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Pantera Capital Predicts 8 Key Trends for Crypto in 2025
Californian venture capital giant Pantera Capital expects Bitcoin-native finance and NFTs to drive innovation in 2025 as real-world assets expand and fintech platforms embrace crypto. With President-elect Trump hinting at pro-crypto policies, the industry is gearing up for a game-changing year packed with new ideas.
8 Key Trends to Watch in 2025
Pantera Capital’s managing partner, Paul Veradittakit, has shared his take on what’s next for crypto in 2025. Here’s a glimpse of what might take off this year:
Real-World Assets Surge On-Chain
Real-world assets (RWAs), like private credit, Treasury bills, and commodities, are gaining traction. In 2024, RWAs grew over 60%, reaching $13.7 billion in value. Veradittakit predicts RWAs will make up 30% of the on-chain total value locked in 2025, up from 15% as of January.
There are specialized companies that manage wallets, minting mechanisms, Sybil sensing, crypto neo-banks, and more, meaning it may finally be possible and feasible to introduce stocks, ETFs, bonds, and other more complex financial products on-chain.
Bitcoin-Fi Finds Momentum
Bitcoin-Fi protocols like Babylon are driving growth, potentially pushing 1% of all BTC into “Bitcoin-Fi.” Veradittakit notes that high returns, high Bitcoin prices, and increased appetite for more BTC assets will contribute to this trend.
Gateways
Apps like PayPal, Venmo, WhatsApp, and TON are quickly becoming key entry points for crypto users, making it easier for users to access crypto without locking them into specific protocols. Veradittakit suggests that fintech could soon rival smaller crypto exchanges in the near future.
Whether intentionally or because of their ability to support third-party apps, every fintech will become a crypto gateway. Fintechs will grow in prevalence and may perhaps rival smaller centralized exchanges in crypto holdings.
Unichain to Lead L2 Transactions
Uniswap’s upcoming network, Unichain, could become the leader by transaction volume. Veradittakit suggests that if Unichain manages to capture “just half of Uniswap’s volume, it would easily surpass the largest l2s to become the leading l2 by transaction volume.”
NFTs Will Make a Comeback
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are evolving beyond collectibles. Veradittakit notes that NFTs can be used not just as ID transactions, transfers, ownership, and memberships but can also be used to represent and value assets, leading to monetary, possibly speculative growth.
Restaking Protocols to Debut Mainnets
Restaking protocols like EigenLayer and Karak are set to launch their mainnets in 2025, potentially expanding the value and use cases of staking across multiple networks.
Bringing Web2 Data on Blockchain
A new cryptographic approach, called zkTLS, is emerging, allowing websites to validate and share their data on-chain, without revealing sensitive information. Veradittakit believes this technology could unlock significant opportunities, particularly for oracles and data services.
This is a new idea, but we predict that companies will step up to begin building this and integrating it into on-chain services, like verifiable oracles for nonfinancial data or cryptographically secured data oracles.
Crypto-Friendly Regulatory Shift
For the first time in years, the U.S. regulatory landscape appears to favor crypto. President-elect Trump has announced plans to create a legal framework for crypto, led by David Sacks, who will serve as “AI & crypto czar.” Veradittakit hopes the new environment will reduce lawsuits, clarify crypto regulations, and simplify tax considerations.
Pantera Capital’s predictions suggest that crypto might become more integrated into mainstream finance and technology. As Veradittakit puts it, these trends “will only accelerate,” making 2025 a pivotal year for crypto.
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