Encrypted Memories of 2025: Turmoil, Refinement, and Fusion

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way...

Yes, as this familiar festive music echoes through the streets, the New Year has arrived for foreigners, and 2025 is just around the corner. If I had to sum up this extraordinary year for the crypto world in one word, the first one that comes to mind would be: "tumultuous." As for which narratives have left a deep impression on me, the ones that come to mind are: the rollercoaster ride of DAT from euphoria to oblivion under Strategy's leadership; the IPO frenzy and stablecoin craze sparked by Circle's listing; the market's initial excitement followed by a cooling-off period after the approval of Altcoin ETFs; Bybit's biggest cryptocurrency theft in history; the tariff shock that caused a market crash; and that heart-stopping "10.11" flash crash...

As is customary, it's time to reflect on the past year again. Let's set aside the noise of candlestick charts, brew a cup of coffee, and slowly analyze the milestones of these twelve months, revisiting the key moments that shaped the industry as it is today.

The opening act of the crypto industry in 2025 can be said to revolve entirely around one person: Donald Trump.

In mid-January, before his official inauguration, Trump shocked the crypto world with an unexpected move—he and First Lady Melania launched their respective tokens, Trump and Melania, on Solana. This "president personally promoting" was unprecedented in crypto history, instantly igniting market frenzy. Countless traders, including many young Chinese crypto investors who acted quickly by taking advantage of time zone differences and information, flocked in, successfully profiting from this unprecedented political celebrity effect. However, as sharp criticisms of "monetizing political wealth" and "profiteering" quickly fermented in the public sphere, the frenzy came and went even faster. The prices of the two tokens soared like a rollercoaster before plummeting, ending abruptly and leaving behind a mess and profound discussions about the moral hazards of celebrity-backed cryptocurrencies.

However, this on-chain farce was just the prelude. On January 24, just three days after taking office, Trump signed an executive order entitled "Strengthening U.S. Leadership in Digital Financial Technologies," aiming to overturn the previous administration's regulatory framework and establish the "President's Digital Asset Task Force," led by David Sacks and including key departments such as the Treasury Department and the SEC. This task force mandated the design of a completely new federal regulatory framework for digital assets (especially stablecoins) and authorized research into a highly imaginative topic—exploring the possibility of establishing a "strategic national digital asset reserve" for the United States. Simultaneously, the order directly put the brakes on the development of CBDCs, explicitly prohibiting them.

If January was a celebration dominated by political narratives, then in February, the market moved forward under the pull of two forces: on one hand, the spring breeze brought by regulatory "loosening" and legislative progress; on the other hand, the jarring alarm bells sounded by the largest cryptocurrency theft in the industry's history.

Since Gary Gensler officially stepped down on January 21, the new SEC, under acting chairman Mark Uyeda, has been striving to change its public image. First, there was the "withdrawal of charges"—the SEC halted a series of investigations into leading crypto institutions such as Coinbase, Binance, and Uniswap that month. Subsequently, it restructured its crypto enforcement division, aiming to shift its enforcement focus from broad industry oversight to combating genuine criminal activity. Simultaneously, the Genius Act, paving the way for formal legislation in the second half of the year, was jointly introduced by members of both parties that month.

However, the optimism surrounding policy was shattered at the end of the month by a devastating blow. Bybit suffered the largest cyberattack in crypto history, with stolen assets valued at approximately $1.5 billion. This disaster served as a stark reminder that, no matter how grand the narrative, asset security remains the industry's most vulnerable Achilles' heel. Fortunately, Bybit's crisis management and the market's rapid recovery demonstrated the industry's resilience in the face of adversity.

In addition, the cooling of the Solana Meme coin craze is also noteworthy. Market sentiment shifted rapidly following fraud allegations against Meme coins linked to political figures such as Argentine President Milley. Meanwhile, after seven years of ups and downs, OpenSea also announced the issuance of its own token that month. According to the latest news, OpenSea plans to launch its token, SEA, in the first quarter of 2026.

