After passing the final House vote on Thursday, the GENIUS Act was enacted into law by President Donald Trump on Friday, July 18. The signing into law of the Genius Act was witnessed at the White House by top crypto leaders, including Tether (USDT) CEO Paolo Ardoino and Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong.
The landmark crypto legislation will foster the development and adoption of stablecoins in the United States and globally. According to President Trump, during the signing ceremony, the GENIUS Act is a major milestone for the financial industry.
“This could be perhaps the greatest revolution in financial technology since the birth of the internet itself. A lot of people are saying that,” Trump said. “What do you guys think? If you say yes, I’m saying yes.”
What’s Next for Crypto Under the GENIUS Act
The GENIUS Act was created to regulate the stablecoin market, which has grown to more than $264 billion in net valuation at the time of this writing. The clear regulatory framework for the stablecoin market will help attract more institutional investors into blockchain technology and the wider crypto space.
“This clear direction from Congress also should serve as a catalyst for the SEC to provide guidance on how SEC registrants can use—and accommodate their customers’ use of—payment stablecoins. I invite investors and market participants regulated by the SEC to engage with the Crypto Task Force on what the Commission needs to do, in light of the GENIUS Act,” SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, noted.
The mainstream adoption of crypto assets, through the stablecoin market, will play a crucial role in the ongoing bull rally. Furthermore, the stablecoin market is a major source of liquidity in the crypto space.
A group of banks, led by Deutsche Bank from Germany and Standard Chartered from the UK, is exploring the possibility of expanding their cryptocurrency operations into the U.S. This move, reported by The Wall Street Journal, highlights the growing interest among major financial institutions in the U.S. crypto space. While the exact plans are still under consideration, the expansion would mark a significant shift for these global banks into the rapidly evolving digital asset market.
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A group of banks, led by Deutsche Bank from Germany and Standard Chartered from the UK, is exploring the possibility of expanding their cryptocurrency operations into the U.S. This move, reported by The Wall Street Journal, highlights the growing interest among major financial institutions in the U.S. crypto space. While the exact plans are still …
After peaking at $3.7 trillion in Q4 2024, the crypto market entered 2025 with weaker momentum. Bitcoin had hit $109,000 and a $2.1 trillion market cap, driven by ETF inflows and favorable macro trends.
However, H1 2025 saw a sharp slowdown. The total market cap fell to $2.4 trillion mid-cycle before recovering to $3.31 trillion by July 1. Bitcoin experienced a major drawdown but rebounded to a new ATH of $112K, supported by steady institutional buying from Strategy and Metaplanet.
Macroeconomic pressures added to volatility. The Fed held rates steady at 4.25%-4.5%, with inflation at 2.4%. Geopolitical tensions, including U.S.-China tariffs and Middle East unrest, kept investors on edge. Despite this, crypto showed resilience, backed by regulatory clarity and rising demand from emerging markets.
Investor sentiment was highly volatile. The Fear & Greed Index plunged from 94 in December to 10 in March but recovered to 64 by July. Still, sentiment remains range-bound between 40 and 65, signaling lingering caution in the market.
Continued protocol upgrades, Stablecoin and DeFi activity remained strong.
Institutional flows into ETH ETFs increased massively.
The price stayed suppressed due to Geopolitical factors.
Top Category Breakdown
Category
Notable Tokens
H1 Trend Summary
Layer‑1
SOL, ADA, AVAX
Bright growth led by ecosystem expansion and ETF odds are higher
Layer‑2
OP, ARB, MATIC
Strong gains as scaling adoption increased
Meme Coins
DOGE, SHIB
Volatile but fetching attention, especially DOGE, with ETF odds rising
AI Tokens
FET, RNDR, AGIX
Momentum aligned with AI and crypto crossover
Gaming/Metaverse
SAND, AXS, GALA
Modest growth is witnessed
DeFi
UNI, AAVE
Gained from on‑chain activity and yield demand
Top Gainers
Cryptocurrency Gainers
Percentage Gain (H1 2025)
Major Catalyst
Monero (XMR)
$186 to $318 ~ 71% gains
Significant price surge due to heightened demand for privacy-focused cryptocurrencies.
Hyperliquid (HYPE)
$22 to $39 ~ 74% gains
Rapid growth is attributed to enhanced liquidity and user engagement.
Top Losers
Cryptocurrency losers
Percentage Loss (H1 2025)
Major Catalyst
Bitcoin SV (BSV)
$55 to $24 ~ -45.23%gains
Regulatory uncertainties, and declining investor confidence due to competition and security concerns..
Pi Network (PI)
$2.99 to $0.48 ~ -36%gains
Price dropped due to weak market sentiment and failure to meet adoption expectations.
Stablecoin Performance & Market Share
Metric
January
June
Remark
Market Cap
$204 Billion
$251.55 Billion
Significant increase in overall market cap.
