Next year, the virtual asset market is expected to experience growth and challenges simultaneously amid regulatory changes and increased participation from traditional finance. The full-scale entry of global financial institutions into the market and competition between countries centered around Bitcoin are expected to act as major variables in the market.
The '2025 Virtual Asset Market Outlook' report published on the 19th by Korbit Research Center, a subsidiary of Korbit, a virtual asset exchange, analyzed the major trends and potential risks of the virtual asset market from various angles. It also highlighted new opportunities and challenges that arise in the process of virtual assets converging with traditional finance. The report selected four core topics to understand the virtual asset market: △New regulatory and legislative environment, △Expansion of banks' participation in virtual assets, △Institutional entry of altcoins and growth of tokenized funds, and △Rise of DeFi (decentralized finance) and AI (artificial intelligence) technology.
This report also contains an interesting analysis called the 'Bitcoin Space Race'. The report predicted that a global financial competition centered on Bitcoin and stablecoins would begin in earnest, comparing it to the space development competition between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The US Bitcoin Strategic Asset Act was cited as a major factor in intensifying this competition. With global corporations and financial institutions already entering the virtual asset market, each country is expected to move to take the lead in the market.
The report also predicted that changes in the U.S. regulatory environment will have a positive impact on the virtual asset market. The analysis is that the central bank's interest rate cut and the possibility of Bitcoin spot ETF approval will provide long-term upward momentum to the market. In addition, it is noteworthy that the institutional entry of altcoins is accelerating and asset management companies are increasingly attempting to launch Solana, Ripple, and crypto index ETFs.
The tokenization of assets by traditional financial institutions using public blockchains and cooperation with DeFi are also considered important trends. The report predicts that these changes will become the central axis of financial innovation, and that the combination of AI technology will further accelerate the changes in the virtual asset market. Choi Yoon-young, head of Korbit Research Center, said, “In a bull market like the current one, it is essential to understand the structural changes in the market and closely analyze external factors from a long-term perspective,” and added, “I hope this report will help you understand the trends in the virtual asset market and prepare for the future.”
