Bears, Bulls and Regulations Shape Crypto’s 2025 Aspirations

The global cryptocurrency market is capitalized at over $3 trillion. Much of that value is concentrated at the top, among a few key digital tokens.

Bitcoin, as the first and most widely recognized cryptocurrency, plays a central role in the sector’s valuation, commanding a substantial share. At its highest, bitcoin’s market capitalization has approached $2 trillion, representing roughly two-thirds of the landscape’s overall market value.

Bitcoin topped $100,000 as 2024 came to a close, but has skidded down double digits from its peak of over $108,000 around two weeks ago.

This concentration of value at the top has implications for the overall market’s volatility, innovation and the evolution of altcoins, with bitcoin often setting the tone for broader market trends. It also raises questions about the future of crypto market dynamics as new technologies and use cases continue to emerge.

With the news that the Tether stablecoin’s (USDT) market cap fell more than 1% to $137.24 billion this week, the largest decline since the crash of the FTX exchange in November 2022, understanding the impact of regulations on the marketplace is becoming crucial for businesses looking to capture efficiencies and advantages from the use of tokens such as stablecoins.

After all, USDT is supposed to maintain a stable, flat value of $1. As of reporting, the stablecoin is a smidge below that value, sitting at $0.9993. The decline comes after several European Union-based crypto exchanges removed USDT due to compliance issues with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation that took full effect on Dec. 30 (the actual law around stablecoins kicked in six months ago).

Per the MiCA regulations, stablecoin issuers must hold an e-money license in at least one EU member state in order to operate across the 27-nation bloc. Tether, which has faced controversy throughout its history, has yet to apply for an e-money license.

Read more: What Was Crypto’s Biggest 2024 Story? Hint: It Wasn’t Named Elon

The Role of Institutional Adoption

In 2025, the cryptocurrency market may find itself at a crossroads. If the bulls are right, the industry could see substantial growth, with more institutional investment, regulatory clarity and real-world use cases for cryptocurrencies. However, if the bears prevail, we may witness a volatile market, regulatory crackdowns and a continued struggle to overcome the technology’s shortcomings.

The bullish optimism surrounding institutional adoption is one of the strongest driving forces. In 2025, financial institutions, banks and even central banks are expected to play a significant role in legitimizing cryptocurrencies. Global financial giants are already eyeing blockchain for solutions like cross-border payments and settlement systems, providing liquidity for crypto markets and solidifying their utility in traditional finance.

Stablecoins — digital currencies pegged to traditional assets like the U.S. dollar — are likely to become a common mode of transaction. With major players in FinTech, like PayPal and Visa, already integrating cryptocurrencies into their platforms and experimenting with stablecoins, real-world use cases could soon be as easy as tapping a credit card.

Read also: Why Banks Might Want to Have a Blockchain Strategy

The Bearish Argument: Volatility, Regulatory Shadows

Perhaps the biggest concern for crypto’s future is government regulation. The lack of clear rules around cryptocurrencies has been a major deterrent for mainstream adoption.

PYMNTS covered on Nov. 25 how cryptocurrencies, and more specifically their underlying blockchain technologies, have gone from a solution in search of a problem to a solution in hopes of some regulatory clarity. Of course, that clarity may come when cryptocurrency companies and other firms embrace and invest in, rather than resist, appropriate guardrails for their industries.

The dynamic situation at home in the U.S. has even led to people like venture capitalist Marc Andreessen arguing that banks are cutting ties with customers on the political right, or with industries such as the cryptocurrency sector.

Writing about the issue earlier this month, PYMNTS argued that while Andreessen’s claims might resonate with the frustrations held by many corners of the cryptocurrency and FinTech sectors, the reality could be far more nuanced than a political assault on those industries.

“After all, innovation typically moves faster than regulation, and the growing strain between traditional banks and future-fit FinTech and crypto firms can also be in part chalked up to the inevitable consequence of outdated regulatory frameworks, stricter know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) standards, as well as heightened fraud risks,” that report said.