A Review of the 2025 Cryptocurrency Market: $290 Billion Market Cap Evaporated, Privacy Coins Soar 12 Times

In 2025, the cryptocurrency market shrank from 3.26 trillion to 2.97 trillion, evaporating 290 billion USD. The tracks are extremely polarized: privacy coins ZEC surged 1,200%, DASH increased 6 times; Bitcoin-related stocks, like MicroStrategy, fell 47%. Policy-wise, the 《GENIUS Act》 was implemented, and Circle went public, rising 9 times. October saw the largest liquidation in history with 19 billion USD in leveraged positions wiped out, and December plunged into a silent bear market.

Three Major Turning Points in the 2025 Cryptocurrency Market

January was the highlight for AI Agents and political Memes. AI16Z reached a historic high with a market cap of 2.47 USD, soaring to 2.5 billion USD, becoming the first AI token on Solana to break this milestone. On January 17, the $TRUMP official token launched, skyrocketing from under 1 USD to a record high of 75 USD within two days, with a market cap exceeding 14 billion USD at one point. Presidential issuance of tokens marked a first in this industry. On January 23, Trump signed an executive order establishing a digital asset working group, exploring a national crypto reserve, and banning the US from issuing CBDCs. Market sentiment was extremely optimistic.

However, the brutal February set the tone for the 2025 crypto market. On February 21, CEX experienced the largest crypto theft in history, with North Korean Lazarus hackers transferring about 400,000 ETH (worth around 1.5 billion USD). On February 14, Argentine President Milei issued tokens on social media, which surged to over 5 USD within 40 minutes, with a market cap reaching 4.5 billion USD, only to plummet 85% within hours, causing over 25 million USD in losses for about 40,000 investors. From February 24 to 27, Bitcoin experienced its worst three days since the FTX collapse in 2022, dropping 12.6%, with nearly 3 billion USD in leveraged positions liquidated. Meme coins were halved overall, and Solana’s TVL plummeted 30%.

July marked the most significant policy shift in the 2025 crypto market. On July 18, Trump signed the 《GENIUS Act》, the first federal regulation of stablecoins in US history. Bitcoin hit a new high of over 120,000 USD on July 14, with ETF daily inflows reaching 1.2 billion USD, setting a record. ETH also hit a new high of 3,848 USD in 2025 on July 21. On June 5, Circle rang the NYSE opening bell, with an IPO priced at 31 USD, oversubscribed 25 times. On June 23, the stock price soared to a record high of 298.99 USD, nearly nine times the IPO price. This was a highlight for crypto-native companies on US stock exchanges and a landmark event for stablecoins gaining recognition from traditional capital.

The epic liquidation in October became a watershed moment for the 2025 crypto market. On October 3, BTC was still hitting a new high of 126,000 USD, but on October 11, an epic liquidation occurred, with 19 billion USD in leveraged positions forcibly liquidated within 24 hours, resulting in the largest single-day liquidation in crypto history. Market sentiment and liquidity sharply declined thereafter. Although Naval predicted a partial rise of Zcash, the market saw no major hotspots afterward, and institutions and retail investors alike suffered incalculable losses in this wave.

Countertrend Surge of 1,200%: The Last Stand of Privacy Coins

November 2025 was disastrous for the crypto market, with BTC falling from 110,000 USD at the start of the month to 80,000 USD, a seven-month low. The total market cap evaporated nearly 1 trillion USD, dropping from 4.2 trillion to 3.2 trillion. BlackRock’s IBIT saw outflows of 2.34 billion USD in a single month, the largest monthly outflow since its inception. However, some profited during the bear market. Privacy coins unexpectedly became safe havens, with ZEC soaring from 40 USD in September to over 600 USD in November, a gain of over 1,200%. DASH also rose from 20 USD to 136 USD, increasing more than 6 times.

Such countertrend rallies are extremely rare and reflect a renewed demand for privacy protection. When mainstream assets decline collectively, privacy coins, due to their scarcity and special use cases, attract capital. Endorsements from Silicon Valley legends like Naval and Balaji also provided narrative support for this surge. They believe Zcash is “the last true privacy token and the last opportunity in crypto to deliver 1,000x returns.”

The Decisive Role of DAT Narrative Rise and Execution Power

The most important narrative in the 2025 crypto market is the rise and differentiation of digital asset vaults (DAT). MicroStrategy (MSTR) holds 671,268 BTC, but its stock price plummeted 47% from 300.01 USD at the start of the year to 158.71 USD. Conversely, successful transformation mining companies performed well: IREN surged 327% due to AI infrastructure, Cipher Mining increased 249%, Bitmine shifted to Ethereum treasury strategies with a 257% rise, and Hut 8 gained 157%.

This divergence reveals a key lesson: proximity to crypto does not guarantee profits, and brand recognition alone cannot provide protection. Companies with clean balance sheets, disciplined expansion plans, or timely shifts to AI or treasury strategies gained favor, while others struggled under price pressure, equity dilution, or changing narratives. Execution, capital strategy, and timing are equally decisive as token prices themselves.

Key Events Timeline in the 2025 Cryptocurrency Market

January: TRUMP coin surged to 75 USD in two days, market cap 14 billion USD; AI Agent sector exploded

February: CEX was hacked for 1.5 billion USD, Milei coin collapsed with a loss of 250 million USD, BTC dropped 12.6% over three days

June-July: Circle went public, rising 9 times; 《GENIUS Act》 was enacted; BTC hit 126,000 USD

October: Epic liquidation of 19 billion USD in leveraged positions, market shifted from boom to decline

November: Market cap evaporated 1 trillion USD, ZEC surged 1,200% against the trend, IBIT outflows hit 2.34 billion USD, setting records

December: Silent bear market, liquidity dried up, market fell into boredom and infighting

The December 2025 crypto market fell into a silent bear market. No narratives, only emotions. Discussions in groups are not about positions but gossip: who ran away, who scammed donations, who split the money unevenly. Some call this a “silent bear market,” slowly and silently eroding everyone’s enthusiasm. The only consensus is to wait. Wait for liquidity to return.