In March, the market was volatile due to Trump's tariff policies, and Bitcoin once fell below the $80,000 mark. However, it was precisely in this atmosphere of caution and wait-and-see that the calculations of Wall Street and listed companies, as well as an order from the White House, composed a symphony about how "sovereignty, capital, and enterprises" entered the market on a large scale.

First, the industry witnessed a wave of mergers and acquisitions. Kraken announced its acquisition of futures platform NinjaTrader for a record-breaking $1.5 billion. Meanwhile, rumors circulated that Coinbase was in advanced talks to acquire options trading giant Deribit, with the deal potentially being even larger (Coinbase ultimately acquired Deribit for $2.9 billion, setting a record for the largest merger in industry history). Venture capital was equally active, with Sequoia Capital and others investing $400 million in the TON Foundation, and Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund MGX investing $2 billion in Binance. These deals sent a stark signal: traditional financial giants were no longer content to stand by and watch; they were waving their checks, vying for dominance in the future market.

Secondly, the "corporate cryptocurrency hoarding" trend has entered a new phase. Pioneer Strategy once again spent a staggering $2.4 billion in March to acquire 29,000 Bitcoins. More noteworthy is that this trend is beginning to spread to a wider range of publicly traded companies: GameStop's board of directors officially approved including Bitcoin in its reserve assets, and video platform Rumble, energy company KULR, and others have joined in.

Finally, and most significantly, on March 7th, Trump signed an executive order formally establishing the "US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve," providing unprecedented sovereign credit backing for the entire crypto asset class.

In addition, other noteworthy events occurred in March, such as Pump.fun and Raydium officially launching their battle for the Solana Memecoin market, Binance once again banning market makers who violated regulations, and CZ getting caught in a media storm for using former football star Ronaldinho's Memecoin to drive traffic to BNB Chain.

Aside from the escalating US-China tariff war and Trump's unpredictable rhetoric at the macro level, April was a relatively calm month for the crypto industry. There were no major upheavals, but two far-reaching events were quietly unfolding.

First, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) welcomed its new chairman. Paul Atkins, upon taking office, pledged to establish a solid regulatory foundation for digital assets in a "rational, consistent, and principled" manner, and to strive to make the United States the "best and safest" jurisdiction in the world for crypto. This stance contrasts sharply with the hardline enforcement approach of his predecessor, Gary Gensler, and paves the way for a more amicable regulatory blueprint.

Secondly, Ethereum completed another crucial strategic shift in its development history. The Ethereum Foundation (EF) unusually published three important articles in quick succession: first, it reiterated the philosophical vision of the "Infinite Garden," reaffirming its commitment to openness and decentralization; second, it formally confirmed that the focus of its technology roadmap would be refocused on the large-scale scaling of the Ethereum mainnet, setting an aggressive goal of order-of-magnitude improvements in mainnet performance over the next few years; and third, it announced the appointment of Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak as new co-executive directors, completing a smooth transition of leadership. After experiencing criticism of its L2 ecosystem and the clamor of competition, Ethereum chose to return to its fundamentals, strengthening the foundation of its "world computer" from the core protocol layer.

April was like a gentle spring rain. Macroeconomic fluctuations tested the market's maturity, regulatory shifts eliminated the biggest uncertainty, and leading public chains completed their strategic focus on the future. As the clamor subsided, the foundation of rationality was quietly laid. All of this laid a solid and profound groundwork for the upcoming, even more fervent, summer market rally.

In May, the cryptocurrency market began to heat up against the backdrop of easing macroeconomic conditions. At the beginning of the month, the suspension of tariffs between the US and China brought a boost to the market, and on the 22nd, Bitcoin broke through $110,000 for the first time in history, setting a new record high.

Behind the price frenzy, the DAT model has expanded from Bitcoin to multiple assets, giving rise to Altcoin DAT companies such as SharpLink Gaming (ETH), Upexi (SOL), and VivoPower (XRP). Furthermore, institutional entry has accelerated. Following its record-breaking acquisition of Deribit, Coinbase was officially included in the S&P 500 index, becoming part of mainstream finance. Kraken, Robinhood, and others are also expanding their reach through mergers and acquisitions and new product launches.

