Trends in Digital Assets 2025

With the return of US President Trump to the White House, cryptocurrency advocates look forward to rapid changes in regulation and the soaring price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies added fuel to the debate on deregulation of crypto.

Meanwhile, less noisily, the deepening integration of digital assets into the global financial system – thanks, in part, to regulatory developments alongside soaring investor demand and a greater understanding of the potential of cryptoassets as an asset class – was one of the main capital markets trends in 2024.

With the origin of cryptocurrencies firmly rooted in retail markets, however, greater institutional interest in cryptoassets is exposing regulatory and structural shortfalls that must be addressed if wider and timelier institutional uptake of cryptocurrencies is to take place.

While financial institutions have largely been exploring cryptocurrencies since 2017, the biggest roadblock to greater adoption of crypto assets and overall maturation of the industry at an institutional level is uncertainty, with some financial institutions reluctant to fully embrace it in the face of regulatory and structural ambiguities.