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Crypto officially entered the mainstream in 2025, as traditional finance (TradFi), financial technology (fintech), and global users accelerated adoption, stablecoins rivaled Visa in transaction volume, and U.S. regulatory clarity revitalized industry confidence, according to Andreessen Horowitz’s State of Crypto 2025 report.
State of Crypto 2025 Report
The annual report by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), released in October 2025, examined key trends in the crypto industry, including market growth, institutional adoption, blockchain infrastructure, stablecoins, and the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto.Â
The report concluded that the crypto industry is entering a new phase of maturity, supported by stronger infrastructure, clearer regulation, and increasing mainstream participation, based on on-chain data and a16z’s proprietary analysis.
“In the last three years, crypto builders weathered a major market drawdown and political uncertainty—but continued to make significant infrastructure improvements and other advancements. Those efforts bring us to today, a moment when crypto is becoming a meaningful part of the modern economy. The story of crypto in 2025 is one of industry maturation.”
State of Crypto 2025
Crypto Industry is Growing
As per the report, the global crypto market capitalization surpassed $4 trillion for the first time this year, with mobile wallet users climbing 20% year-over-year.Â
- Between 40 million and 70 million people are now active crypto users, while an estimated 716 million people own crypto worldwide, up 16% from last year.
Emerging markets such as Argentina, Colombia, India, and Nigeria recorded the fastest growth in mobile wallet usage, reflecting crypto’s increasing use for real-world transactions. Argentina alone saw a 16-fold rise in wallet activity amid economic instability.
The report also highlighted that this year, BTC reached an all-time high above $126,000, maintaining over half of the total market cap, while ETH and SOL rebounded strongly from prior drawdowns.
On-chain “real economic value,” which reflects fees paid for actual blockchain usage, showed that HYPE and SOL now account for over half of revenue-generating activity, signaling a shift beyond BTC and ETH dominance.
- Moreover, it noted that developer activity remained strong in 2025, with Ethereum and its L2s and Solana emerging as top ecosystems.Â
- Solana developer interest rose 78% over two years.
Crypto Adoption in Financial InstitutionsÂ
The report also emphasized that this year marked a turning point for institutional adoption.Â
TradFi players such as Citigroup, Fidelity, JPMorgan, Mastercard, Morgan Stanley, and Visa began integrating crypto products directly into consumer offerings.
- Fintech platforms like PayPal and Shopify expanded payment integrations, while Circle, Robinhood, and Stripe initiated blockchain development focused on stablecoins and real-world assets (RWAs).
The bipartisan GENIUS Act, passed earlier this year by the U.S. government, provided clear regulatory guidance, which sparked a wave of institutional announcements.Â
- Mentions of stablecoins in SEC filings rose 64% since its passage.
Meanwhile, exchange-traded products (ETPs) now hold over $175 billion in on-chain crypto assets, up 169% from 2024.Â
- BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust became the most traded Bitcoin ETP launch in history.Â
- ETPs and publicly traded Digital Asset Treasury companies now hold 10% of all Bitcoin and Ethereum in circulation.
Stablecoins Went Mainstream
“Nothing signals crypto’s maturity in 2025 more than the rise of stablecoins. In years past, stablecoins were used mostly to settle speculative crypto trades; as of the last couple years, they have become the fastest, cheapest, and most global way to send a dollar — in less than one second for less than one cent, almost anywhere in the world. And this year, they became the backbone of the on-chain economy.”
State of Crypto 2025
According to the report, stablecoins processed $46 trillion in transactions over the past year, almost triple compared to Visa’s volume and close to that of the U.S. Automated Clearing House network, a national electronic funds-transfer system that enables money to move directly between bank accounts in the country without using paper checks, cash, or card networks
- Adjusted for organic activity, they handled $9 trillion, over five times PayPal’s throughput.
Monthly adjusted transactions reached $1.25 trillion in September 2025, while total supply exceeded $300 billion, dominated by USDT and USDC, which make up 87% of the market.
