Digital assets have become a bit more mainstream in recent years. The SEC’s approval of 11 spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in January 2024 was viewed as a symbolic move, capping off the trend toward broader acceptance among both institutions and individual investors of cryptocurrency as a legitimate asset class. In addition, volatility levels for major cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and ethereum, have declined to some extent over the past several years. But any complacency quickly came to an end in September 2025 as traders started selling off their positions and margin calls triggered additional selling.
By the end of the year, bitcoin was trading about 30% below its all-time high, and ethereum had dropped about 40% below its peak. Digital assets have become a bit more mainstream in recent years. The SEC’s approval of 11 spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in January 2024 was viewed as a symbolic move, capping off the trend toward broader acceptance among both institutions and individual investors of cryptocurrency as a legitimate asset class. In addition, volatility levels for major cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and ethereum, have declined to some extent over the past several years.
But any complacency quickly came to an end in September 2025 as traders started selling off their positions and margin calls triggered additional selling. By the end of the year, bitcoin was trading about 30% below its all-time high, and ethereum had dropped about 40% below its peak. The recent dynamics highlight how regulatory and macro factors can keep the crypto market speculative even as mainstream acceptance grows.
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