Deng Tong, Jinse Finance
As 2025 draws to a close, Jinse Finance presents a series of articles titled "Looking Back at 2025" to mark the passing of the old year and the arrival of the new. This series reviews the progress of the crypto industry throughout the year and expresses the hope that the industry will overcome its winter and shine brightly in the new year.
2025 saw many milestones in the crypto industry, with increasingly clear policies driving large-scale institutional entry, but also accompanied by hacker attacks and market volatility. The following is a timeline of the most noteworthy industry events of the year.
I. Trump returns to the White House, becoming the first "crypto president"
On January 20, Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., becoming the first “crypto president” in U.S. history.
On January 23, Trump issued his first executive order on crypto. Specific provisions include: protecting and promoting the ability of individual citizens and the private sector to access and use public blockchains; allowing U.S. citizens to develop and deploy software, participate in mining and verification, conduct transactions, and self-custody digital assets; promoting and protecting the sovereignty of the dollar and fostering the development and growth of dollar-backed stablecoins; protecting and promoting fair and open access to banking services for all law-abiding citizens and private sector entities; providing regulatory clarity and certainty; protecting Americans from the risks of CBDCs and prohibiting the creation, issuance, circulation, and use of CBDCs within U.S. jurisdiction; rescinding Executive Order 14067, "Ensuring the Responsible Development of Digital Assets," and the Treasury Department's "Framework for International Participation in Digital Assets"; establishing the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets; proposing a federal regulatory framework to manage the issuance and operation of U.S. digital assets (including stablecoins); assessing the feasibility of establishing and maintaining a national digital asset reserve and proposing standards for establishing such a reserve.
Trump's pro-cryptocurrency policies laid the groundwork for clearer crypto regulations in the United States and helped push the price of BTC to break the $120,000 mark twice in 2025.
Furthermore, just three days before Trump's inauguration as US president, the market capitalization of his official meme coin, Trump, rapidly climbed to over $80 billion, triggering a wealth-creation frenzy. This also sparked a celebrity meme craze, increasing public awareness of cryptocurrency while simultaneously generating related controversies.
For details, please see the Jinse Finance special report , "Trump's Official Inauguration Ushers in a New Era for the Crypto Industry."
II. Trump Signs Executive Order to Establish Bitcoin Reserve
On March 6, Trump signed an executive order establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Specific provisions include: the U.S. Treasury Secretary should establish an office to manage and control an escrow account collectively known as the "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve," whose capital is all BTC held by the Treasury; the U.S. Treasury Secretary should establish an office to manage and control escrow accounts collectively known as the "U.S. Digital Asset Reserve," whose capital is all digital assets (excluding BTC) owned by the Treasury, which will ultimately be forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings; and the U.S. Treasury Secretary and Commerce Secretary should develop strategies for acquiring more government BTC, provided that these strategies have no impact on the budget and do not impose incremental costs on U.S. taxpayers.
For details, please see the full text of Trump's Executive Order on "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Reserve".
III. SEC's Shift to a Pro-Cryptocurrency Policy
In April of this year, Paul Atkins officially took over as Chairman of the SEC.
On August 1st, Paul Atkins spearheaded "Project Crypto," an initiative aimed at developing clearer and more inclusive rules for digital assets. This includes specific regulatory design for core issues such as crypto issuance, trading, and custody, to adapt to the needs of on-chain financial markets. Specific directions include: clarifying the criteria for which crypto assets are not securities, helping to reduce uncertainty caused by regulatory ambiguity; introducing innovative exemption mechanisms to provide temporary legal pathways for new projects and token issuance; and planning to reform securities issuance and trading rules to allow crypto assets to be legally traded under existing securities market mechanisms.
During the year, the SEC also ended its illegal enforcement case against Coinbase and its investigations into crypto projects such as Ondo, Aave, and Yuga Labs.
For details, please see "US SEC Chairman's Latest Speech: Project Crypto's Next Step is to Establish a Token Taxonomy"
IV. Trump Wields the Tariff Stick
In 2025, Trump frequently adjusted tariff policies based on the "America First" principle, gradually escalating from initially imposing tariffs on specific goods from specific countries to a wide range of "reciprocal tariffs" on the global scale, and subsequently adjusting tariff rates multiple times through trade negotiations.