On the legislative front, the White House and Congress continue to advance legislation regulating digital assets in the United States. On May 5, the House Financial Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committee released a draft of the Digital Asset Market Structure Act, while the Genius Act received key procedural passage in the Senate, providing the industry with unprecedented certainty.

In addition, Ethereum rose more than 40% in May thanks to the Pectra upgrade, while the previously questioned derivatives protocol Hyperliquid quickly seized the on-chain perpetual futures market, and its token HYPE surged 75% in May.

The crypto industry in June was dominated by two parallel giant waves, clearly outlining the roadmap for the industry's penetration into the mainstream financial system.

First, stablecoins have received formal pricing from traditional capital markets for their commercial value. On June 4th, Circle, the issuer of USDC, the second-largest stablecoin, successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The market response was enthusiastic, with its stock price soaring from the offering price of $31 to $181 by the end of the month. This was not only a successful IPO, but also a referendum-like endorsement of the "stablecoin business model."

Secondly, as the DAT narrative continues to unfold, the old concept of "tokenization of US stocks" has been brought back to the forefront. Robinhood announced in Cannes that it would open tokenized trading of over 200 US stocks and ETFs to users in the 30 EU countries, and plans to migrate to its self-developed Layer 2 network optimized for RWA. Kraken and Bybit, through partnerships with Swiss compliance service provider Backed Finance, launched "xStocks," covering over 60 assets. Meanwhile, Coinbase is actively communicating with the SEC, seeking regulatory approval to conduct tokenized securities trading in its home country; and Gemini has chosen to form a strategic partnership with professional tokenization agency Dinari to jointly launch tokenized stock trading services for EU users.

Furthermore, the prediction market sector, a prime example of crypto-native applications, has also received substantial funding from top-tier investors. Polymarket and Kalshi completed large-scale funding rounds of $200 million and $185 million respectively, accumulating ample resources for a potential surge in the sector in the second half of the year.

In July, along with rising temperatures, market conditions also improved.

Fueled by the DAT narrative and institutional investment, Bitcoin's price surged past $120,000 on July 14th, setting a new all-time record. Simultaneously, the Ethereum ecosystem saw a massive influx of funds. The US Ethereum spot ETF experienced a net inflow of $5.43 billion in July, a record high for a single month. Furthermore, the Ethereum DAT narrative gained a key figure: Bitmine, the publicly traded mining company owned by cryptocurrency "die-hard bull" Tom Lee, announced a strategic increase in its Ethereum holdings. Subsequently, Silicon Valley venture capital guru Peter Thiel acquired a 9.1% stake in the company.

As market prices soared, the industry's fundamental rules were quietly being forged in Washington. During the highly anticipated "Cryptocurrency Week," Trump officially signed the Genius Act on July 18, establishing the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for stablecoins. Furthermore, rumors circulated that the government was considering an executive order allowing 401(k) retirement plans to invest in cryptocurrencies, opening up policy possibilities for connecting ordinary people's retirement funds with the crypto market in the future.

It's worth noting that the NFT sector, which had been dormant during this round of market activity centered on financial assets, is showing signs of recovery. The most significant signs are the high-profile appearance of the "Fat Penguin" IP on Nasdaq, the submission of the PENGU ETF application, and the "facelift wave" of multiple projects.

In August, the crypto market saw significant divergence. Bitcoin, after hitting a record high of $124,000 mid-month, retreated to around $108,000 by the end of the month. Ethereum, on the other hand, demonstrated strong momentum with its own narrative, breaking through $4,950, a historic high since early November 2021. Furthermore, Chainlink (LINK) saw a nearly 75% monthly increase, spurred by news of its partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In terms of policy and regulation, on July 31, SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins published a programmatic article announcing the launch of "Project Crypto," whose core is to completely reject the hostile "enforcement first" regulation of the previous administration and to promote the "on-chain" transformation of the US financial market through comprehensive reforms, attracting global companies back with a "clear and predictable" regulatory path. In the stablecoin sector, with the implementation of the Genius Act, the global stablecoin regulatory race has further intensified. Wyoming launched the first state-level fiat stablecoin, continuing its pioneering experiment in crypto legislation. Meanwhile, across the Pacific, Hong Kong's Stablecoin Ordinance officially came into effect on August 1, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority opened license applications, attracting the attention of many companies, including JD.com (although some later chose to withdraw).

