Crypto is not a marginal experiment: The game between power, capital, and technology in 2025

Just a year ago, talking about cryptocurrencies in Capitol Hill hallways was like discussing the internet in 1995. Today, Bitcoin hovers around $95.51K, digital asset ETFs move billions weekly, and the regulatory battle between Washington, Brussels, and Hong Kong is redefining the global financial order. 2025 not only marked the arrival of institutions into the crypto market but also the moment when the conventional world finally admitted that this ecosystem can no longer be ignored.

From Marginal Speculation to Portfolio Allocation: The Great Capital Transformation

Throughout 2024, institutional flows into Bitcoin seemed like a passing trend. In 2025, it became clear that it was just the prelude. Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs stopped being novelties and became standard tools, as normal as buying stocks or Treasury bonds.

The numbers speak for themselves: weekly net flows into leading Bitcoin ETFs consistently exceeded $1,000 million in the last quarter. Institutions that once viewed cryptocurrencies skeptically now include Bitcoin in their “inflation hedge” strategies. Public companies amplified the phenomenon, steadily increasing their holdings of this asset throughout the year.

This shift has a profound consequence: market volatility is no longer driven by tweets from influential personalities but by Federal Reserve rate decisions and Treasury bond yields. Bitcoin is behaving less like a speculative digital asset and more like a traditional institutional asset class.

Regulation is Not the Enemy: It’s the New Arena

While many in 2024 feared “when the regulatory sword would fall,” in 2025 that sword not only fell but carved out a new playing field.

The breaking point was the signing of the “GENIUS Act” in the United States. Its core is clear: establish a unified federal framework for dollar-backed stablecoins, requiring 100% reserves in highly liquid assets and transparent audits. The underlying geopolitical intent is even clearer: use regulated stablecoins to consolidate the global dominance of the dollar in the digital era.

USDC and other regulated stablecoins transitioned from financial tools to extensions of the U.S. national strategy. At the same time, the full implementation of MiCA regulation in Europe and Hong Kong ordinances painted a global pattern of U.S. regulatory leadership, sophisticated European standards, and accelerated Asian competition.

Regulation has a dual effect: it removes the uncertainty that held back trillions of dollars in traditional capital but also marks the end of wild growth. Protocols that do not comply with KYC/AML and projects without reserve audits are excluded from the main financial system, facing survival crises.

Sector Rotation: Where Capital Seeks the Next Frontier

When main narratives (institutional Bitcoin, mainstream Ethereum) fall under regulators and institutional control, the speculative market seeks outlets in peripheral sectors.

Financial privacy became the unexpected star of 2025. Zcash (ZEC), after years of dormancy, experienced monthly increases exceeding 200% in October. The catalyst was concrete: the U.S. government’s large-scale Bitcoin seizure demand illuminated a truth the market could not ignore: the total transparency of Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains is a vulnerability in an era of total regulation. Overnight, privacy shifted from a philosophical demand to a real necessity for high-net-worth holders. Although ZEC has moderated its pace (currently trading around $412.43 with a 30-day variation of +5.30%), its resurgence perfectly illustrates the old crypto market adage: “buy with expectation, sell with fact.”

The real convergence of AI and blockchain also gained traction. The speculative focus evolved from simple tokens with AI narratives to genuinely necessary decentralized infrastructure for AI operations. Protocols like Bittensor (TAO) for decentralized computing and decentralized rendering networks gained revaluation because they solve real bottlenecks, not just follow trends.

Meanwhile, Solana continued gaining market share over Ethereum thanks to lower fees and a more dynamic developer ecosystem. New modular blockchains and Layer 2 solutions intensify competition for relevance.

A Differentiated Market, Not a Universal Bull

The price reality in 2025 was not a universal rise but an extreme differentiation of destinations.

Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced a solid “institutional bull.” Their increasing correlation with Nasdaq and U.S. bond yields, along with volatility falling to multi-year lows, reveals their transformation: from high-risk speculative assets to allocation assets in institutional portfolios, with valuation logic increasingly similar to traditional tech stocks. Ethereum is currently trading at $3.31K with 24-hour variations of -1.05%.

On the other hand, extreme movements in specific sectors like Zcash represent what some analysts call “apocalypse cars”: sharp surges typical of late bull cycle phases warning that the party may be nearing its end.

Stablecoins like USDC, meanwhile, are the true silent winners. Their value does not reside in price appreciation but in ecosystem scale: they are now the absolute bridge between the traditional dollar and the on-chain world, with annual liquidation volumes reaching tens of trillions of dollars.

Black Swans: Resilience Tests of the New System

Even under the trend of institutionalization, the crypto market faced brutal stress tests in 2025.

Disruptive events in the ecosystem in February revealed security vulnerabilities that shook confidence in major platforms. The response was immediate: exchanges published reserve audit frequencies and asset management details, and the entire custody and insurance industry experienced a surge in demand.

October was particularly turbulent. The U.S. government shutdown on October 1 generated sustained macro uncertainty. Then, a federal demand for massive crypto asset seizures unleashed fears of large-scale government sales. On October 11, liquidations of $19 billion in a single day wiped out leveraged positions like a brutal “market chemotherapy,” leaving a more solid foundation.

Political decisions regarding pardons emphasized how intertwined politics and crypto finance are. The market was reminded that in this emerging industry, political risk is unpredictable and personal.

Conclusion: The End of Marginality

By the end of 2025, it became clear that cryptocurrencies have crossed an irreversible threshold. They are not an internet experiment but a central chapter in the global narrative of power, capital, and technology. The old rulebook was torn apart. The new order is still taking shape. But one thing is certain: the era of ignoring this space is definitively over. Bitcoin is not just a meme; it’s infrastructure. Blockchains are not just speculation; they are geopolitical battlegrounds where Washington, Brussels, and Asia compete to define the next layer of the global economy.