More than 1% of all U.S. dollars (USD) now exist as stablecoins, which collectively hold $150 billion in U.S. Treasuries, making it the 17th largest holder globally. Even as foreign demand for U.S. debt falls, stablecoins continue to strengthen USD’s global position.
The World Is Coming On-Chain
The report stated that the on-chain economy has grown from a niche space for early adopters into a multi-sector marketplace with tens of millions of monthly participants.
- Nearly 20% of all spot trading volume now happens on DEXs.
- Trading volumes have surged 8x year-over-year, with decentralized platforms like Hyperliquid processing trillions in trades and earning over $1 billion in annualized revenue, rivaling major centralized exchanges.
Real-World Assets (RWAs)
Tokenized assets such as U.S. Treasuries, money-market funds, private credit, and real estate now total $30 billion, up by four times in two years, bridging TradFi and crypto.
Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN)
- Expands blockchain use into telecom, transportation, and energy.
- The World Economic Forum projects the sector will reach $3.5 trillion by 2028.
- Helium, a leading example, delivers 5G coverage to 1.4 million daily users through 111,000 user-run hotspots.
Prediction Markets, Meme Coins, and NFTs
Platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi surged in popularity during the 2024 U.S. elections and have maintained momentum, with trading volume up nearly fice times since early 2025.
On the other hand, over 13 million meme coins were launched in the past year, though activity has slowed (56% fewer launches in September versus January) as policy clarity and legislation steer focus toward more substantive blockchain applications.
In the NFT sector, trading volumes remain below 2022 highs, but the number of monthly active buyers is rising, which they noted as signaling a shift from speculation to collecting, driven by lower transaction costs on networks like Solana and Base.
Network Upgrades and New Frontiers
A16z stressed that these milestones stem from rapid advances in blockchain infrastructure.Â
“In just five years, aggregate transaction throughput across major blockchain networks has increased more than 100x. Then, blockchains processed fewer than 25 transactions per second. Now they process 3,400 transactions per second, on par with completed trades on the Nasdaq or Stripe’s global throughput on Black Friday—and at a fraction of the historical cost.”
State of Crypto 2025
- Solana emerged as a leader with $3 billion in annual revenue and plans to double its network capacity by year-end.
- Ethereum’s L2 networks, which include Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism, have cut transaction fees to under one cent, improving accessibility and efficiency.
Cross-chain interoperability advanced through:
- LayerZero
- Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol
- Hyperliquid’s bridge, which processed $74 billion in transactions this year
Privacy adoption is rising with:
- Zcash and Railgun gaining traction
- Paxos-Aleo’s USAD stablecoin introducing new privacy models
- The OFAC’s removal of Tornado Cash sanctions, signaling a shift toward privacy-friendly regulation
Next-generation security:
- Zero-knowledge systems and post-quantum cryptography are shaping the future of blockchain
- The U.S. government plans to adopt post-quantum security standards by 2035
AI and Crypto Are Converging
The report also recognized the rise of AI, which they noted to have opened new opportunities for blockchain.
“Among other advancements, the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 brought AI to the forefront of public attention—with clear opportunities for crypto. From tracking provenance and IP licensing to providing payment rails for agents, crypto may be the solution for some of AI’s most pressing challenges.”
State of Crypto 2025
The study highlighted developments such as decentralized identity platforms like World, which has verified over 17 million users to help distinguish humans from bots, and emerging protocols like x402, which enable autonomous AI agents to perform microtransactions, access APIs, and process payments.
However, AI infrastructure remains concentrated.
- Centralization risks:
- OpenAI and Anthropic capture 88% of AI-native revenue
- Amazon, Microsoft, and Google dominate 63% of cloud infrastructure
- NVIDIA controls 94% of data center GPUs
The report added that despite some talent migration, with about 1,000 workers shifting from crypto to AI, an equal number have moved into crypto from TradFi and tech, keeping innovation balanced.
This article is published on BitPinas: State of Crypto 2025: Industry Enters New Phase of Maturity, Reaches Mainstream Adoption
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