The year 2025 looks promising for the cryptocurrency industry after sectors such as OTC transactions and stablecoins saw significant growth in 2024, according to Finery Markets experts.

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

The multinational, non-custodial cryptocurrency infrastructure company attributed the OTC rise to higher demand for stablecoins and increased shifts from crypto to crypto, especially during the second half of 2024 and in the fourth quarter.

Trading activity in the fourth quarter significantly exceeded all other quarters. The second quarter, which benefited from the successful launch of the BTC ETF, was the only other quarter to achieve triple-digit growth of 110%. This was followed by the first quarter and third quarter with growth rates of 80% and 78%, respectively.

Beauty markets

Transactions using stablecoins - tokens linked to fiat currencies such as the US dollar - grew 147% year-over-year, while stablecoins jumped 191% year-over-year in the fourth quarter due to post-election sentiment.

pregnancy (USDT) retained its dominance in the $210 billion stablecoin market, with its market capitalization peaking at $140 billion in mid-December for the first time ever. The department's US dollar currency (US dollars) also reached a market capitalization of $45 billion, approaching its peak of $56 billion before the bank's bankruptcy in early 2023.

Crypto predictions for 2025

Finery Markets agreed with the broader bullish sentiment for 2025, predicting that institutional adoption of DeFi protocols could gain momentum if regulators provide clear guidelines for the sector.

The company also highlighted the potential for tokenized real assets to gain traction, improve global liquidity and introduce 24/7 trading in traditional markets.

Companies may also offer cryptocurrency-based loans, encouraged by the success of Bitcoin (Bitcoin) and Ethereum (Ethereum) Exchange-traded funds. The global shift towards Bitcoin reserves could prompt countries and organizations to rethink past “zero exposure strategies” as well.

Wall Street spot bitcoin ETFs now manage over $100 billion in investor assets. US policymakers, including President Donald Trump, have expressed interest in creating a national bitcoin reserve.

Pro-crypto sentiment in US politics and economics opens up an opportunity for the reemergence of a more favorable environment for the digital asset industry. This could pave the way in 2025 for rapid mass adoption driven by demand from US-based institutions.

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