2025 looks promising for the cryptocurrency industry after sectors like OTC and stablecoin transactions experienced significant growth in 2024, according to Finery Markets experts.

Over-the-counter trading volume grew a staggering 106% year-on-year in 2024 as the digital asset market recorded new highs and euphoric sentiment, Finery Markets told crypto.news via email on Jan. 10.

The multinational, non-custodial crypto infrastructure firm attributed the OTC rally to rising stablecoin demand and increased crypto-to-crypto transitions, particularly during the second half of 2024 and in Q4.

Q4 trading activity significantly outpaced all other quarters. Q2, benefiting from the successful BTC ETF launches, was the only other quarter to achieve triple-digit growth at 110%. Q1 and Q3 followed with 80% and 78% growth rates, respectively.

Finery Markets

Transactions with stablecoins – tokens pegged to fiat currencies like U.S. dollars – grew 147% YoY, while the stablecoins jumped 191% YoY in Q4 due to post-election sentiment.

Tether (USDT) retained its dominance in the $210 billion stablecoin market, with its market cap peaking at $140 billion in mid-December for the first time ever. Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) also recovered to a $45 billion market cap, approaching its $56 billion peak before the bank run in early 2023.

Crypto outlook for 2025

Finery Markets agreed with the broader bullish sentiment for 2025, forecasting that institutional adoption of decentralized finance protocols may gain momentum if regulators provide clear guidelines for the sector.

The firm also highlighted the potential for tokenized real-world assets to gain traction, improving global liquidity and introducing 24/7 trading to traditional markets.

Corporations may also offer crypto-based loans, encouraged by the success of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds. A global shift toward BTC reserves could push countries and organizations to rethink past “zero exposure strategies” as well.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs on Wall Street now manage over $100 billion in investor assets. American policymakers, including President Donald Trump, have expressed interest in creating a national Bitcoin reserve.

Pro-crypto sentiment in the U.S. politics and economy opens an opportunity for re-emergence of a more favorable environment for the digital assets industry. This could set the scene in 2025 for a swift mass adoption driven by demand from US-based institutions.

Finery Markets also pointed to potential challenges in Europe, noting that smaller centralized exchanges could face liquidity issues. The bloc’s new MiCA regulatory framework may push these platforms to adopt broker-dealer models and seek new partnerships to ensure compliance.