By Mark Greenberg, Global Head of Consumer Affairs at Kraken
This year promises a deeper integration of crypto into traditional financial strategies, driven by growing trust, accessibility and innovation. Here are my six priority themes for the coming year.
1. Crypto becomes a must-have in the ideal investment portfolio
Crypto’s historic asymmetric return profile makes it increasingly difficult for investors to justify not having it in their portfolios.
In 2025, strategies such as dollar cost averaging (DCA), which allow investors to start small and gradually increase their holdings, will continue to gain traction. I expect approaches to gradually familiarizing the asset class to accelerate in the new year.
2. Crypto platforms strive to offer their clients medium to long-term wealth creation strategies, with trust being the key differentiator.
In 2025, crypto exchanges and platforms will shift their product strategy to offer customers medium and long-term wealth creation strategies. The basis of these services will be to generate a return on stable assets, with more sophisticated products and services layered on top.
Given the lessons learned from the last cycle with the collapses of FTX, Celsius and Voyager, clients will emphasize trust, security and platform longevity when choosing how to access these opportunities.
3. Stablecoin market sees first real challenges for incumbents, and users are the main beneficiaries
It’s no secret that the stablecoin business is dominated by Tether and USDC. In 2025, they will face real competition for the first time, with the launch of a new generation of stablecoins offering regulatory and regional advantages over the big two.
Increased competition will be a boon to users, who will have more tools to manage digital fiat currencies, while adopting alternatives can help manage the counterparty risk of stablecoin issuers.
4. Bitcoin Seeks More Interest as Inflation Rebounds
Some analysts predict that inflation could remain above the Fed’s 2% target. After the last few years, everyone in the West now has first-hand experience of what a not-so-steady erosion in the value of fiat currency looks like, for the first time since the 1970s.
Bitcoin’s strictly fixed supply – which even gold cannot deliver – could lead to an even greater appreciation of its deflationary value proposition. This could spur further adoption as investors seek reserves of valuable assets that protect their wealth against continued devaluation of fiat currencies.
5. Cryptocurrency markets are becoming less volatile
Over the past decade, the volatility of cryptocurrencies has generally been on a downward trend. This is because greater adoption has led to more liquidity, making the market less susceptible to violent price swings in either direction.
We anticipate that cryptocurrency volatility may continue to decline now that ETFs have made exposure to cryptocurrencies accessible to more investors than ever before. This could make crypto a more attractive proposition for investors further along the risk appetite curve (and serve as a tailwind for strategies like DCA).
6. The next generation of crypto-based banking reaches the masses
We have already started to see new investment products – like money market funds – being launched on different blockchains. Established financial institutions understand and exploit the efficiencies gained through the use of this technology as well as its ability to open up products to entirely new markets.
In 2025, I expect more familiar blockchain-based financial products to hit the market, including payments, high-yield savings accounts, credit cards, loans and more.
2025: Crypto grads take the main stage
In 2025, the maturation of the cryptocurrency market will usher in a new era of opportunity and stability for investors and institutions. Whether it’s the widespread adoption of Bitcoin as a store of value, the emergence of competitive stablecoins, or platforms prioritizing long-term wealth creation strategies, crypto’s influence is growing. will extend further to the financial world.
With trust and accessibility at the forefront, this transformative year is set to solidify crypto’s place as a critical pillar of the modern financial ecosystem.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Kraken or its management.
These materials are intended for general information purposes only and do not constitute investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation to buy, sell, stake or hold any crypto-asset or to engage in any trading strategy. specific trading. Kraken makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of this information and shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays. in this information or for any loss, injury or damage resulting from its display or use. Kraken does not and will not endeavor to increase or decrease the price of any particular crypto-asset it makes available. Some crypto products and markets are regulated and others are not; In any event, Kraken may or may not be required to be registered or otherwise authorized to provide specific products and services in each market, and you may not be protected by government compensation programs and/or regulatory protections. . The unpredictable nature of crypto-asset markets can result in losses of funds. Tax may be payable on any returns and/or increases in the value of your cryptoassets and you should seek independent advice on your tax situation. Geographic restrictions may apply. See legal notices for each jurisdiction here.
