Pantera Capital, a leading venture capital firm in crypto, has shared its bold predictions for the cryptocurrency industry in 2025. Paul Veradittakit, Managing Partner at Pantera, outlined eight major trends set to shape the future of crypto.

Key Trends for Crypto in 2025

Emerging innovations driving growth and adoption

• Real-World Assets (RWA) Surge On-Chain
• Bitcoin-Fi Gains Momentum
• Fintech Gateways Lead Mass Adoption
• Unichain Poised to Dominate Layer-2 Transactions
• NFTs Expand Beyond Collectibles
• Restaking Protocols Set for Mainnet Launches
• Web2 Data Integration via Blockchain
• Crypto-Friendly Regulatory Shifts in the U.S.

Real-World Assets (RWA) Surge On-Chain

Tokenizing traditional financial products

• Growth: RWAs grew over 60% in 2024, reaching $13.7 billion.
• 2025 Projection: Expected to make up 30% of Total Value Locked (TVL) on-chain.
• Key Sectors: Private credit, Treasury bills, stocks, and bonds entering DeFi.

“Complex financial products like ETFs and bonds could soon be fully on-chain,” notes Paul Veradittakit.

Bitcoin-Fi Gains Momentum

Unlocking Bitcoin’s potential beyond store-of-value

• New Protocols: Babylon and others aim to integrate Bitcoin-native finance without bridging.
• Participation: Predicted that 1% of Bitcoin’s supply will engage in Bitcoin-Fi.
• Emerging Assets: Growth in Runes, Ordinals, and BRC20 tokens.

Bitcoin’s role may evolve into more dynamic DeFi opportunities in 2025.

Fintech Gateways Lead Mass Adoption

Fintech giants simplify crypto access

• Platforms Involved: PayPal, Venmo, WhatsApp, and TON.
• Integrated Services: Stablecoin payments, in-app purchases, and crypto transfers.
• Growth Potential: Fintech apps could rival smaller centralized exchanges.

"Every fintech will become a crypto gateway," predicts Veradittakit.

Unichain Poised to Dominate Layer-2 Transactions

Uniswap’s upcoming L2 network could lead in volume

• Current Impact: Uniswap drives significant activity on Arbitrum and Base.
• Future Leadership: If Unichain captures just half of Uniswap’s current volume, it could outpace other L2s.

This development could redefine Layer-2 scalability and transaction efficiency.