Original Title: The top 12 crypto winners of 2025: who got it right this year?
Original Author: Oluwapelumi Adejumo, CryptoSlate
Original Translator: Saoirse, Foresight News
If 2024 was the "year of recovery" for the cryptocurrency industry, then 2025 is the year when the industry's "infrastructure finally gained recognition."
This year, the emerging industry set off in January with cautious optimism and by December had clear support from federal regulations.
As a result, the narrative of the industry shifted completely from "cryptocurrency is equivalent to gambling" to "cryptocurrency is capital market infrastructure."
During this period, trading volume shifted on-chain, policy-making entered the White House's view, and large asset management companies no longer hesitated—earlier this month, Vanguard's shift in stance was the most vivid proof, as the company allowed cryptocurrency ETFs on its platform.
However, despite the record inflows of capital and legislative victories this year, the gains were not evenly distributed among all participants.
The winners of 2025 are not just those assets that saw price increases, but also the protocols, individuals, and products that fundamentally established themselves in the future financial landscape.
Based on CryptoSlate's analysis, here are the 12 clear winners of this year and their significance:
1. The United States and the Trump Administration
When discussing the cryptocurrency landscape of 2025, one cannot overlook the immense influence of the United States' shift in stance. For years, the cryptocurrency industry had been in a state of "potential exit at any moment," viewing Dubai or Singapore as potential "safe havens."
But in 2025, the United States completely closed this "exit door," and all parties within the industry were happy to accept this change. Therefore, this victory belongs not only to the United States as a jurisdiction but also to the top core forces that pushed for this transformation.
The government led by the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, achieved many long-standing demands of the cryptocurrency industry in less than 12 months, effectively "bringing the digital asset economy back home."
Multiple executive orders supporting digital assets set the tone, while its strategic victories were reflected in specific tactical measures:
The "GENIUS Act," signed on July 18, provided the first federal definition for stablecoins;
The "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve" executive order released in March sent a clear signal to global sovereign wealth funds—digital assets have become an important issue at the national security level.
Crucially, by promoting leadership changes at the SEC and CFTC, the Trump administration dispelled the fog of "regulation through enforcement."
Essentially, Trump's series of actions set the tone for the United States to "become the global cryptocurrency center."
2026 Outlook: Consolidation of U.S. Hegemony
The United States is expected to actively export its newly established industry standards. Additionally, the executive order effective January 1 explicitly prohibits the issuance of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), clearing the way for private sector innovation: the dollar will still move towards digitalization, but the issuers will be Tether, Circle, and various banks, rather than the Federal Reserve.
2. U.S. Spot ETFs
(Represented by IBIT, including ETH, SOL, XRP ETF camps)
As a primary tool for institutional entry into the cryptocurrency market, cryptocurrency spot ETFs not only "survived their second year" in 2025 but thrived even in the face of poor Bitcoin performance.
BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) became one of the top ten ETFs in the U.S. by inflow size, with its inflows even surpassing traditional giants like Invesco QQQ Trust and SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), which is the most direct proof.
IBIT Cumulative Net Inflows (Source: SoSo Value)
In addition to Bitcoin, Ethereum spot ETFs also solidified their position, becoming the "default entry point" for wealth management institutions—making debates like "not your keys, not your coins" irrelevant among institutional investors.
September was a key turning point: the SEC approved the "Universal Listing Standards." This technical but crucial policy victory significantly reduced the approval process for future products, eliminating the need to submit a 19b-4 filing for each new code.
Subsequently, the market welcomed a plethora of new products focusing on other digital assets (such as Solana and XRP), all of which performed strongly this year.
2026 Outlook: Product Diversification and Risk Reduction
With Vanguard opening cryptocurrency ETF channels on December 1, a large number of "basket asset ETFs" and "covered call ETFs" are expected to emerge. A more complete options market will begin to reduce actual volatility, ultimately allowing the cryptocurrency asset class to be accepted by conservative pension funds.