February 1: Trump signed an executive order imposing a 10% tariff on Chinese goods imported into the US, citing issues such as fentanyl; simultaneously, a 25% tariff was imposed on goods from Mexico and Canada, with a separate 10% tariff on Canadian energy products; April 3, "Liberation Day," Trump officially signed an executive order regarding reciprocal tariffs; April 8: Announced an increase in the "reciprocal tariff" on Chinese goods imported into the US from 34% to 84%, bringing the total tariff rate to 104% after adding previous tariffs; April 10: First, a 90-day tariff suspension period was announced, with reciprocal tariffs on relevant countries significantly reduced to 10%, but tariffs on Chinese goods were simultaneously increased to 125%, bringing the total tariff to 145% after adding the fentanyl tariff; May 12: Following the Geneva trade talks between China and the US, a joint statement was issued, with the US reducing tariffs on Chinese goods to 30%, and the US officially completed this tariff adjustment on May 14; August 12: Following the Stockholm trade talks, China and the US reached a consensus to suspend the 24% tariff from that day. The two sides agreed to impose reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, with both retaining their existing 10% tariffs on each other's goods. China also suspended some non-tariff retaliatory measures against the United States. On November 5, in conjunction with the previous agreement to suspend tariffs between China and the US, China announced that it would continue to suspend the 24% tariff on US goods for one year, starting November 10, retaining the 10% tariff rate. The US maintained its corresponding tariff policy and did not introduce any new tariff increases.
The cryptocurrency market is heavily influenced by tariff policies. In late February, when Trump suddenly announced plans to impose tariffs on Canada and the EU, BTC fell by about 15% in the following days. In early April, as Trump continued to escalate tariffs, the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market fell by about 25.9% from its January high, wiping out nearly $1 trillion in market value, highlighting the cryptocurrency market's high sensitivity to macroeconomic instability.
For details, please see the Jinse Finance special report , "Where Will the Crypto Market Go After Trump Wields the Tariff Stick?"
V. Ethereum Pectra Upgrade
On May 7th, the Ethereum Pectra upgrade was triggered and completed on the mainnet around 10:05 UTC. This is the most significant upgrade since the merger in 2022. This update aims to simplify the staking process, enhance wallet functionality, and improve overall efficiency. One of the key elements of this upgrade is increasing the amount of ETH that users can stake from 32 to 2048. This change aims to help staking institutions and infrastructure providers by meeting the needs of validators who stake ETH to keep the blockchain running.
For more details, please see the Jinse Finance special report , "Understanding the Ethereum Pectra Upgrade".
VI. Hong Kong passes the Stablecoin Bill
On May 21, the Hong Kong Legislative Council formally passed the Stablecoin Bill at its third reading. It will officially take effect on August 1, marking Asia's first comprehensive regulatory framework for fiat-backed stablecoins.
The regulations stipulate that any entity issuing fiat currency stablecoins in Hong Kong, or any entity outside Hong Kong claiming to peg them to the Hong Kong dollar, must apply for a license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Licensed issuers must comply with requirements such as reserve asset segregation and redemption at par value, as well as a series of regulations concerning anti-money laundering, risk management, and information disclosure. Furthermore, only licensed institutions may sell fiat currency stablecoins in Hong Kong, and only stablecoins issued by licensed issuers can be sold to retail investors; the promotion and marketing of unlicensed stablecoins is illegal. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has also issued corresponding regulatory guidelines, clarifying the license application process and transitional arrangements.
The first batch of stablecoins will focus on cross-border trade settlement and Web3 scenario testing.
For details, please see the Jinse Finance special report , "Hong Kong's Stablecoin Ordinance Takes Effect."
VII. The DAT Wave Erupts
Driven by factors such as increasingly clear global regulatory policies and large-scale entry of institutional funds, the Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) model has experienced explosive growth.
As the originator of the DAT model, Strategy continued to solidify its industry position in 2025, currently holding 671,268 BTC. Amid this wave of DAT initiatives, companies such as SharpLink Gaming, Bitmine, MARA Holdings, Metaplanet, Sol Strategies, Upexi, and DDC Enterprise have all announced their DAT plans.
However, as the cryptocurrency market downturn worsened, many treasury companies found themselves in dire straits.
For more details, please see "DAT Stripped of its 'Halo': The Future Direction in Adversity".
VIII. Circle goes public
On June 5th, Circle officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange. During trading, Circle triggered circuit breakers multiple times, closing with a 168.48% increase at $83.23, giving it a market capitalization exceeding $18.5 billion. It continued to rise by nearly 30% the following day. Circle's listing brought stablecoins, previously only accepted by a select few, into the mainstream, gaining favor with some "old money" investors and making it one of the most successful IPOs in recent years.
Circle's IPO also triggered a wave of IPOs among crypto companies. FalconX, Gemini, Bullish, BitGo, Kraken, Bithumb, Bitkub, Figure, and others all have corresponding IPO plans.
