What 2025 taught us (the hard way

We survived one other unhinged 12 months in crypto. Barely.

Now, earlier than we collectively sign off and contact some grass, here is a wrap-up of 2025 – the largest tales, the core narratives, and the vibe.

The 12 months of presidential rug pulls

That is the sentence historians are going to underline.

In 2025, politicians found memecoins, and the general public discovered why that is a horrible thought.

It began in January, when Donald Trump launched TRUMP. Days later, Melania Trump adopted with MELANIA.

Each adopted the identical arc:

👉 Explosive launches;

👉 Excessive insider focus;

👉 Large charge extraction;

👉 Then brutal collapses that wiped retail.

And it wasn’t simply the US.

In Argentina, President Javier Milei publicly supported LIBRA, which pumped, crashed, and detonated right into a nationwide scandal dubbed Cryptogate – full with lawsuits, investigations, and worldwide embarrassment.

After these cash launched, presidential memecoins grew to become a style:

👉 Sitting presidents launching tokens;

👉 First households monetizing consideration;

👉 Nationalist branding was on-chain liquidity.

And spoiler alert: most of these initiatives rugged.

Supply: @bored2boar

The 12 months governments stopped preventing Bitcoin

Whereas memecoins have been embarrassing everybody, one thing critical occurred on the identical time.

In March, the US authorities formally created a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, treating BTC as a sovereign asset.

That was an enormous change: Bitcoin went from speculative danger → nationwide balance-sheet consideration.

And others took notes – nations like El Salvador, Bhutan, the UAE, Pakistan, and Singapore all began positioning Bitcoin as a strategic asset.

Supply: @SimplyBitcoinTV

The 12 months Bitcoin broke $100K

Positive, this sounds unusual given the present market scenario – nevertheless it was actually a giant 12 months for Bitcoin.

In 2025, it set a brand new all-time excessive above $126K.

…. Then actuality checked in.

A brutal liquidation cascade adopted, and it worn out billions + reminded everybody (once more) why leverage is a loaded weapon. Costs got here down laborious, volatility spiked, and sentiment flipped.

However Bitcoin did not collapse; it reset.

For a lot of the 12 months:

👉 BTC stayed structurally robust;

👉 Dips have been violent, however patrons confirmed up;

👉 The “Bitcoin as a sovereign-grade asset” narrative held.

Altcoins, alternatively? Not so fortunate.

Exterior some short-lived rotations, most alts by no means reclaimed earlier highs, and liquidity stayed concentrated in BTC.

So, it was a Bitcoin-led 12 months.

The 12 months stablecoins grew up

👉 Within the US, the GENIUS Act was handed, and it gave banks and issuers clear guidelines overlaying reserves, disclosures, and who’s allowed to problem stablecoins.

👉 In Europe, stablecoin guidelines beneath MiCA started taking impact.

👉 In locations like Singapore and Japan, regulators tightened licensing and expanded bank-issued stablecoin pilots.

👉 Throughout rising markets, stablecoins grew to become what they have been all the time purported to be: a sensible option to entry {dollars}.

The consequence was delicate however large.

TradFi began taking part. New regulated stablecoins launched. And stablecoins themselves modified standing from area of interest crypto plumbing to precise monetary infrastructure.

Supply: @WhiteHouse

The 12 months hacks hit biblical ranges

Crypto safety had its worst 12 months ever.

$3.4B+ in crypto was stolen in 2025. This consists of the Bybit hack, the place $1.5B was stolen (the biggest crypto theft on file).

The dominant actors have been state-linked hacking teams, working with endurance, assets, and geopolitical incentives.

All year long, safety incidents expanded past outright thefts to insider compromises, arrests, and cross-border investigations involving a number of regulation enforcement companies directly.