Market Insights: Apr 2025 | Week2
Wavebridge Research/
Bitcoin Market Trends and Investor Sentiment in Q1 2025
The first quarter of 2025 saw a number of changes and movements in the Bitcoin market. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, saw $3 billion of its $8.4 billion in net inflows into digital asset-related products, accounting for 2.8% of all iShares ETF net inflows. This suggests continued investor interest in the Bitcoin ETF market. During the same period, Bitcoin miners produced approximately 9746 BTC, worth approximately $800 million, indicating growth in the mining sector as the price of Bitcoin remains at record highs. On the other hand, the number of Bitcoin ATMs in the United States has been on the decline, with 185 fewer in the first quarter and a further 70 removed in April, bringing the total to 29,864. In Sweden, lawmakers petitioned to consider including bitcoin in the country's foreign exchange reserves, while corporate bitcoin holdings fell from around $59bn to $54.5bn due to global market volatility. Meanwhile, Bitwise maintained its price target for bitcoin at $200,000 by the end of 2025, citing the possibility of the US dollar losing its reserve currency status. The strategy maintains an unrealised profit of around 14.62% on its more than 520,000 bitcoin holdings, but faces the risk of returning to its principal level in the event of a price drop. In addition, the Bitcoin network's hashrate surpassed 1 zettahash per second (ZH/s) for the first time ever, but miner revenue fell to its lowest level ever, and network difficulty adjusted to an all-time high of 121.5 trillion (T).
Ethereum’s Value Debate and the Rise of New Crypto Instruments
Frax founder Sam Kazemian pointed out that despite Ethereum being designed to be a digital gold, silver, and oil, its actual utility has not been linked to price appreciation since the EIP-1559 upgrade, as it switched to a valuation model similar to tech stocks. Meanwhile, Bitcoin staking project Babylon launched its Layer 1 blockchain “Genesis”, offering Bitcoin holders a return on asset utilisation, with rewards split 50/50 between Bitcoin and native token “BABY”. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approves an options contract for an Ethereum ETF, with the possibility of allowing staking, while Switzerland-based 21Shares prepares to list a Dogecoin ETF. The SEC approved BlackRock's options trading on an Ethereum-based ETF, and the XRP ETF made its debut on the US stock market, trading over 210,000 shares on its first day. These moves are indicative of the overall expansion of the cryptocurrency market and its growing institutional presence.
Regulatory Shifts and Legal Settlements in the Crypto Sector
Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have filed a joint motion to suspend the appeals process and settle, indicating that the two sides have reached an agreement in principle. This signals the end of a four-year legal battle, which is expected to have a positive impact on the cryptocurrency market as a whole. Meanwhile, Solana-based Helium (HNT) surged after its lawsuit with the SEC was dismissed, with developer NovaLabs paying a $200,000 settlement and admitting no liability. The US Treasury Secretary has pledged to remove regulations that hinder the development of newer payment technologies such as blockchain and stablecoins, while Binance is seeking to return to the US market by requesting that anti-money laundering surveillance be lifted. The US Senate Banking Committee has also stepped up its regulatory efforts, with a cryptocurrency market structure bill likely to become law by August 2025, while the New York State Attorney General has called for stronger regulation of digital assets, emphasising the need for a regulatory framework at the federal level. In addition, OpenSea has called for NFT marketplaces to be exempted from securities law regulation, adding to the ongoing regulatory debate around cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
Global Expansion and National Strategies in the Digital Asset Space
Standard Chartered and OKEx are launching an MMF tokenisation trading experiment at the Dubai International Financial Centre, leveraging Franklin Templeton's on-chain technology to drive the launch of MMF tokens. Ripple announced plans to integrate its dollar-based stablecoin RLUSD with its payment solution Ripple Payments to serve as a means of inter-institutional payments and settlements. Japan's Financial Services Agency will introduce differentiated regulation of digital assets, proposing to categorise them into two types based on funding criteria: Type 1, which includes utility tokens, and Type 2, which includes Bitcoin and Ethereum. Hong Kong's financial authorities approved crypto exchange Hashiki's Ethereum staking service, paving the way for investors to earn additional returns through direct holdings as well as Ethereum ETFs. Ukraine proposed a bill to impose income taxes of up to 23% on certain cryptocurrency transactions, while Bybit regained 7% market share despite suffering a massive hack. Mastercard partnered with Kraken to expand crypto payments in the UK and Europe, and both UEFA Champions League quarter-finalists partnered with crypto firms, demonstrating the expansion of digital assets into sports. Dubai's Land Department has signed an agreement with the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority to digitise real estate, while BlackRock has decided to custody some of its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF assets with Anchorage Digital. Russia imposed a six-year ban on cryptocurrency mining in the southern Irkutsk region, while the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission will allow the provision of staking services to enhance the security of blockchain networks and provide revenue opportunities for investors. Lastly, Pakistan has appointed Binance founder Changpeng Zhao as a strategic advisor to its newly established cryptocurrency council, in a move to foster its crypto industry.