Two years ago, the Terra blockchain triggered the collapse of the crypto industry as we knew it. It seemed like crypto was living through the pages of Revelation — with each falling business serving as a horseman of an unfolding cryptopocalypse. Major cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum touched $14K and $1K, while others like Solana and Binance seemed left for dead. But just as the fall of industry names like Celsius and FTX had investors saying it was “so over,” crypto found a way to be “so back.”

Bitcoin makes BIG-coin: The crypto space no longer has FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried or Binance’s CZ around, but it has new friends — more influential ones, too. Late last year, the rumor mill went wild with speculation that regulators would finally pave the way for crypto ETFs. In January, the industry got its wish with the approval of the first-ever Spot Bitcoin ETF. And not long after, regulators cleared the way for Spot Ethereum ETFs in May. With these rubber stamps, the crypto industry became credible again — but at the expense of losing its firebrand image.

• Earlier this month, ETFs holding Bitcoin became the crypto’s largest holders, surpassing wallets believed to be held by creator Satoshi Nakamoto — with the funds owning at least 5% of BTC.
• Institutional embrace also helped Bitcoin ETFs surpass gold ETFs in assets under custody, a huge milestone — with Bitcoin’s $129B AUM surpassing gold’s $125B AUM.

New Friends in High Places

Having a few rich friends on Wall Street never hurt anybody — the largest crypto ETFs are issued by giants like BlackRock’s iShares, Grayscale, and Fidelity. But crypto won another key victory on Capitol Hill as Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump clinched an election that could open up the industry.

• At the annual Bitcoin conference, Trump appeared as a keynote speaker and committed to making the US the “crypto capital” of the world — prompting hopes for deregulation and wider acceptance.
• Since Republicans swept the US election, the crypto market has rallied on optimism about the President’s SEC chair pick, as well as other pro-crypto policies.

24/7 resolve: Crypto will continue trading 24/7, all the way to the new year, but it isn’t too late to call it a great year for the industry — even if the Fed’s recent decision has put a dent in the market’s wild post-election rally. The total crypto market cap eclipsed a record $3.72T last week, led by a 130% rally in Bitcoin this year, a 50% rally in Ethereum, and a 92% rally in Solana, among others. But with crypto increasingly tethered to electoral optimism and institutional uptake, investors are curious: can this excitement continue throughout 2025?