The crypto industry is about to reach a new peak: Top 10 institutions predict the direction of the crypto market in 2025

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As 2024 is coming to an end, the future outlook of the crypto industry in 2025 has become the focus of attention of investors, institutions and industry practitioners. Many research institutions have released their own predictions for the crypto market in 2025, covering innovative trends in multiple fields such as Bitcoin, stablecoins, DeFi, AI, Memecoin and Web3. The following are some of the major industry predictions recently given by 10 well-known industry institutions.


1. Forbes 2025 Forecast: More major countries may deploy Bitcoin reserves, and the total market value of cryptocurrencies will exceed 8 trillion US dollars

Forbes predicts that in 2025, more countries will strategically deploy Bitcoin reserves, promoting the global development of the crypto market. 2024 is a historic turning point for Bitcoin and the crypto industry, with institutional adoption and Bitcoin breaking through the $100,000 mark marking the crypto industry's entry into the mainstream. Forbes lists seven predictions for the crypto industry in 2025:

1. The rise of strategic Bitcoin reserves
2. Stablecoin market size doubles
3. The rise of Bitcoin DeFi
4. Crypto ETFs continue to grow
5. Other companies in the Big Seven may add Bitcoin to their balance sheets
6. The total market value of the crypto market exceeds 8 trillion US dollars
7. The Renaissance of Crypto Startups in the U.S.

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2. Bitcoin Suisse 2025 Outlook: Bitcoin will exceed $180,000, and the total market value of the crypto market will increase fivefold


Bitcoin Suisse, one of the world's earliest crypto financial service providers, released the 2025 Crypto Industry Outlook Report, which elaborates on the main development trends of the cryptocurrency market in 2025. There are a total of 11 predictions covering macroeconomics, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and other Altcoin, as well as NFTs.

Bitcoin is seen as a strategic reserve asset for the United States, with its price expected to break through $180,000 and its volatility will be lower than that of major technology stocks in the next few years, gradually maturing into an institutional-grade asset. Meanwhile, Solana and Ethereum will continue to consolidate their leadership in smart contract platforms.

1. The macroeconomic environment will ease fundamentally and support a soft landing.
2. Bitcoin (BTC) will become a strategic reserve asset for the United States, and other sovereign nations will follow suit.
3. The price of Bitcoin will exceed $180,000.
4. Bitcoin volatility will be lower than that of major technology stocks, indicating that it is gradually maturing into an institutional-grade asset.
5. Financial giants will launch institutional-grade Rollups on Ethereum.
6. An Ethereum collateralized ETF would result in market cap-adjusted fund flows exceeding those of Bitcoin.
7. Bitcoin dominance will peak before the end of the year.
8. Ethereum’s monetary policy will become its anchor, accelerating its progress towards “currency” attributes.
9. The Altcoin season will reach its peak in the first half of 2025, and the total market value will increase fivefold.
10. Solana will solidify its market position as the top general-purpose smart contract platform.
11. The wealth effect will drive the NFT craze at the end of the cycle.

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3. Coinbase 2025 Outlook: 2025 will be a decisive year, and its breakthroughs and progress may shape the long-term development trajectory of the crypto industry for decades to come


According to Coinbase's 2025 Outlook, the next few years will be a period of transformative growth for the crypto market. The Fed's policy easing is expected to further drive demand for crypto assets, while the United States may usher in a more favorable crypto regulatory environment. The expansion of crypto ETFs, especially those centered on Bitcoin and Ethereum, will become an important part of the market. At the same time, stablecoins and tokenized assets will become an important force driving the crypto market.

In addition, Coinbase also predicts that decentralized finance (DeFi) will usher in a new round of revival in 2025, and the integration of AI and encryption will give birth to more innovative applications and further promote the maturity of the encryption market.

Coinbase lists several macro outlooks for the crypto market in 2025 in its annual report:

1) Fed policy and market impact:

U.S. monetary policy will have an important impact on the cryptocurrency market in 2025, especially as the Federal Reserve continues to ease policy, which will lead to greater risk appetite in the market, including interest in crypto assets. It is expected that expansionary fiscal policy measures may further push up inflation, which in turn will affect the demand for crypto assets.

2) U.S. Congress supports encryption:

In 2025, the United States may usher in a more favorable crypto regulatory environment. The pro-crypto majority in the legislature may promote a clear regulatory framework, bringing greater support to the crypto market. Bills including the Bitcoin Reserve Act and other crypto assets may receive attention, thus providing support for the compliance and popularity of crypto assets.

