CoinShares CEO Predicts 2025 as a Milestone Year for Crypto Shifting to Utility
CoinShares anticipates 2025 will be a strong year for cryptocurrency, highlighted by Bitcoin reaching new highs and institutional as well as media discourse adopting a more constructive tone. The company views a focus on price action as a distraction from more substantive progress in the crypto market.
According to CoinShares, digital assets are increasingly being integrated into the traditional financial system as augmentations rather than replacements of core financial infrastructure. Progress in 2025 is expected to emphasize technology and adoption, with attention shifting away from speculative behavior towards real-world utility and measurable value derived from protocols and applications.
Examples of this evolution include Chainlink's role in connecting networks to benchmark providers and the rise of mature consumer prediction markets such as Polymarket and Kalshi, which have demonstrated product-market fit and partial regulatory acceptance. In the United States, spot Bitcoin ETFs are achieving mainstream adoption, influencing perceptions through growing familiarity rather than hype.
Looking ahead to 2026, adoption is expected to outweigh macroeconomic catalysts. App-based retail savings may begin to compete with bank deposits, and services related to stablecoin settlement, custody, and trading could expand. Winners in this phase are projected to be defined by their economic functions, with Bitcoin operating as a global non-sovereign asset, stablecoins serving as settlement rails, and tokenized financial products progressing from pilot stages to actual issuance. Decentralized finance (DeFi) is anticipated to increasingly reflect traditional finance.
Regulatory developments are regarded as enabling scalability, with progress in the U.S. clarifying frameworks for stablecoins and tokenized assets. Europe is also pursuing pragmatic regulation aimed at attracting long-term institutional capital. Despite ongoing cycles featuring micro-bubbles and some project failures, the overarching trend points toward utility, cash flow generation, and integration into the real economy. The year 2026 may mark a consolidation of digital assets firmly within the real economic landscape.
