Recap 2025: What happened until now in Blockchain & Crypto
As we’re off into the second half of 2025, here’s a reminder of what’s happened until now in the blockchain and crypto space. We also have a look at the consequences of recent regulations and where the scene might be heading next.
In short:
- Bitcoin made a new all-time high after its recovery.
- MiCA is now in full effect across the EU.
- Institutional staking has reached new highs.
- The U.S. has passed the GENIUS Act, reshaping stablecoin regulation.
Road of recovery for Bitcoin and Ether
For Bitcoin, it has been a bumpy road until now. After dropping over 30% between January and April, it rebounded to hit a new all-time high of $111K in May. It held steady above $102K throughout June, reflecting renewed investor confidence.
Chris Kuiper, Vice President of Research at Fidelity Digital Assets, suggests Bitcoin might be in the final phase of the bull market, the “acceleration phase”: a phase historically marked by volatility and a final price surge. However, market cycles are evolving, and nothing is guaranteed.1
The 2025 road for the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum, hasn’t been stable either, but its recovery isn’t as successful as Bitcoin’s. Over the past six months, its native token Ether has lost more than $1K, with a slight recovery starting in May and steady numbers in June, moving into the $2.5K territory. Optimism persists: in 2023, it jumped from below $1,500 to over $4,000 in under a year. Can 2025 repeat this history?2
Staking for businesses is on the rise
Institutional stakeholders have been showing deep interest in crypto in 2025. Legal clarity and market maturity are unlocking opportunities for larger players. Back in 2024, 84% of institutional investors were expanding their crypto portfolios. This year, it’s 86%. Stablecoins are becoming essential tools, providing a familiar type of asset that runs on decentralized systems.3
Meanwhile, M&A activity signals consolidation and maturity. Stripe, for instance, acquired the network Bridge for $1.1 billion in February, marking its largest payment in company history.4 Robinhood completed the acquisition of the global cryptocurrency exchange early in June, introducing Robinhood’s first institutional crypto business. 5
In the EU, institutional staking now represents 52% of all crypto lending and staking activity, up from 29% in 2024. With MiCA offering clear guidelines and protections, EU banks now hold over $75 billion in digital assets.6
Regulatory Milestones in the EU: MiCA take effect
Early 2025 marked a regulatory turning point in the EU. and MiCA are now fully enforced, raising the bar for security, transparency, and operational rigor.
A compliant provider like Moonlet, aligned with ISO 27001, and SOC 2 Type II, offers a secure path forward in this new regulatory era. With a self-custodial architecture and 24/7 monitoring, Moonlet safeguards both user control and institutional integrity.
What MiCA means for staking & lending
The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), introduced in January 2025, is the EU’s first comprehensive legal framework for cryptocurrencies. It prioritizes transparency, security, and compliance to support market integrity and financial stability, ensuring consumers are better informed about risks.7
MiCA applies to about 78% of all crypto transactions in the EU, including lending, staking, stablecoins, and exchanges. Since its implementation, the crypto staking industry in the EU has changed:
- Staking participation in MiCA-compliant platforms increased by 39%.
- Regulations reduced the volatility of staking rewards, stabilizing at 5.2% on average across PoS networks.
- Institutional interest in Ethereum grew across the EU. Its staking deposits are now up by 28%.
- Validator nodes in the EU increased by 19%.
- EU-based staking platforms experienced a 31% increase in active users.
- Daily transaction volume for crypto lending in the EU grew by 21%.6
Regulatory crypto milestones in the U.S.
Political dynamics are shaping market sentiment in the U.S. Donald Trump’s second administration has pushed crypto innovation, particularly through the GENIUS and STABLE Acts. While some welcome lighter oversight as a growth catalyst, others raise concerns about reduced accountability and market stability.10
GENIUS & STABLE Act
Recent regulations in the U.S. are expected to primarily affect stablecoins, e.g., USDC and USDT, backed by the U.S. dollar.
The U.S. GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S), passed in June 2025, focuses on the consumer and financial protection aspect of stablecoins, creating a robust structure for their regulation. It sets standards for transparency and reserve backing, blocks abuse, and lowers systemic risk.
Several predictions have been made about its impact:
- Stablecoins might experience higher consumer trust.
- The market might be more stable.
- Developers and investors will have a detailed compliance roadmap.
- Financial transparency and national security will be guaranteed.
- Dollar-linked stablecoins might be adopted more broadly, possibly strengthening the U.S. dollar.
- The stablecoin market is expected to expand to $2.5 trillion by 2030.11
On the other hand, similar to other regulations, smaller innovators may struggle to meet the standards due to compliance costs. Privacy advocates warn that the GENIUS Act lacks clear protections for anonymity and may increase surveillance risks.
Also, the GENIUS Act is considered too weak. Critics argue it lacks strong privacy safeguards. Traditional banks and some policymakers prefer the stricter STABLE Act: a broader regulatory regime for stablecoins, which aims to regulate stablecoins like banks.
The ongoing debate reflects the struggle between innovation, transparency, and oversight.12
SEC offers clarity on staking services
On May 29, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued new guidance on crypto staking, aiming to provide greater regulatory clarity.
Solo staking, delegated staking, and custodial staking, when aligned with a blockchain’s consensus mechanism, are not considered securities offerings. This means that rewards earned from running validators or participating in consensus are recognized as service-based compensation, not as profits from the work of others. Node operators and stakers can now engage with greater clarity and confidence. It’s a meaningful step forward for Proof-of-Stake networks.
However, liquid staking, restaking, or complex hybrid models remain unaddressed. Custodians of those instruments still need clarity.13
Moonlet’s journey so far in 2025
As the Web3 ecosystem evolves, we continue to support our community with robust, compliant infrastructure:
- Validator network expansion: We’ve added new validator nodes across Ethereum, Solana, and Cosmos, achieving 99.9% uptime through a resilient architecture.
- Institutional staking live: Our institutional dashboard is live: audit-ready, regulation-compliant, and equipped with real-time analytics for secure, high-volume staking.
- Regulatory alignment and security: Moonlet complies with industry standards such as ISO 27001, and SOC 2 Type II and ensures product security with Quantstamp to provide secure staking.
- Branding and website redesign: We redesigned our brand and our web! In collaboration with the startup branding agency The Branx, we’ve recently completed this milestone. Our fresh visual identity speaks excellence, clarity, and trust and is built to reflect who we are: a constellation for growth, mapping the future of Web3.
Sources
1 https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/trading-investing/crypto-midyear-outlook-2025
2https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-flashes-altseason-signal-eth-price-4-1k
3https://tmr.vc/writing/2025/04/09/cryptos-institutional-breakthrough-2025-marks-a-pivotal-moment
4https://stripe.com/ae/newsroom/news/stripe-completes-bridge-acquisition
5https://newsroom.aboutrobinhood.com/robinhood-completes-acquisition-of-bitstamp/
6 https://coinlaw.io/impact-of-mica-on-crypto-lending-and-staking-statistics/
8https://www.eiopa.europa.eu/digital-operational-resilience-act-dora_en
9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency_in_the_second_Donald_Trump_administration
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