3) Crypto ETF 2.0:

The launch of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs has become an important milestone in the crypto market. With more institutional participation, the ETF market may further expand to cover more crypto assets. It is expected that the SEC may allow Staking to be included in ETFs, further improving market liquidity and management efficiency.

4) Growth of Stablecoins:

In 2024, the market value of stablecoins increased significantly, and this trend is expected to continue in the next five years. The application of stablecoins in digital payments and cross-border remittances will become mainstream in the crypto space and may play a greater role in global capital flows and commercial activities.

5) Tokenization Revolution:

The tokenized real-world asset (RWA) sector continues to grow, and this market is expected to grow to $2 trillion or more in the next five years. The participation of asset management companies and traditional financial institutions has made tokenization an important part of financial innovation, promoting cross-border settlement and 24/7 trading.

6) The Renaissance of Decentralized Finance (DeFi):

DeFi has experienced fluctuations in the past, but as the regulatory environment becomes clearer, decentralized finance is expected to usher in a new round of revival. More decentralized exchanges and decentralized applications are emerging, promoting the integration of encryption technology and traditional finance.

Coinbase also listed some disruptive paradigms:

1) Telegram trading bot
2) Prediction Market
3) Development of crypto games
4) DePIN
5) Integration of AI and encryption

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4. Delphi Digital 2025 Outlook: Bitcoin still has huge potential, and stablecoins will continue to grow


Delphi Digital's 2025 market outlook points out that stablecoins will dominate the payment and financial ecosystem and are expected to drive market recovery. In addition, with the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, institutional investors' attention to crypto assets will deepen, especially projects such as Ethereum and Solana will attract more capital inflows.

1) Stablecoin growth and credit expansion:

Stablecoins will become an important driving force for market recovery, especially playing a core role in transactions and mortgages. In addition, as interest rates fall and the regulatory environment improves, speculative behavior is expected to reappear, thereby alleviating market imbalances.

2) Institutional capital inflows:

Last year, with the approval of Bitcoin ETF, institutional investors gradually entered the market. In the future, institutional investors are more likely to focus on assets with fundamental support, such as ETH, SOL, DeFi projects, and infrastructure assets.

3) Solana’s Recovery:

Solana experienced a sharp decline after the FTX crash, but successfully recovered in 2024, and the increase in developer activity and market participation provided momentum for its future development. Solana is expected to challenge Ethereum's dominance in scalability and user experience.

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5. Defiprime's 10 predictions: 2025 will be an important turning point for the crypto industry


Crypto analysis agency defiprime mentioned in its 2025 forecast that as the regulatory environment becomes clearer, compliant DeFi projects will see rapid growth, while non-compliant projects will face elimination. At the same time, DeFi and Web3 are expected to return to the US market, and stablecoins will occupy an increasingly important position in the payment field. 2025 is expected to be an important turning point for the crypto industry, and many new innovations and breakthroughs will drive the industry forward.

1) Clarification of the regulatory environment
2) DeFi and Web3 return to the United States
3) Stablecoins dominate the payment field
4) Market cycle highs
5) Ethereum explores new narratives
6) Token fever sweeps Web3
7) Crypto infrastructure investment shifts to consumer products
8) Deep integration of DeFi and AI
9) New Token Distribution and Fundraising Model
10) NFT 2.0: Dynamic and Efficient


6. Messari: The macro environment will drive Bitcoin up, and the Meme craze will continue


Messari's annual report pointed out that the crypto market will continue to benefit from the support of the macroeconomic environment in 2025. The Fed's policy easing, low volatility after the election, and legislative progress in the field of stablecoins will bring more investment opportunities to crypto assets. Institutional funds are expected to continue to flow into the crypto market, especially mainstream assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. At the same time, the integration of AI technology will bring new growth momentum to the crypto industry.

2025 Prediction:

1) The macro environment will continue to support the growth of crypto assets
2) Institutional interest in crypto assets will expand further
3) Meme coin: the popularity will continue
4) The rise of AI and DePIN: The cross-integration of AI and encryption continues to deepen
5) Crypto User Growth: The crypto ecosystem is achieving mass adoption
6) Bitcoin: This year is great, next year will be more mature
7) Ethereum: Layer-2 solutions (such as MegaETH) will outperform native L1 and enhance Ethereum’s value capture and user experience.
8) Solana: From a follower to a mainstream ecosystem. Solana will continue to expand its ecosystem, and the addition of AI trends will make it an emerging leader in the encryption field.