Furthermore, this month also witnessed typical market farces and profound technological warnings. Kanye West's YZY token, launched on Solana, once again experienced a rollercoaster ride, confirming the high risks associated with celebrity-backed cryptocurrencies. Even more technologically disruptive was the Qubic project's "peaceful takeover," which temporarily seized over 51% of the Monero network's computing power, sparking widespread discussion about decentralization and security models.

In September, the shift in macroeconomic policies injected new liquidity expectations into the market, while within the industry, the "pipelines" to traditional capital were widened, and the strategic moves of the giants became increasingly clear.

First, a crucial turning point has occurred at the macro level. On September 17th, the Federal Reserve announced a 25 basis point interest rate cut at its FOMC meeting, marking the first rate cut in 2025. Second, the "institutional channel" for capital to enter the crypto market has been simplified and standardized like never before. The US SEC has officially approved universal listing standards for cryptocurrency ETPs. This means that as long as the token itself meets specific standards such as being traded on qualified exchanges, issuers will no longer need to undergo lengthy and uncertain case-by-case approvals when launching new ETP products, significantly simplifying the process.

Meanwhile, industry giants have launched multi-dimensional strategic deployments. On one hand, crypto-native companies are accelerating their entry into traditional capital markets: Figure, as the "first RWA stock," went public on Nasdaq, followed closely by Gemini, creating a mini-IPO boom. On the other hand, traditional financial giants such as BlackRock and Nasdaq have also announced tokenization plans, demonstrating accelerated integration. Notably, traditional financial forces from Asia, such as Yunfeng Capital, have quietly purchased over 10,000 Ethereum in just two months, their lightning-fast Web3 deployment hinting at a grander "game" unfolding.

Competition in the stablecoin sector is intensifying. Giant Tether unveiled its strategic blueprint, seeking up to $20 billion in funding and planning to launch a compliant stablecoin called USAT, directly targeting the core US market and aiming to compete head-on with rivals like Circle for dominance. In the decentralized stablecoin (DEX) space, Native Markets won the issuance rights for Hyperliquid's ecosystem stablecoin USDH. Despite controversies surrounding "pre-selection," this win demonstrates significant progress by emerging protocols in building native financial infrastructure. Furthermore, a "DEX war" erupted in the on-chain contract sector, with Aster emerging as a direct competitor to Hyperliquid.

In October, the crypto market experienced a storm ranging from macroeconomic shocks to internal liquidation, culminating in an epic crash that went down in history.

At the beginning of the month, the US government shutdown triggered market concerns, and Trump's threat on October 10th to impose a 100% tariff on China completely ignited market panic. The immense uncertainty led to a sudden tightening of liquidity, making the overly leveraged market structure extremely fragile. On October 11th, the tragedy reached its peak: the crypto market experienced an epic liquidation, with nearly $19 billion in futures contract positions forcibly closed, setting a record for the largest single-day liquidation in history. This was followed by the depegging of stablecoins such as USDe. Notably, amidst the widespread despair, the privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) bucked the trend, surging more than fourfold thanks to its unique value proposition (perhaps a hedge against regulatory uncertainty).

However, despite the turbulent market, the pace of innovation in financial products has not stopped. Following the implementation of the universal listing standards in September, institutions such as China Asset Management and Bitwise launched the Solana spot ETF, paving the way for a subsequent wave of Altcoin ETF listings.

Furthermore, the market's drama didn't end there. During the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays, Chinese memes like "Binance Life" and "Customer Service Xiao He" became the hottest topics on the BNB Chain. However, this short-term frenzy driven by community sentiment ultimately ended in the classic scenario of a price crash and losses for retail investors, becoming an absurd footnote to the major market downturn.

