February: Bybit hack and return focus to operational risk
In February, the market was once again reminded how important security is. On February 24, about $1.4 billion was stolen from the Bybit exchange. It is one of the largest attacks on a crypto exchange so far.
U.S. officials have linked the attack to North Korean actors. They warned that stolen coins are likely to be tracked through a network of addresses and intermediaries, making it even more difficult to track funds onchain.
The point for serious gamers was not “don’t use crypto”. The point was that counterparty risk and custody decisions carry enormous operational risk. Exchange risk, wallet provider, method of signing transactions, rules regarding withdrawal of funds, etc. All of this can become a problem overnight. The blockchain can work normally, the hashrate can be stable, but if the centralized intermediary goes down, then the problem is outside the blockchain itself.
Source: cointelegraph
April: Customs
In early April, tensions over tariffs and trade relations intensified. Global markets have reacted with a decline, and so has the crypto sector. Crypto-related stocks fell, with Bitcoin touching its lowest level of the year.
The decline confirmed something that became evident in 2025. Big capital no longer views crypto as a separate world. When funds reduce exposure to risky assets, they sell both stocks and crypto. At such moments, Bitcoin behaves like an asset with higher fluctuations than classic indices.
This means that crypto is increasingly associated with global macro movements. As institutional money enters through funds and regulated products, the price reacts more quickly to news about trade policy, interest rates, and liquidity in the market. Volatility no longer comes only from onchain events, but also from decisions made by governments and central banks.
Source: cointelegraph
July: GENIUS Act
On July 18, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act. With this law, dollar-pegged stablecoins were given a clear federal regulatory framework in the US.
The law defines the basic rules for issuance, reserves and supervision. Tokens that meet the conditions come under federal supervision. This means clearer rules about what must be behind a stablecoin and how those reserves are controlled.
For issuers, this brings more clarity, but also more obligations. They must show precisely how they hold reserves, how they report and under what supervision they are. The legal grey area is decreasing, but the cost of compliance is increasing.
For users, this means greater certainty that the stablecoin is actually backed by dollars or equivalent, and that there is a regulator to monitor this. This makes stablecoins a more serious tool for payments, trading, and transfers of value, both within the US and globally.
Source: cointelegraph
Summer and autumn: Stablecoins enter the center of the financial system
In August, Circle, the issuer of USDC, announced the price of its public offering of shares. It was one of the most important moments for the stablecoin sector to date, as the company emerged from that space in front of the broader capital market.
The move shows that stablecoins are no longer seen just as a trading tool on exchanges. They are increasingly treated as a regulated payment infrastructure, with a real role in the financial system and the interest of institutional investors.
Regardless of the attitude towards an individual issuer, the direction in 2025 was clear. Stablecoins are no longer a side tool within cryptos. They are becoming part of serious discussions about financial regulation, part of the plans of fintech companies, and part of the broader story of digital payments.
Source: cointelegraph
October: Records and a huge inflow of capital
In early October, Bitcoin set a new record and briefly traded above $125,000. Institutional investors increased positions, and capital entered heavily through crypto-related exchange-traded products, especially those listed in the US.
Global crypto funds have seen the largest weekly inflows in history. Much of that money came through regulated products that track the price of Bitcoin. The market seemed to have unlimited momentum.
But the growth did not last long. Within a few days, there was a sharp drop in price. A wave of forced closures of leveraged positions was launched, with total liquidations exceeding $19 billion. It was one of the largest such events in the history of the crypts.
October showed how sensitive the system is to leverage and automated liquidation mechanisms. When the price goes up, funds and ETFs further boost demand. When the decline starts, the same structure accelerates sales.
Interestingly, one of the most vocal critics of Bitcoin was still Peter Schiff. Throughout 2025, he publicly repeated that Bitcoin had no value, while at the same time billions of dollars were entering the market.
Source: cointelegraph
What to remember from 2025
The year did not have one big story that overshadowed everything. Instead, we got a series of events. Hacking, regulatory changes, market infrastructure upgrades, and the ever-increasing interconnection of traditional finance and onchain systems. This has changed who participates in the market, how risk spreads and what mass adoption means in practice.
Operational risk can no longer be ignored. Exposure to crypto today includes asset custody, partner reliability, access controls, and how the infrastructure is set up. The security of a coin depends not only on the protocol and hashrate, but also on how exchanges, wallets and institutions function under pressure.
Crypto has fully entered a macro risk cycle. Prices are increasingly moving in line with global liquidity, interest rate expectations and general investor sentiment. Bitcoin and the rest of the market behave as part of the broader financial system rather than an isolated experiment.
Stablecoins have become part of the financial infrastructure. Dollar-pegged tokens are no longer just a trading tool. They have become regulated payment channels. The focus is on reserves, issuer structure and transparency, because without this there is no wider acceptance.
Market access has expanded faster than the discipline of risk management. Capital entry is easier than ever, but leverage still plays a big role. The market is technically more mature, but this has not reduced volatility. It has only accelerated how fast and how strongly prices can go up or down.
These four things best describe how crypto has changed in 2025 and provide a good framework for understanding what we can expect in 2026 and beyond.
