‘Tis the season for “biggest story of the year” articles, and when it comes to crypto, the choice in 2025 wasn’t difficult. The obvious choice is Wall Street’s full embrace of crypto, which has seen banks and major corporations trip over each other to show they are running out of stablecoins and tokenized assets. But look a little closer and you’ll see that 2025 presents another major, but more subtle, trend: the continued expansion of DeFi and decentralized technology.
This has been reflected in the enormous growth of DeFi platforms like Hyperliquid and in Coinbase’s decision last week to add Jupiter, one of Solana’s leading decentralized trading aggregators, to its app. Such developments have helped decentralized exchanges acquire a larger share of overall cryptocurrency trading volume, with degens now accounting for a double digital share of the spot trading market.
The CEO of Maple Finance, one of the major players in the decentralized space, went so far as to claim this week that “DeFi is dead,” implying that on-chain trading has become so big that it is on the verge of completely swallowing conventional systems. I wouldn’t go that far (at least not for a few years), but you get the point.
The CEO’s remark also highlights how, in the coming years, we may face confusion over what exactly the term decentralized means. For long-time blockchain enthusiasts, the term implies the use of blockchain technology to build more democratic alternatives to powerful institutions, including big banks, but also Google and Facebook. But if this is the promise of crypto, what should we make of JPMorgan and BlackRock launching new on-chain money market funds accessible to those with $5 million or more to trade?
It is of course a victory that blockchain technology has proven so effective that the most respected names in traditional finance are using it. Still, it’s hard to get excited about giant corporations using blockchains to launch commercial paper when the original goal was to democratize large swathes of society and the economy. The situation is reminiscent of the joke: “They promised us flying cars, instead we got 140 characters.” »
Jeff John Roberts
jeff.roberts@fortune.com
@jeffjohnroberts
DECENTRALIZED NEWS
Coinbase offers stock trading: The company says its move into equities will allow it to build a bridge to the era of tokenization. Coinbase also launched prediction markets in partnership with Kalshi, intensifying its direct competition with Robinhood. (Fortune)
Here are the big banks: The country’s eight largest banks are investing tens of millions in a new nonprofit that will “tell the story of banking” — a clear response to massive lobbying efforts by crypto companies and one that could make it more difficult to push for new blockchain legislation. (Axios)
North Korea’s record: The notorious military-backed hackers of the Hermit Kingdom went on their own in 2025, stealing a record $2 billion in crypto, the lion’s share of the $3.4 billion stolen in total. (Fortune)
PayPal’s difficult path: The CEO of the fintech giant said Fortune his company faces a “very classic innovator’s dilemma” as it doubles down on crypto and stablecoins to try to keep pace with its competitors. (Fortune)
Bitcoin OG is still selling: Long-time Bitcoin holders continue to unload their positions, which partly explains the continued price pressure. This move may not be a sign of a loss of confidence, but rather a sign of market maturation as one-time HODLers take advantage of the new liquidity provided by ETFs and institutional funds. (Bloomberg)
MAIN CHARACTER OF THE WEEK
Stephanie Keith—Bloomberg/Getty Images
Caroline Ellison is back in the news after former hedge fund CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was released from federal prison. Meanwhile, her former boyfriend still faces decades of hardship.
EVEN WHERE
@brian_armstrong
The federal government arrested a Brooklyn man for posing as a Coinbase employee to steal $16 million from about 100 traders. The suspect’s pseudonym “lolimfeelingevil” likely won’t help him at his sentencing hearing.
