February 2025 State of The Crypto Market
The year began with such high hopes. The first self-proclaimed pro-crypto U.S. president had taken office, promising clear regulations and even floating the idea of a strategic Bitcoin reserve. The crypto industry braced itself for a new era of legitimacy, believing that the years of regulatory uncertainty and market volatility would finally give way to structured, mainstream adoption.
And then, just as we all envisioned, the President of the Free World launched a memecoin.
The spectacle didn’t stop there. Dave Portnoy, a well-known retail trading influencer, became one of the loudest voices in the space, shilling memecoins to his millions of followers—openly declaring that he would dump on them. And yet, people still bought in. Then, as if the script hadn’t already gone off the rails, the cherry on top was Argentina’s libertarian President launching his own memecoin, which turned out to be a massive extraction.
For fund managers who believe in the technology and the fundamental advancements made since Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper, this has been tough to stomach. We understand why skeptics look at the asset class and shake their heads. We’re human too. Watching an industry built on technological breakthroughs be overshadowed by casino-like speculation is frustrating. But while the noise has been deafening, the innovation remains strong.
What Has Been Built Is Undeniable
Despite the distractions, the foundational pillars of crypto continue to grow stronger:
A $1.8 trillion decentralized store of value in Bitcoin has solidified its role as a global alternative to traditional reserves, independent of government control
Stablecoins have unlocked borderless, instant transactions, providing a seamless bridge between digital and traditional finance while lowering remittance costs and expanding financial inclusion.
Permissionless borrowing and lending platforms have created a parallel financial system, granting anyone access to capital without the need for banks or credit checks.
Decentralized asset exchanges have removed gatekeepers, enabling frictionless global trade with 24/7 market access.
The world’s largest prediction market operates without censorship, allowing free-market forecasting on real-world events.
Decentralized financial rails now power global remittances, giving billions of previously unbanked individuals a functional equivalent of a bank account in their pocket.
Blockchain-based fundraising models have provided an alternative to traditional venture capital, opening capital formation to global participants without middlemen.
These are not just ideas. They are working, scaled innovations that would not exist without crypto. The space is far more than speculation—it is infrastructure that is actively reshaping industries.
Lessons From the Dot-Com Era
If history is any guide, this moment is eerily similar to the late 1990s and early 2000s. Yes, the dot-com era was filled with euphoria, speculation, and outright grifts. Pets.com as an example. Many companies failed. But the technology itself was never the problem—the strongest companies survived, and the internet became a fundamental layer of global commerce. Amazon emerged from that wreckage and is now one of the largest companies in the world.
Crypto will follow a similar trajectory. For the industry to take its next leap, crypto-based companies need to shed the label of being “crypto companies” and instead just be companies. Just as businesses today don’t differentiate themselves as “internet companies” but rather as retailers, financial institutions, or media platforms using internet technology, crypto-native companies must reach a point where they are simply functional enterprises leveraging blockchain as a backend.
We will get there.
How We Get There
The infrastructure being built today is setting the stage for that transition. It’s not just theoretical anymore—major players are beginning to integrate blockchain technology in real ways:
Stablecoins are being actively adopted in traditional finance, providing instant settlement and reduced friction.
Stripe’s $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure company, is a signal that fintech giants recognize stablecoins as critical financial infrastructure.
Bank of America’s CEO openly stating they will use stablecoins is a major shift from the skepticism expressed just a few years ago.
Crypto’s next leap won’t come from another wave of speculative euphoria—it will come from real-world adoption. The most successful blockchain applications will be the ones that seamlessly integrate into existing financial and commercial systems, abstracting away the complexity of the technology itself. When that happens, blockchain will no longer be a niche industry—it will be as fundamental to the global economy as the internet is today.
The future is bright, even if the present feels absurd. We remain focused on what’s real, what’s being built, and what will last beyond the hype cycles. Crypto is not going away—it’s just getting started.