Outlook for other L1+ infrastructure in 2025

9) Emerging L1 projects: New L1s such as Monad and Sonic will enter the market and attract a large number of developers. Modular L1s such as Celestia and Avalanche are expected to become industry highlights.

DeFi Outlook 2025

10) Base and Solana’s DEx share growth: These platforms’ DEx will continue to dominate the market, and vertical integration and composability will become key development directions for DeFi protocols.

11) RWA and points gameplay: As interest rates change, tokenized government bonds face resistance, but the points incentive mechanism will still be the core of DeFi protocols to attract users.

12) AI and the future of crypto: AI projects such as Bittensor will continue to bring new opportunities to the crypto market, and competition for AI talent will drive rapid development in this field.

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7. YBB Capital: Five areas to watch in 2025


YBB Capital's report highlights the potential of AI in Web3 and decentralized finance. The improvement of AI browser agents and decentralized computing power will bring new application scenarios to the crypto market. In addition, the decentralization of stablecoins and the widespread application of blockchain payments in emerging markets will promote the development of DeFi.

In 2025, we will focus on the following areas:

1) AI: AI browser agents may solve complex operations on the chain and promote the development of AI wallets and decentralized computing power and data projects. AI will become a key driving force for Web3.

2) Stablecoins: Stablecoins will become more decentralized, especially as their applications increase in emerging markets. Innovations in fiat currencies and algorithmic stablecoins will drive market competition.

3) Payment: Blockchain payment will optimize cross-border payments and financial inclusion in emerging markets. The concept of "PayFi" brings instant settlement and diversified payment methods, driving the growth of DeFi.

4) Dex: Decentralized exchanges will face an imbalance in the development of infrastructure and applications, and on-chain order book Dex may become mainstream.

5) Asset issuance: Asset issuance is still the main theme of Crypto, but as the threshold is lowered, the industry has entered more "zero-sum games". Projects such as DeSci will promote innovation in the combination of traditional scientific research and blockchain.

In general, Crypto will continue to innovate and make breakthroughs in areas such as AI, stablecoins, payments, and decentralized exchanges in 2025.

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8. VanEck's Top Ten Predictions for 2025: The United States adopts BTC strategic reserves, and the bull market will reach a new high by the end of next year



Crypto asset manager VanEck recently released its top 10 crypto industry predictions for 2025.

1) The crypto bull market will reach an interim high in the first quarter and set a new high by the end of the year
2) The United States further embraces Bitcoin through strategic reserves and policy support
3) The total value of tokenized securities exceeds $50 billion
4) Daily transaction settlement volume of stablecoins reaches $300 billion
5) AI agents have more than 1 million on-chain activities
6) The total locked value (TVL) of the second layer of Bitcoin network reaches 100,000 BTC
7) Ethereum’s Blob Space Fee Revenue Reaches $1 Billion
8) DeFi transaction volume hits a record high of $4 trillion, and the total locked value reaches $200 billion
9) NFT market recovers, with annual transaction volume reaching $30 billion
10) The performance of decentralized application (DApp) tokens is gradually catching up with mainstream public chain tokens

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9. Bitwise's Top Ten Predictions for 2025: The First Year of Crypto IPOs, Bitcoin Will Break Through $200,000


In 2024, the cryptocurrency market ushered in a historic breakthrough, with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and others rising sharply, and the cryptocurrency support policy in the US election provided a positive signal for future development. In 2025, it is expected to usher in more innovations and market changes, and investors should pay attention to the further development of cryptocurrencies and related technologies.

Bitwise lists the top 10 crypto predictions for 2025:

1) Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana will hit all-time highs
2) Bitcoin ETF inflows will exceed 2024
3) Coinbase stock price will exceed $700
4) The first year of cryptocurrency IPO
5) AI tokens lead the meme coin craze
6) The number of countries holding Bitcoin will double
7) Coinbase to enter the S&P 500, MicroStrategy to enter the Nasdaq 100
8) The U.S. Department of Labor will relax restrictions on cryptocurrencies in 401(k) plans
9) The stablecoin market will double
10) The market size of RWA tokenization will exceed US$50 billion

In addition, Bitwise also stated that by 2029, the market value of Bitcoin will surpass the gold market and the unit price will exceed US$1 million. This goal may be achieved ahead of schedule due to the US government's strategic reserve plan.