3. Solana (SOL)
In 2025, Solana completely shed its label as a "high-risk - beta asset," and the old narrative of "fast but prone to failure" has become history.
At the same time, Solana completed the most challenging transformation in the cryptocurrency industry this year: shifting from a "meme coin casino" to the "liquidity layer of the global market."
While maintaining its dominance in the cultural sphere, CoinGecko data shows that Solana has become the most followed blockchain ecosystem globally for two consecutive years (2024-2025).
Today, the Solana network no longer operates solely around speculative tokens but has become a "hub for efficient capital."
According to data from Artemis, Solana has become the core liquidity layer: its on-chain SOL-USD trading volume has exceeded the combined SOL spot trading volume of Binance and Bybit (two of the top three centralized exchanges by global trading volume) for three consecutive months.
Solana's on-chain trading volume exceeds the spot trading volume of Binance and Bybit (Source: Artemis)
Essentially, Solana has positioned itself as the primary venue for "transaction execution speed-sensitive activities." Its competitors are no longer just Ethereum but also traditional financial market platforms like Nasdaq.
2026 Outlook: On-Chain Price Discovery Becomes Mainstream
This "on-chain transfer" of trading volume marks a structural change: price discovery is shifting from centralized trading platforms to on-chain. In 2026, Solana will no longer be a "high-risk - beta network," but rather the primary venue for high-frequency, stablecoin-denominated trading.
4. Ethereum Layer 2 Network Base
If Solana's advantage lies in "speed," then Coinbase's Ethereum Layer 2 network Base excels in "user reach."
By leveraging the vast existing user base of this American trading platform, Base has become the "default choice for consumer applications and stablecoin experiments," with extremely high user stickiness.
Base's success proves that in the cryptocurrency industry of 2025, "user reach" is more important than "novel crypto technology." It has become an incubator for "mass crypto applications"—these consumer fintech applications use cryptocurrency infrastructure on the backend, but users are completely unaware of it. It can be said that Base is the bridge connecting the chaotic on-chain world with Coinbase's compliant and secure system.
2026 Outlook: The Rise of "Wallet-Native Commerce"
Base is expected to become the "core engine" for Coinbase's entry into the merchant payment space next year, and "wallet-native commerce" (business activities based on crypto wallets) may become a new trend in the industry.
5. Ripple and XRP
After years of legal troubles, 2025 finally became the year of "freedom regained" for Ripple and XRP.
The protracted legal battle between Ripple and the SEC concluded with a final ruling, clearing the way for institutional adoption of XRP.
As a result, the narrative around XRP shifted overnight from "litigation-risk asset" to "liquidity engine," driving its price up and paving the way for the launch of the first XRP spot ETFs in November.
Daily Fund Flows of XRP Trading Platform ETFs (Source: SoSo Value)
Meanwhile, Ripple made significant acquisitions in traditional financial infrastructure this year: in 2025 alone, Ripple invested over $4 billion in strategic acquisitions, including the notable purchases of wholesale brokerage Hidden Road, treasury management firm GTreasury, and stablecoin infrastructure provider Rail.
These moves have completely transformed Ripple from a "payment company" into a "full-stack institutional giant."
2026 Outlook: Integrating Traditional Finance with the Crypto Ecosystem
The "ETF-ification" of XRP is just the beginning. With legal risks dissipating and Wall Street products coming to fruition, 2026 will be a "year of integration": Ripple's newly acquired treasury management and brokerage divisions are expected to begin cross-promoting the RLUSD stablecoin to Fortune 500 companies, ultimately bridging the gap between Ripple's ledger and corporate balance sheets.
6. Zcash and the Privacy Coin Sector
The resurgence of Zcash and the entire privacy coin sector is the most surprising "comeback story" in the cryptocurrency industry of 2025.
As the best-performing sector of 2025, privacy coins have shed the stigma of "illegal use" and have become the darlings of the "post-surveillance economy."
