In 2024, many in the crypto industry got what they’d been wanting for years: mainstream recognition and a seat at the table. Now 2025 appears likely to bring some side effects of that newfound prominence.
At the start of every new year, Decrypt peers into its Crypto Crystal Ball to divine which narratives are likely to shape the next 12 months—and what those moves could mean for you.
After taking a peek at Donald Trump’s crypto agenda, the major impacts of an upcoming Ethereum upgrade, and how VCs are poised to fall back in love with the industry, here’s some perspective on how traditional finance is likely to have an unprecedented role in reshaping the crypto landscape in 2025.
Sure, 2024 saw spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs arrive on Wall Street. But if you think that means crypto has seen even an ounce of the force that America’s finance titans can muster, you’re sorely mistaken, says Ryne Miller, a veteran attorney with past experience at the CFTC, FTX, and some of New York’s top corporate law firms.
“The digital asset economy has not yet had to compete with Wall Street,” Miller told Decrypt.
He elaborated that TradFi mainstays have yet to unleash their full marketing, lobbying, and acquisition-related capabilities on the still-green crypto industry.
Due to a multitude of factors, many regulatory, 2025 is likely to bring that full attention of Sauron’s Eye on crypto. And with it will likely come much upheaval.
First and foremost, Miller expects that many TradFi firms will begin eating up smaller crypto companies at a rapid pace.
“Many of the players who sat out are going to want to catch up quickly,” he said. “They’re going to buy well-managed, responsibly run crypto companies.”
Miller added that what constitutes a successful crypto company might quickly change due to TradFi standards. Firms that make a lot of money but don’t have squeaky clean internal structures might start looking less attractive, while lesser known platforms may soon get scooped up by major financial services companies and enterprise groups.
For some time now, crypto has been drifting in two directions. The privacy and decentralization-minded projects and founders that once defined crypto’s ethos have increasingly come into conflict with blockchain companies seeking to integrate with major institutions and household brands.
Miller thinks that TradFi’s full-throated entrance to the crypto ecosystem in 2025 could finally bring about a clean rupture between those camps.
“You might see two types of crypto communities [emerge],” he said. “One is purist, and the other is more of a packaged Wall Street product.”
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