10. Pantera Capital: The crypto market will mature further in 2025


The Pantera Capital team recently made predictions for the crypto industry in 2025, divided into two categories: rising trends and emerging concepts.

Uptrend:

1) Real World Assets (RWA) account for 30% of the total locked value on the chain
2) 1% of Bitcoin will be involved in Bitcoin Finance (Bitcoin-Fi)
3) Fintech companies become the gateway to cryptocurrencies
4) Unichain becomes the L2 with the largest transaction volume
5) NFT will see a resurgence
6) The mainnet of the re-staking project is launched

Emerging concepts:

7) zkTLS: Bringing off-chain data to the chain
8) Regulatory support

Summary: Pantera Capital predicts that the crypto market will further mature in 2025, the growth of real-world assets (RWA) will drive the increase of on-chain capital, Bitcoin finance and NFT will usher in more application scenarios, and fintech companies and emerging technologies (such as zkTLS) will further promote the popularization and use of cryptocurrencies. At the same time, the improvement of the regulatory environment may become an important driving force for market development.


Finding commonalities among the forecasts of major institutions

From the 2025 predictions of these crypto industry organizations, the following common points can be summarized:

  1. Bitcoin’s strategic role grows :

    • Many institutions predict that Bitcoin will become a strategic reserve asset for more countries, promoting the globalization of Bitcoin. For example, Forbes, Bitcoin Suisse and VanEck all mentioned that Bitcoin's reserve asset status will be further strengthened, especially in the strategic layout of the United States and other sovereign countries.
  2. Stablecoin Market Growth :

    • Stablecoins are widely believed to play an important role in the payment and financial ecosystem, and many institutions predict that their market size will continue to expand, especially in cross-border payments and digital currency transactions. For example, Coinbase, Delphi Digital and YBB Capital all pointed out that stablecoins will continue to grow in 2025.
  3. The resurgence of decentralized finance (DeFi) :

    • Many institutions mentioned that DeFi will usher in a resurgence in 2025, and the improvement of the regulatory environment and the further development of decentralized applications will become the driving force. Institutions such as Defiprime, Messari and Coinbase predict that DeFi projects will usher in new growth, especially in decentralized exchanges (DEX) and innovative DeFi protocols.
  4. The fusion of AI and encryption :

    • AI is seen by many organizations as a key force in driving innovation in the crypto industry, especially in the areas of Web3, decentralized finance, and NFT. Messari, YBB Capital, and Coinbase, among others, mentioned that the combination of AI and crypto will bring more new applications, especially in smart contracts, crypto trading robots, and AI tokens.
  5. Expansion of Crypto ETFs :

    • Crypto ETFs are seen as an important part of the crypto market in 2025, especially the launch of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, which will further promote the participation of institutional investors. For example, both Coinbase and Bitcoin Suisse predict that crypto ETFs will be expanded, driving market liquidity and capital inflows.
  6. Tokenization of Real World Assets (RWA) :

    • The tokenization of real-world assets (such as real estate, bonds, etc.) is seen by many institutions as an important development trend in the crypto market in 2025, especially in the RWA tokenization market, which is expected to exceed $50 billion. For example, VanEck and Pantera Capital both mentioned that RWA tokenization will be more widely used in 2025 and become a highlight of the crypto market.
  7. Institutional capital inflows accelerate :

    • As the regulatory environment becomes clearer, the inflow of institutional capital is believed to be the main driving force of the crypto market in 2025. Several institutions (such as Delphi Digital and Bitwise) predict that institutional investors will further increase their investment in mainstream crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana.
  8. The resurgence of decentralized applications (DApps) and NFTs :

    • Decentralized applications and NFTs are expected to recover in 2025, especially driven by market recovery and technological innovation. Institutions such as VanEck and Messari predict that the NFT market will rebound and annual trading volume may reach US$30 billion.

These commonalities reflect that the crypto industry may enter a new stage of maturity in 2025, with key trends including Bitcoin's strategic reserve status, the dominance of stablecoins, the integration of AI technology, and the further development of DeFi and real-world assets.

Disclaimer: The content above is only the author's opinion which does not represent any position of Followin, and is not intended as, and shall not be understood or construed as, investment advice from Followin.
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