For details, please see the Jinse Finance special report , "The Profound Impact of Circle's Listing as the First Stablecoin Stock on the Industry."
9. US "Crypto Week": Three Major Bills Passed
The US "Crypto Week" will run from July 14th to 18th.
The "Guiding and Establishing a National Innovation Framework for Stablecoins Act" (GENIUS Act), the "Clarity Act on Digital Asset Markets" (CLARITY Act), and the "Anti-CBDC Surveillance Act" were all passed. The passage of these three bills establishes a clear regulatory framework for digital assets to protect the rights of consumers and investors, sets rules for the issuance and operation of dollar-backed payment stablecoins, and permanently blocks the creation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to protect the financial privacy of Americans. Furthermore, it fully implements Trump's digital asset and cryptocurrency agenda, fulfilling his promise to make the United States the world's cryptocurrency capital.
For details, please see "A Detailed Analysis of the US Congressional Crypto Week: Summary of Three Major Bills, Market Trends, and Industry Perspectives".
10. Ethereum's 10th Anniversary
Ethereum celebrated its 10th anniversary on July 30th.
On July 30, 2015, the Ethereum mainnet launched, releasing its first version, "Frontier." In 2017, Ethereum witnessed an initial coin offering (ICO) frenzy, completely rewriting the narrative logic of the crypto world. In November 2017, Vitalik Buterin first proposed the concept of "Ethereum 2.0." On February 28, 2019, the Constantinople hard fork was implemented, aiming to improve Ethereum's operational efficiency and design more optimized solutions for smart contracts and decentralized applications. On December 9 of the same year, the Istanbul hard fork was implemented, improving Ethereum's performance against denial-of-service (DoS) attacks suffered several years prior. This hard fork also enabled interoperability between Ethereum and Zcash and allowed contracts to have more innovative features. On September 15, 2022, Ethereum completed "The Merge," completely transitioning from a Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanism to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism. In April 2023, Ethereum successfully completed the Shapela upgrade, its first major upgrade since the 2022 "merge," and the final crucial step in Ethereum's transition from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake. On July 23, 2024, a US-listed Ethereum ETF was launched. In 2025, numerous companies from various traditional industries announced their Ethereum Treasury plans.
In ten years, Ethereum has transformed from a geek experiment into a new financial infrastructure.
For more details, please see the Jinse Finance special report , "Ethereum's 10th Anniversary".
11. BTC Double Top New High
The US's crypto regulatory policies and interest rate cuts have ushered in a "crypto summer" for the crypto market.
The price of BTC surged all the way up, reaching an all-time high of $123,561 on August 14, and then rising again to an all-time high of $124,774 on October 7.
12. The U.S. government experiences its longest shutdown in history.
On October 1, the U.S. federal government entered a 43-day shutdown due to running out of funds.
This longest government shutdown in history has had a significant negative impact on the economy and markets. Trump stated that the shutdown has caused a $1.5 trillion loss, and the full impact will take weeks or even months to calculate. White House economic advisor Hassett stated that due to the shutdown, only employment data will be released for the next month, not the unemployment rate. He predicts that the US fourth-quarter GDP growth will decline by 1.5 percentage points due to the shutdown. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the six-week shutdown will reduce fourth-quarter GDP by 1.5 percentage points, ultimately resulting in a net loss of approximately $11 billion. An IMF spokesperson stated that the IMF has detected signs of weakness in the US economy. Partly affected by the government shutdown, the IMF expects US fourth-quarter GDP growth to be lower than its previous forecast of 1.9%.
The brief optimism following the end of the US government shutdown quickly dissipated, with market focus shifting to a large amount of delayed economic data, uncertainty surrounding the prospect of a Federal Reserve rate cut, and concerns about overvalued tech stocks. This triggered a "risk-averse mode," leading to a widespread sell-off of overvalued tech stocks and risk assets. This deteriorating risk sentiment also spread to the crypto market, causing a continued decline in cryptocurrency assets.
For details, please see the Jinse Finance special report , "The Longest Government Shutdown in US History."
13. 1011 Crypto Market Flash Crash
Between 4:50 AM and 5:20 AM on October 11th, BTC experienced a maximum drop of 12.7% within 30 minutes, briefly falling to a low of $102,000. ETH saw a maximum drop of 14.3% within the same 30 minutes, briefly falling to a low of $3,435. This flash crash resulted in the liquidation of 1.6 million traders. Within 24 hours, over $19 billion in leveraged cryptocurrency positions were liquidated, nine times the previous record. The main reasons for this massive liquidation were the combination of excessive leverage and high risk, coupled with Trump's announcement of a 100% tariff on Chinese goods, leading to insufficient market liquidity.