Finally, the turbulent month of October ended with the industry-shaking political news of "Trump pardoning CZ." While this decision was seen as a continuation of a friendly stance towards the crypto industry as a whole, it also raised widespread questions about potential transfer of benefits and the risk of future insider trading.

In November, the crypto market continued its downward trend amid the aftershocks of the October "flash crash." The shadow of the "10.11 flash crash" lingered, and the market was further impacted by the "Black Tuesday" in the US stock market, with Bitcoin briefly falling below the psychological threshold of $100,000. Adding insult to injury, a series of crises erupted within the industry: Balancer was hacked, the stablecoin xUSD unexpectedly de-pegged, triggering a crisis of confidence in the DeFi sector; meanwhile, DAT, a company that had once led the trend, began a sell-off, Huajian Medical suspended its acquisition, and Sequans sold 970 Bitcoins to repay debts. On the macro level, the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance on interest rate cuts exacerbated market concerns about liquidity. Under these multiple pressures, Bitcoin fell to $80,600 on November 21, and market sentiment plummeted. However, similar to October, privacy coins remained the "king of the counter-trend" in November.

Secondly, at the most fundamental payment layer, a silent revolution is underway. Developers and investors are shifting their focus from the speculative market to x402, a new open payment protocol developed by Coinbase. This protocol aims to support autonomous micropayments driven by AI agents, requiring no human intervention or traditional payment intermediaries, and using blockchain as the final settlement layer. Its daily transaction volume surged from less than 50,000 in October to over 2 million by the end of November. This is not merely a technological advancement, but rather a nascent "programmable economy" where value exchange is directly completed between machines (M2M).

Meanwhile, thanks to the universal listing standards in September, the cryptocurrency ETP market continues to innovate and expand, not only in the case of Solana, but also in the emergence of ETF products such as XRP and Dogecoin.

Notably, prediction market platform Kalshi saw its valuation surge from $5 billion to $11 billion in just one month, completing another massive $1 billion funding round and attracting top venture capital firms such as Sequoia Capital and Alphabet's CapitalG. Furthermore, Coinbase launched a token sale platform for retail investors, paving the way for its ambition to build a super-application that is an "all-encompassing exchange."

December saw the crypto market conclude calmly, with price fluctuations subsiding, but undercurrents were surging beneath the surface.

Within the industry, two battles concerning "discourse power" have attracted attention. The leading DeFi protocol Aave is embroiled in a governance conflict between its DAO community and development team, exposing the practical difficulties of decentralized governance. Meanwhile, the acceptance of crypto assets by traditional finance is facing a test, with global index giant MSCI proposing to exclude DAT from its mainstream indices, prompting strong opposition from Strategy.

On the regulatory front, the positive outlook continues. Trump's pro-crypto nominees, Mike Selig and Travis Hill, were confirmed by the Senate to head the CFTC and FDIC, respectively. Furthermore, the CFTC launched a digital asset pilot program, allowing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC as eligible collateral in the derivatives market, opening a compliant channel for deeper institutional participation in the market.

The most noteworthy development this month is undoubtedly Coinbase's vision for the future. With the slogan "The future of finance is on Coinbase. All in one app," Coinbase has boldly launched its era as an "all-in-one exchange."

As Christmas carols gradually fill the air at the end of the year, the cup of coffee we're reminiscing about has long since been emptied.

This year, we witnessed the dramatic start of a "presidential cryptocurrency launch" and experienced the growing pains of the "10/11" liquidation storm. These moments, whether absurd or brutal, were like high fevers, forcing the industry to build a more resilient security system and a clearer governance awareness through tempering. Beneath the surface of volatility, a clear main theme runs through it all: the crypto world is irreversibly moving from the periphery to the center, from chaos to order.

The New Year's bells are about to ring. The road ahead is not smooth, but the direction has never been clearer. Let us carry the memories, lessons, and undiminished hope of this year, and together step into a more integrated, and destined to be more exciting, new era of encryption.