After 300 million users, the real test begins
If we extend the timeline to a full year, 2025 can almost be seen as a year of global liquidity repricing. Major central banks are repeatedly testing the balance between high interest rates and falling inflation, with the U.S. stock market experiencing multiple severe fluctuations. Tech stocks and the artificial intelligence sector oscillate amid optimism and bubble controversies, leading to a stronger synchronization in the rise and fall of risk assets. More asset managers are incorporating crypto assets into formal allocation frameworks.
In mid-July, the total market capitalization of global cryptocurrencies surpassed 4 trillion dollars for the first time, reaching around 4.35 trillion dollars in October. This upward trend is not solely driven by narratives. The U.S. introduced a package of crypto legislation, and multiple major economies established regulatory frameworks around stablecoins and tokenized assets, providing compliance pathways for mainstream capital. CME's crypto futures and options saw a total trading volume exceeding 900 billion dollars in the third quarter, with Bitcoin futures open interest peaking at 72 billion dollars, indicating that hedge funds, macro funds, and asset management institutions have begun to regard Bitcoin, among others, as standardized assets that can be managed through futures, options, and ETFs. The spot ETF further reshapes market structure: BlackRock's IBIT surpassed 70 billion dollars in scale in less than a year, and the total assets of Bitcoin spot ETFs once exceeded 140 billion dollars, establishing a systematic funding pipeline between crypto assets and traditional capital markets for the first time.