Since the flash crash, the crypto market has failed to recover, falling from $120,000 to $86,000 as of press time, a drop of about 32%.
For details, please see the Jinse Finance special report , "The '1011' Crash and Liquidation: The Most Tragic 'Black Swan' Day in Crypto History."
XIV. CZ Receives Presidential Pardon
On October 22, Trump signed a pardon for CZ, which was disclosed to the public the following day.
White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt issued a statement saying, "The President exercised his constitutional powers to pardon Mr. CZ, who was indicted in the Biden administration's war on cryptocurrencies. The Biden administration's war on cryptocurrencies is over." Following his release, CZ quickly expressed his gratitude to Trump, stating that he "will do everything in his power to help the United States become the cryptocurrency capital and advance the development of Web3 globally."
For details, please see "From Imprisonment to Presidential Pardon: CZ Embarks on a 'Political Career'"
15. Bybit suffered a loss of nearly $1.5 billion, and Balancer suffered a loss of over $100 million.
On February 21, cryptocurrency exchange Bybit disclosed that its Ethereum multisignature cold wallet suffered unauthorized activity, resulting in the theft of nearly $1.5 billion in ETH and stETH assets. The North Korean organization Lazarus Group is believed to be the perpetrator. According to Bybit's official announcement, hackers used a phishing website impersonating a multisignature wallet service provider to induce internal signers to authorize transfers, successfully gaining control of the Ethereum cold wallet and distributing 401,000 crypto assets to 48 anonymous addresses. Some assets were also converted to Bitcoin via cross-chain bridges to conceal their activities. Ethereum's price fell 4% in a single day, and Bitcoin was also dragged down by sentiment, fluctuating downwards from a high of $105,000, briefly dipping below the $90,000 mark.
For details, please see the Jinse Finance special report , "Bybit's Nightmare Weekend: The Biggest Theft in History."
On November 3, the DeFi protocol Balancer was hacked, resulting in the theft of over $100 million in digital assets. Affected by the Balancer theft, coupled with the selling pressure from the nearly $100 million stolen assets, SOL's 24-hour drop even approached 10%. Prior to this, Balancer had undergone 11 audits.
For details, please see "Why Does Balancer, with its 11 audits in 5 years and 6 thefts, still have fans?"
16. Hashkey IPO
On December 1, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) disclosed that HashKey Holdings Limited had passed its listing hearing and was about to conduct its IPO, with JPMorgan Chase, Guotai Junan Securities, and Haitong Securities acting as joint sponsors. HashKey Holdings Limited officially listed on the HKEX on December 17.
HashKey's IPO journey is a significant milestone in the compliant development of Hong Kong's cryptocurrency industry and a microcosm of global crypto companies embracing mainstream capital markets.
For details, please see "Hashkey's Real Ledger Under the IPO Halo: Less Than 15,000 Monthly Active Users and a HK$500 Million Loss in Half a Year"
17. Ethereum Fusaka Upgrade
On December 3, the Ethereum Fusaka upgrade was officially activated at block slot 13,164,544 on the mainnet.
Fusaka marks a significant step in Ethereum's scaling roadmap, enhancing Layer 1 performance, expanding Blob capacity, improving the cost-effectiveness of Rollups, and delivering an upgraded user experience. It also introduces a "Blob-only" fork mechanism to safely increase Blob capacity as Rollup demand grows.
For details, please see the Jinse Finance special report , "A Comprehensive Analysis of the Ethereum Fusaka Upgrade".
18. The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approves national trust banking licenses for companies such as Circle.
On December 13, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) conditionally approved trust banking licenses for Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos, and Circle.
"Conditional approval" is a preliminary form of recognition, indicating that the OCC has reviewed the application and believes the company largely meets regulatory requirements (such as capital adequacy, risk management framework, and business plan), but it is not a final license. The company must meet specific conditions within a specified timeframe to transition to full operational status. Once all conditions are met, the OCC will issue a final, unconditional national trust bank license, allowing the company to immediately exercise trust banking powers, primarily including: expanding its core business, managing client assets as trustee, processing payment settlements, custody of digital assets (such as stablecoin reserves), and providing related financial services. However, a trust bank license differs from a full-fledged bank and cannot accept deposits or make loans. It can apply for a Federal Reserve master account, accelerating clearing and access to the traditional financial system, further promoting the integration of crypto and traditional finance.
For details, please see "A New Battleground for Stablecoins: Why Are Stablecoin Issuers Flock to Apply for National Trust Bank Status?"
