Summary of Notable Crypto Events in 2025

With only a few days left before the end of 2025, the crypto market looks back on a year that proved far more turbulent than most investors had expected. Prices swung violently throughout the year, but what truly shaped market behavior were policy decisions, regulatory shifts, and systemic shocks that repeatedly forced capital to reassess risk exposure.

President Trump Pardons Ross Ulbricht

Immediately after taking office on January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a full and unconditional pardon for Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road darknet marketplace. The decision fulfilled a campaign promise made to the crypto community and quickly ignited intense public debate with sharply divided opinions.

Ulbricht, who had been sentenced to two life terms plus 40 years in prison, had long been viewed as a symbol of the darker side of Bitcoin’s anonymity. His release not only set a significant legal precedent, but also aligned with a broader set of commitments Trump made toward the crypto industry. These included appointing a crypto-friendly SEC chair, ending “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” and advancing ambitions to position the United States as a global leader in Bitcoin mining.

Historic Hack Costs Bybit 1.4 Billion USD

In February 2025, Bybit became the victim of the largest hack in crypto history by value. Attackers drained more than 1.4 billion USD worth of ETH from the exchange’s Ethereum cold wallet after deceiving approvers into authorizing a contract change that inadvertently granted full control to the attacker.

The stolen ETH, along with liquid staking tokens such as stETH and mETH, was quickly dispersed across dozens of new addresses and swapped through decentralized exchanges to obscure its trail. This incident surpassed previous high-profile hacks at Coincheck and Mt. Gox, becoming the largest exchange breach ever recorded.

Although user compensation was largely completed, Bybit reiterated its commitment to fully reimburse losses, despite the scale of damage being considered extreme for any exchange.

US Senate Repeals Controversial IRS DeFi Rule

In March 2025, the US Senate voted 70 to 28 to repeal a regulation issued by the Internal Revenue Service during the final months of former President Joe Biden’s term. The rule would have required DeFi operators to collect user data in a manner similar to traditional financial brokers. The repeal was sent to President Trump and officially signed into law in April.

Crypto industry groups hailed the move as a major victory for privacy and innovation, arguing that the original rule would have pushed DeFi activity offshore and imposed impractical reporting burdens on developers. Despite opposition from some Democrats, bipartisan support allowed the bill to become the first crypto-related legislation signed by Trump in his new term.

Creation of a National Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

Just weeks after inauguration, the Trump administration established the “Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets,” chaired by David Sacks, widely referred to as the White House’s “crypto czar.” The group was tasked with developing a federal framework for digital assets and evaluating the feasibility of a national strategic reserve.

On March 6, 2025, Trump signed an executive order formally creating the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, utilizing approximately 200,000 BTC seized by the federal government from criminal and civil cases, excluding amounts earmarked for victim restitution. He also directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to explore strategies for acquiring additional Bitcoin without increasing the tax burden on citizens. Senator Cynthia Lummis later reintroduced legislation proposing the purchase of one million BTC over five years, though the initiative remains under congressional debate.

US House Passes Stablecoin and Market Structure Bills

In July 2025, the US House of Representatives advanced the GENIUS Act on stablecoins alongside the Clarity Act addressing crypto market structure. President Trump quickly signed the GENIUS Act into law, establishing the first nationwide regulatory framework for stablecoins. The Clarity Act was sent to the Senate and is expected to be reviewed in early 2026, although significant partisan differences remain.

Dormant Bitcoin Wallets Awaken After Years of Silence

As Bitcoin repeatedly approached new all-time highs and then retraced during 2025, several early-era Bitcoin whales returned to the market after more than a decade of inactivity. Taking advantage of improved liquidity and a more favorable regulatory environment, they sold billions of dollars worth of BTC, creating notable selling pressure.

In July 2025, Galaxy Digital sold more than 80,000 BTC, valued at over 9 billion USD, on behalf of a Satoshi-era investor as part of an estate management plan. Despite the massive size of the sale, the market absorbed the supply relatively quickly without triggering a severe shock.

Strategy and the Trend of Bitcoin Accumulation

Strategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, formerly known as MicroStrategy, continued its systematic accumulation strategy throughout 2025 despite intense market volatility. Under the leadership of Michael Saylor, the company leveraged both operating cash flow and financial instruments such as convertible bonds to expand its position during market pullbacks.

By July 2025, Strategy’s balance sheet held 671,268 BTC, equivalent to more than 3 percent of Bitcoin’s maximum supply. This scale not only reinforced Strategy’s dominant position, but also shaped a broader trend in which more corporations began viewing Bitcoin as a long-term strategic reserve asset rather than a purely speculative investment.

The End of the SEC vs. Ripple Legal Battle

In August 2025, the SEC and Ripple agreed to withdraw their appeals at the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, formally closing a legal battle that had lasted for years. The 2023 ruling was upheld, confirming that retail XRP transactions were not securities, while sales to institutional investors were.

The conclusion of the case was widely seen as a landmark moment for the industry, as it clarified the boundary between token issuance and secondary market trading. Ripple stated that the political environment and regulatory stance in the US had shifted significantly, raising expectations for a clearer and more pragmatic crypto framework going forward.

SEC Accelerates Crypto ETF Listing Process

In September 2025, the SEC approved a new streamlined listing standard for crypto ETFs, reducing approval timelines from up to 240 days to roughly 75 days for eligible funds. This change marked a clear shift in regulatory approach toward digital asset investment products.

Soon after, a wave of spot ETFs tracking Solana, Litecoin, XRP, Dogecoin, and HBAR launched, expanding access for traditional investors and further integrating crypto into the mainstream financial system.

The Historic Market Collapse of October 10, 2025

After Bitcoin reached an all-time high near 126,000 USD in early October 2025, the crypto market quickly entered a state of imbalance as leverage across derivatives markets surged to extreme levels. In this context, news related to President Trump’s proposed tariff policies acted as the final trigger, setting off a rapid flight from risk.

Within just a few hours on October 10, more than 20 billion USD in leveraged positions were liquidated across the market, marking one of the largest liquidation events in crypto history. The decline was not driven by a single price shock, but rather by a fragile market structure characterized by excessive leverage, prolonged euphoria, and heavy reliance on automated liquidation mechanisms.

The October 10 event became a defining turning point of 2025, forcing the market to reassess systemic risk. In its aftermath, capital grew more cautious toward high-leverage products, while focus gradually shifted toward risk management and liquidity rather than the aggressive growth strategies that had dominated earlier in the cycle.

Ripple Co-Founder Chris Larsen Sells 140 Million USD in XRP

Roughly one month before the SEC lawsuit officially concluded, wallet addresses linked to Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen transferred 50 million XRP within a seven-day period. Around 140 million USD worth of XRP was routed to exchange-linked wallets, with the remainder moved to newly created addresses. On-chain data showed that wallets associated with Larsen still controlled XRP worth billions of dollars, highlighting the high concentration of supply among early insiders.

Dave Portnoy and the Memecoin Controversy

The year 2025 also saw major controversy surrounding memecoins. Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, became a focal point after repeatedly promoting highly volatile memecoin trades to millions of followers. Amid widespread criticism, Portnoy continued to promote the JAILSTOOL token and insisted that all trades were transparent, while critics argued that this episode merely extended his long and chaotic history within the crypto space.

Disclaimer: This content does not constitute investment, tax, legal, financial, or accounting advice. MEXC provides this information for educational purposes only. Always do your own research, understand the risks, and invest responsibly.