The 2025 virtual-asset market is marked by policy changes, record highs, and major incidents, making it a year of significant issues. Amid a shift toward a crypto-friendly stance and regulatory integration in the United States, market structures have become unsettled. On January 25, The Block reported that former President Donald Trump granted a full pardon to Ross Ulbricht, signaling acceptance of symbolic demands from the crypto industry.
He formalized the establishment of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, pursuing a national stockpile policy backed by roughly 200,000 BTC held by the government. The Treasury and Commerce departments were directed to devise additional BTC-procurement options. In legislation, the House advanced the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act; the GENIUS Act was enacted into law. The Senate moved to repeal tax-reporting requirements for DeFi, easing regulatory burdens on the industry.
The SEC eased listing standards for crypto ETFs, accelerating the launch of SOL- and XRP-based spot ETFs. The Ripple-SEC litigation concluded, effectively establishing XRP’s legal status. There were large-scale capital movements within the market. Ultra-long-term holders who had Bitcoin since the Satoshi era began sold heavily, releasing billions of dollars in exposure into the market.
Conversely, Strategic, formerly MicroStrategy, boosted its Bitcoin holdings to over 3% of the total supply, solidifying its status as a leading digital asset treasury company (DAT). In February, Bybit experienced the largest exchange hack, with more than $1.4 billion of Ethereum stolen. In October, a major deleveraging event led to the liquidation of more than $20 billion in positions, and Binance paid $28.3 million in compensation related to certain product de-pegging. Additionally, meme-coin controversies, politician-linked token issuances, volatile moves in crypto company stock prices, and a rapid cooling of the DAT craze marked 2025 as a year of simultaneous policy, market, and tech risks.
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