Stablecoin Market Cap Share
7.9%
8.9%
Jump in stablecoin market cap share.
On-Chain Volume
$982 Billion
$1.39 Trillion
Increase in on-chain transaction volume.
The first half of 2025 marked a new phase in stablecoin evolution, characterized by rising volumes, shifting dominance, growing institutional adoption, and increased legislative support. While USDT and USDC remained dominant, smaller players like PYUSD, RLUSD, and DAI slightly expanded their market share. Ethereum continued to lead as the primary stablecoin settlement layer, though TRON and Solana gained traction as emerging launchpads.
Crypto ETF Performance
US Bitcoin Spot ETF recorded a cumulative net inflow of $48.97 billion.
Total net assets for Bitcoin ETFs reached $134.11 billion as of June 30.
Bitcoin ETF holdings represent 6.27% of the total Bitcoin market cap.
US Ethereum Spot ETF saw a cumulative net inflow of $4.21 billion.
Total net assets for Ethereum ETFs stood at $10.32 billion as of June 30.
Ethereum ETF holdings equal 3.42% of the Bitcoin market cap.
In-kind redemption mechanisms are gaining popularity for assets like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Aptos (APT).
There are currently 72 altcoin ETF applications pending regulatory approval.
DeFi Sector Overview
Total Value Locked (TVL) in DeFi rose from $86 billion to $112 billion by June 2025, signaling increased adoption and capital inflow.
AAVE dominated the lending market with over 60% share and $16 billion+ in borrows.
The AAVE V3 protocol continued to attract collateral, and anticipation around the V4 launch further boosted confidence.
DEXs like Uniswap, Jupiter, and PancakeSwap saw increased network activity, resulting in higher fees and supporting DeFi’s rebound.
HYPE’s fee-free DEX enhanced user activity across multiple chains.
Lending protocols from HYPE also gained traction during H1 2025.
AAVE lending yields ranged between 5% to 8% APY, down from 2024 due to higher TVL and reduced risk premiums.
Important News & Events
In H1 2025, nearly 334 – 344 hacks caused $2.2 – $2.5B losses, including Bybit’s $1.5B breach.
ProCap and Grant Cardone’s firms entered the Bitcoin treasury race, intensifying corporate crypto adoption.
U.S. SEC signaled openness to in-kind redemptions for crypto ETFs, fueling speculation about future altcoin fund approvals.
Norway is exploring a crypto-mining ban, while a different country, Kazakhstan, is exploring a national crypto reserve.
Metaplanet and Strategy aggressively expanded their BTC holdings, marking a corporate treasury shift toward Bitcoin as a long-term reserve asset.
World Liberty Financial (WLFI), backed by Trump family ties, expanded USD1 stablecoin on BNB Chain, boosting RWA and DeFi interest.
Final Outlook For H2 2025
Despite all the ups and downs, H1 2025 proved just how resilient the crypto market has become. Bitcoin surged to a new high of $112K, and the overall market rebounded to $3.31 trillion.
Now, if bullishness increases, then Bitcoin may hit $180,000 – $200,000, Ethereum $5,000 – $6,000, by year-end 2025. This growth could be fueled by future Fed rate cuts, ETF inflows, and the Stablecoin Payment Act. Moreover, DeFi is also regaining momentum with $112B in TVL, and institutional interest keeps rising. With altcoin ETFs on the horizon and big players entering the space, H2 2025 could be the setup for a major breakout, which could possibly take the total crypto market cap toward the $4 – $5 trillion mark.
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FAQs
What’s the outlook for H2 2025 crypto?
If ETF inflows, Fed cuts, and stablecoin reforms hold, Bitcoin could reach $180–200K, with market cap nearing $4–5T.
How did investor sentiment change in H1 2025?
Crypto sentiment swung from extreme fear (index ~10 in March) to moderate greed (~64 by July)
Is 2025 really a record-breaking year for corporate Bitcoin adoption?
Yep, it absolutely is. Public company holdings more than doubled from 2024 — from 64 companies to 151. Firms are no longer experimenting — they’re going all in, especially after the U.S. government signaled policy support.
How do corporate Bitcoin holdings affect the market?
Many users speculate that large corporate purchases can drive price surges, reduce circulating supply, and influence retail investor sentiment. There’s also concern about centralization if too much Bitcoin is held by a few large entities.
The post H1 2025 Crypto Market Report- Market Trends, Key Metrics, and Institutional Flows appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
After peaking at $3.7 trillion in Q4 2024, the crypto market entered 2025 with weaker momentum. Bitcoin had hit $109,000 and a $2.1 trillion market cap, driven by ETF inflows and favorable macro trends. However, H1 2025 saw a sharp slowdown. The total market cap fell to $2.4 trillion mid-cycle before recovering to $3.31 trillion …