Outstanding Performance of Privacy Coins in 2025 (Source: Artemis)
Although Zcash is the leader of this resurgence, this momentum has spread across the entire privacy coin sector: Ethereum developers are accelerating privacy-related initiatives, and other privacy solutions have finally seen practical applications on the mainnet.
Moreover, the "thawing" of the regulatory environment is also quite evident—the SEC held its first formal meeting with privacy protocol leaders to discuss the construction of compliance frameworks. This was unimaginable just a year ago.
2026 Outlook: The Birth of "Privacy DeFi"
It is expected that in 2026, the privacy coin sector will experience "differentiation": privacy will become a "high-end feature" for compliant institutions. Wall Street will actively adopt these "selective disclosure tools" to prevent MEV (Maximum Extractable Value) front-running and protect the confidentiality of proprietary trading strategies.
7. Asset Tokenization (RWAs)
With strong support from the SEC's friendly stance, Real World Assets (RWAs) have transitioned from "pilot projects" to "core infrastructure" in the cryptocurrency industry.
The SEC has ceased its hostile enforcement approach, allowing large institutions to confidently integrate these assets without worrying about receiving a "Wells Notice" (a precursor to an SEC enforcement investigation).
The BlackRock BUIDL fund being accepted by Binance as "off-chain collateral" marks a watershed event in this field—it blurs the lines between traditional finance (TradFi) and cryptocurrency market structures.
By December, the asset management scale (AUM) of tokenized money market funds and U.S. Treasury bonds had exceeded $8 billion, while the entire RWA market was approximately $20 billion.
RWA Assets (Source: RWA.xyz)
Additionally, traditional financial giants such as BlackRock, JPMorgan, Fidelity, Nasdaq, and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) have high hopes for the RWA sector, aiming to enhance transparency and efficiency in the traditional financial industry through it.
As SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated, "On-chain markets will bring greater predictability, transparency, and efficiency to investors."
2026 Outlook: Enhanced "Repo-like" Efficiency
As large banks like JPMorgan and BNY Mellon continue to integrate RWA assets, a 24/7 continuous collateral market is expected to gradually form, pushing the asset management scale in this field towards $18 billion.
8. Stablecoins
The debate over the "killer application of cryptocurrency" has settled: stablecoins are the core infrastructure. In October 2025, the total market capitalization of stablecoins surpassed $300 billion; in September, the supply of stablecoins in the Ethereum ecosystem also reached a historic high of $166 billion.
In fact, data from Token Terminal shows that the total number of stablecoin holders has reached a historical peak of approximately 200 million.
Stablecoin Holders (Source: Token Terminal)
This data indicates that the growth in the stablecoin sector stems from its core capabilities of "cross-border, 24/7, instant settlement."
At the same time, legislative progress in the U.S. (especially the passage of the "GENIUS Act") has provided legal certainty for banks entering the stablecoin space.
Essentially, stablecoins are no longer just "trading chips," but are becoming the "settlement layer" of global fintech. As Open Eden founder Jeremy NG stated, "Stablecoins have transitioned from being 'infrastructure accessories' of cryptocurrency to the 'core of financial infrastructure.'"
2026 Outlook: Growth Driven by Yield
It is expected that "programmatic treasury investments" and "foreign exchange trading use cases" will become the core drivers of stablecoin growth, with the total market capitalization of stablecoins likely to reach a benchmark level of $380 billion in 2026.
9. Perp DEXs
On-chain derivatives completely broke through the "credibility bottleneck" in 2025—October saw its monthly trading volume reach a record $1.2 trillion.
This sector has become a winner because it successfully attracted a large volume of trading from centralized exchanges (CEXs): by offering "self-custody" features and more attractive incentive mechanisms, on-chain perpetual contract trading platforms have gained favor among traders.
Rising Trading Volume of Perpetual Contract Decentralized Trading Platforms (Source: DeFiLlama)
The rise of perpetual contract decentralized trading platforms (Perp DEXs) like Hyperliquid and Aster marks the maturation of the DeFi market structure. Now, traders are willing to take on billions of dollars in smart contract risk to avoid counterparty risk.
