Crypto markets progressed beyond speculation in 2025, with structural developments in regulation, decentralized finance and settlement systems laying the foundation for broader adoption in 2026, according to a new full-year report released by Binance Research.
The global cryptocurrency exchange’s analysis provides what it describes as “decision-useful” insights into how markets have evolved and where they may be headed next year.
The report comes at a time of heightened global interest in digital assets, amid volatile macroeconomic conditions including shifting monetary policies, trade friction and geopolitical uncertainties.
Despite these pressures, the total crypto market capitalization surpassed US$4 trillion in 2025, and Bitcoin reached a record high of US$126,000, although the overall market ended the year lower.
Analysts at Binance argue that 2025 was defined less by price performance and more by deeper institutional participation and infrastructure maturation, marking a significant shift in the evolution of digital finance.
A central theme in the report is the industrialization of cryptocurrency markets. Regulatory clarity, particularly around stablecoins and investment products, broadened access for institutional investors, while settlement rails and tokenized real-world assets moved from pilot stages to production workflows.
Stablecoins, cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value, emerged as a critical settlement layer in 2025, according to the research.
Their market capitalization grew by nearly 50% to over US$305 billion, with daily transaction volumes averaging more than US$3.5 trillion, and annualized volumes exceeding US$33 trillion.
This placed stablecoin transaction volumes well above those of many traditional payment networks.
The report highlights that stablecoins are increasingly used beyond trading, serving as settlement infrastructure for cross-border transfers and payment applications, and bridging traditional finance with decentralized systems.
Bitcoin, long considered a bellwether for the crypto market, continued to dominate with a market share of roughly 58% to 60%, but its role appears to be shifting. The report notes that Bitcoin’s demand in 2025 increasingly flowed through regulated financial channels rather than direct on-chain activity.
Statistics cited by Binance Research show that US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) accumulated more than US$21 billion in net inflows and that corporate holdings exceeded 1.1 million BTC.
Meanwhile, on-chain engagement, measured through active addresses and transaction counts, declined, underlining Bitcoin’s evolving identity as a macro asset used in diversified portfolios rather than purely for transactions.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) continued its transformation from incentive-driven growth to a more sophisticated market segment integrated with established financial mechanisms.
Though total value locked (TVL) in DeFi systems stabilized around US$124.4 billion, the quality and economic relevance of the capital improved.
Protocol revenues rose to US$16.2 billion, suggesting that DeFi now generates fees and outputs comparable with traditional financial institutions.
A notable trend was tokenization moving from a narrative stage to real collateral usage, with tokenized real-world assets (RWA) surpassing decentralized exchange volumes in total value locked.
This shift underscores broader institutional engagement and the practical use of on-chain finance beyond speculative trading.
Ethereum remained a leading ecosystem by developer activity and aggregated value, though fee compression and execution layer challenges persisted. Solana sustained high usage and expanded stablecoin capacity, while BNB Chain performed robustly on both retail and institutional fronts.
Layer-2 networks, which provide scalability solutions on top of Ethereum, accounted for over 90% of Ethereum-related execution in 2025, but fragmentation remains a concern.
As these rollups matured, the report suggests that value capture may shift to application layers, such as wallets, aggregators and prediction markets, rather than blockspace alone.
For 2026, Binance Research anticipates a policy-driven “risk reset” and adoption led by real use cases rather than speculative frenzy. Analysts emphasize several areas of growth:
PayFi: The convergence of digital wallets and neobanks powered by yield-bearing stablecoins.
Institutionalization: On-chain money markets, treasuries and settlement systems embedded into corporate workflows.
Value Capture: Applications that monetise user activity may outperform basic execution layers.
AI-Driven Finance: Tools that automate execution and compliance.
The outlook presumes a more supportive macroeconomic environment, including potential monetary easing and regulatory clarity, that could encourage renewed risk appetite among investors.
Binance’s 2025 review depicts a market in transition, from speculation toward infrastructure and real-world integration.
While volatility and macro uncertainty remain, the report’s emphasis on regulatory clarity, institutional access and settlement systems frames 2025 as a turning point.
If conditions evolve as anticipated, 2026 may signal deeper adoption and sustainable growth across the crypto ecosystem.
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