The crypto market is thriving amid a pivotal year defined by expansion and institutional engagement, according to a new report from the a16z digital assets unit of investors Andreessen Horowitz.
Andreessen Horowitz: 2025 Marks a New Institutional Era for the Crypto Industry
23 October 2025 - 09:40 CEST
The State of Crypto 2025, released this week, depicts a market characterized by rising liquidity, broader participation, and accelerating regulatory clarity – all factors that together are laying the groundwork for long-term structural growth.
Beyond speculation
The authors pointed out that market capitalization has rebounded sharply over the past year, crossing $4 trillion for the first time, while the number of crypto wallet users reached all-time highs, rising 20% during the year.
Crucially, a16z finds that the recovery extends beyond price action. Metrics such as active addresses, developer activity, and stablecoin settlement volumes have all risen, suggesting a durable expansion.
Stablecoin transaction volume surpassed $1.2 trillion in monthly onchain transfers as of mid-2025, the report found, outpacing Visa’s quarterly US payment throughput. The report also found that there are roughly 40-70 million active crypto users, evidence that the underlying infrastructure is sustaining high throughput independent of speculative cycles.
Developer participation is also accelerating. The number of active developers rose year-over-year, reversing the post-2022 downturn as investment returned to technologies such as modular blockchains, base-layer protocols, and zero-knowledge systems. These areas are now attracting both startups and established corporate R&D teams.
Institutional adoption
Institutional involvement has become one of the defining features of this year. Bitcoin and
Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) collectively hold more than $175 billion in net inflows since debuting, reshaping demand dynamics and deepening market liquidity. This represents a significant increase in onchain crypto holdings, increasing 169% from $65 billion in 2024.
Digital-asset treasury strategies where companies hold crypto on their balance sheets, have also expanded remarkably.
This participation is underpinned by improved custody and compliance infrastructure, as banks and asset managers integrate multi-party computation and audited security frameworks that meet institutional standards.
Regulation as a catalyst
Lawmakers in Washington are signaling that digital assets are entering a new policy phase. Passage of the GENIUS Act into law, which created the first regulatory framework for stablecoin governance in the US, boosted industry confidence.
The current Trump administration has embraced measures that outline rules for stablecoins, market structure, and federal oversight aimed at balancing innovation with investor protection. They were followed by Executive Order 14178, which reversed several prior anti-crypto directives and established an interagency task force to modernize US digital-asset policy.
A structural shift
Ultimately, a16z concludes that crypto’s latest expansion is being driven not by retail speculation but by sustained engagement from financial institutions, infrastructure providers, and policymakers.
“With greater regulatory clarity on the horizon, a path is clearing for tokens to generate real revenue via fees,” the report concluded. “TradFi and fintech adoption of crypto will continue to accelerate; stablecoins will upgrade legacy systems and democratize financial access globally; and new consumer products will bring the next wave of crypto users onchain.”
With liquidity strengthening, developers returning, and regulatory frameworks maturing, The State of Crypto 2025 suggests that the next phase of growth will be defined less by hype and more by integration.
