2025 Crypto Outlook: 300+ Predictions from Leading Industry Experts
To save you time and provide a focused view of the market, we’ve curated over 300 of the most forward-looking predictions for 2025. Each year, top institutions and industry leaders share insights that shape the future of crypto. This report brings together perspectives from ETF issuers, investment funds, research organizations, and market pioneers, delivering a snapshot of market sentiment alongside actionable insights into emerging opportunities.
The five most cited themes for 2025:
Stablecoin Growth and Adoption
Tokenization of Real-World Assets (RWAs)
Expansion of Bitcoin and Ether ETFs
AI-Blockchain Convergence
Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePINs)
2025 Crypto Market Predictions Report by insights4vc
1. Stablecoin Growth and Adoption
Prediction from Founder of Blockworks - Jason Yanowitz & Founder of Inversion Capital - Santiago R Santos
In 2025, stablecoins are anticipated to represent 10% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. This growth is expected to be fueled by the introduction of stablecoins from at least one major bank, technology company, and fintech firm, with BlackRock, Robinhood, and Meta identified as probable participants. Tether is projected to retain its market leadership, supported by strategic political alignment, while USDC’s market share, currently at 20%, is expected to decrease to approximately 15% due to the entry of new competitors such as PayPal. These advancements are likely to expedite regulatory progress in the United States and position stablecoins as a pivotal driver of mainstream adoption in payments and e-commerce.
Prediction from 21shares
Stablecoins, now surpassing $170 billion in market capitalization, are making significant inroads into global remittance markets, with notable adoption in economies like the Philippines and Turkey. As tokenized private credit gains traction, it promises to boost liquidity and enhance transparency. Platforms such as Maple Finance are at the forefront, using smart contracts to streamline operations and reduce costs. With credit ratings from agencies like Moody’s, tokenized credit is poised to emerge as a leading asset class by 2025.
2. Tokenization of Real-World Assets (RWAs)
Prediction from Coinbase
Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) surged by 60% to $13.5 billion in 2024, with forecasts estimating growth to $30 trillion by 2030. Institutions like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton are leading initiatives to tokenize government securities, streamlining settlement processes. Tokenized assets are emerging as essential collateral in decentralized finance (DeFi).
Prediction from Managing Partner at Pantera Capital - Paul Veradittakit
RWAs on-chain grew over 60% this year to $13.7B, with 70% in private credit and the rest in T-Bills and commodities. Inflows are accelerating, and 2025 may bring more complex RWAs.
PrivateCredit: Driven by improved infrastructure, Figure added $4B in 2024. More firms are using private credit to move capital into crypto.
T-Bills&Commodities: $2.67B of T-Bills are on-chain, while trillions remain off-chain. T- Bills offer better yield than stablecoins. BlackRock’s BUIDL fund has $500M on-chain vs. tens of billions off-chain. DeFi pools now integrate T-Bills, reducing adoption friction
3. Expansion of Bitcoin and Ether ETFs
Prediction from Bloomberg ETF Experts Eric Balchunas & James Seyffart
The SEC approved the first 11 Bitcoin spot ETFs on January 10, 2024, followed by spot Ethereum ETFs on July 23, 2024. These approvals mark a shift towards a more favorable regulatory stance, paving the way for altcoin ETFs, which could boost liquidity and lower barriers to crypto investments.
Bitcoin ETFs are projected to surpass gold ETFs in assets, potentially by 2025. Currently, Bitcoin ETFs hold $110 billion compared to $128 billion for gold ETFs, with rapid growth suggesting an earlier crossover.
A more libertarian SEC leadership is likely to approve altcoin ETFs, potentially including XRP, Solana (SOL), and Hedera (HBAR), expanding the scope of crypto-based investment products.
If you wish to delve deeper into Bitcoin Spot ETFs, we recommend reviewing our previous article published last month. Below are the metrics for ETFs as of January 8, 2025:
Prediction from Bitwise
Inflows into Bitcoin ETFs are expected to exceed the record $33.6 billion gathered in 2024. This growth will be driven by major wirehouses like Morgan Stanley and Bank of America enabling broader client access to crypto products. As investor confidence grows and larger portfolio allocations to Bitcoin become standard, ETF inflows are predicted to accelerate, mirroring the adoption curve seen with gold ETFs in previous decades.
4. AI-Blockchain Convergence
Prediction from Vaneck
AI agents drive onchain growth, surpassing 1 million deployed agents by 2025. These agents optimize DeFi yields, automate tasks, and interact across gaming and social media. Platforms like Virtuals Protocol facilitate AI development, expanding agents’ roles from finance to gaming and marketing, generating significant revenue and engagement.
Prediction from Managing partner at Dragonfly Capital - Haseeb Qureshi
AI agents will adopt stablecoins for seamless peer-to-peer transactions, particularly as stablecoin regulations loosen. This will extend to major corporations running AI agents, leveraging stablecoins over traditional banking systems for simplicity and flexibility.
Decentralized AI training and inference will expand, driven by projects like ExoLabs, NousResearch, and PrimeIntellect, fostering alternatives to centralized AI models. NEAR Protocol is pushing for a fully permissionless AI stack.
AI-powered wallets will revolutionize UX by automating complex tasks—bridging, trade optimization, reducing fees, and mitigating scams—providing seamless cross-chain experiences. By 2026, this automation will diminish the significance of blockchain network effects as users stop interacting directly with chains.
5. Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePINs)
Prediction from Multicoin Capital
A national standard for autonomous driving (AD) is expected under Trump, boosting AD and robotics-based DePINs. As GPU clusters scale past 100,000 H100s, AD will hit real-world readiness. Startups, funded by non-crypto VCs, may adopt DePIN to offload risk. Early adopters will collect crucial robotics data. Frodobots is one such startup; expect more to follow. Hivemapper explores similar ideas.
Prediction from Framework Ventures Co-Founder - Vence Spencer
DePIN focused on energy—led by projects like Glow and Daylight—will match blue-chip DeFi platforms in transaction fees. This reflects growing adoption of blockchain solutions to manage and monetize energy distribution.
2025 Crypto Market Predictions Report by insights4vc
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Risk Disclaimer:
insights4.vc and its newsletter provide research and information for educational purposes only and should not be taken as any form of professional advice. We do not advocate for any investment actions, including buying, selling, or holding digital assets.
The content reflects only the writer's views and not financial advice. Please conduct your own due diligence before engaging with cryptocurrencies, DeFi, NFTs, Web 3 or related technologies, as they carry high risks and values can fluctuate significantly.