2026 Outlook: Intensified Fee Competition
On-chain open interest (OI) is becoming a legitimate macro risk indicator. However, in 2026, this field may see fierce "fee wars"—various protocols will compete fiercely for this $1.2 trillion monthly trading volume.
10. Prediction Markets
2025 was the year when "event contracts" (the core product of prediction markets) entered the mainstream market in the U.S.: the two dominant platforms in this field, Kalshi and Polymarket, both set record trading volumes.
But the more symbolic victory is that several traditional financial institutions and crypto-native companies like Gemini and Coinbase have also entered this emerging field.
Weekly Trading Volume of Prediction Markets (Source: Dune Analytics)
The reason prediction markets have become winners is that they bridge the gap between "gambling" and "finance." Additionally, Polymarket has gained a clear development path through the CFTC's revised framework, transforming "event contracts" from "niche internet curiosities" into "compliant hedging tools."
2026 Outlook: Standardization and Scaling
Event contracts are becoming a standardized asset class. As the "outcome economy" (financial activities around event outcomes) is expected to reach a nominal value of $60 billion, the infrastructure of crypto wallets and USDC fund flows are likely to see significant growth.
11. Hong Kong
While the U.S. focuses on legislation, Hong Kong has shifted its focus to "execution advantages"—data is sufficient to prove this. In the third quarter of 2025, Hong Kong's ETP (Exchange-Traded Product) market officially surpassed South Korea and Japan in terms of trading volume, becoming the third-largest ETP market globally, with an average daily trading volume of HKD 37.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 150%.
Hong Kong's strategy of "attracting the industry through clear regulation" has yielded tangible results in the trading platform sector: the Virtual Asset Trading Platform (VATP) system has evolved from a vague "presumed licensed" state into a robust ecosystem.
By mid-2025, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) had issued formal licenses to more global major trading platforms, bringing the total number of licensed trading platforms to 11. This move effectively brought institutional liquidity in the region into a "compliant, bank-connected" system while isolating unregulated participants.
Meanwhile, the "Stablecoin Ordinance," effective August 1 in Hong Kong, has created a "high-quality sandbox"—by the application deadline in September, this sandbox had attracted over 30 applications.
2026 Outlook: Becoming the Asian Settlement Center
With the first stablecoin licenses expected to be issued in early 2026, Hong Kong is poised to become the cryptocurrency settlement center of Asia. By combining the "top three ETP market globally" with "licensed stablecoin infrastructure," Hong Kong has successfully positioned itself as a "key valve for institutional liquidity in the Asia-Pacific region."
12. Early Believers (Cryptocurrency Investors)
The last spot on this list belongs to "you who have persevered"—the early believers in cryptocurrency.
In the past few challenging years, early believers have constantly heard voices claiming "cryptocurrency is a scam, a bubble, or a dead end." They experienced the industry collapse of 2022, the regulatory suppression of the "Gensler era," and the industry's silence in 2024. In 2025, their persistence was finally validated. (The "Gensler era" refers to the period when Gary Gensler served as the Chairman of the U.S. SEC.)
The significance of this year lies not just in "asset prices rising," but in the "core viewpoints being validated as correct."
As a result, these early believers successfully "ran ahead of the world's most well-known institutions": when BlackRock, Vanguard, and sovereign wealth funds made significant entries into the cryptocurrency market this year, the assets they purchased were precisely those held by these early believers during the industry's bleakest outlook, based on their firm convictions.
2026 Outlook: Transitioning from Investors to "Ecosystem Bankers"
As this group achieves "intergenerational wealth accumulation," they have not exited the crypto ecosystem but are becoming the "bankers" of the ecosystem. This group is expected to become the main liquidity providers (LPs) of the new decentralized capital markets, providing funding support for the next wave of innovations that banks have yet to understand.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
