development in 2024, enhancing capital efficiency by tokenizing traditional assets such as bonds, real estate, and receivables. For example, MakerDAO has added U.S. Treasury bonds and corporate bonds as collateral, resulting in a more than 20% increase in the supply of its Dai stablecoin. Additionally, Ondo Finance focuses on the tokenization of U.S. Treasury bonds, with its locked volume exceeding $600 million.
• The innovative token standards HIP-1 and HIP-2 from Hyperliquid enhance the utility and liquidity of tokens. HIP-1 allows users to create fungible tokens directly linked to on-chain spot order books, elevating tokens to specialized financial instruments. Compared to the ERC-20 standard, it ensures instant tradability and high performance, specifically designed for financial assets.

influence

• Improved capital efficiency: POL and dynamic lending rates will attract more funds, driving the total value locked in DeFi to exceed $300 billion by 2025.
• On-chain credit reshapes lending: The popularization of on-chain credit lowers collateral thresholds, promotes the exponential growth of low-collateral lending, and attracts more users and funds to participate.
• RWA tokenization expands asset classes.
• Compliance and Institutional Participation Acceleration: The introduction of compliance frameworks attracts institutional funds, promotes the diversified development of DeFi, and strengthens its deep integration with traditional finance.

Summary

The year 2025 will be a year of maturity and diversification for the cryptocurrency industry. These significant events and trends will collectively drive the normalization, technological innovation, and mainstream acceptance of the market, while attracting more traditional institutions and retail users, accelerating the deep integration of the cryptocurrency industry with the global financial system.