Coinshares’ 2025 Crypto Trends Report Highlights L2 Adoption and Solana Upgrades

Coinshares, a top European digital assets manager and insights provider, recently released a report on the likely trends shaping the crypto industry in 2025 and beyond. The 38-page report explores major crypto narratives, such as U.S. crypto policy shifts, growing Bitcoin adoption, and further Ethereum and Solana growth and development.

“2024 has undoubtedly been a turning point for the cryptocurrency industry. The sector has experienced swift expansion, building on the robust foundations laid during the previous market downturn,” said Jean-Marie Mognetti, CoinShares’ CEO.

Rise in Bitcoin Adoption

Bitcoin interest exploded this year, mainly due to record-breaking inflows courtesy of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). By the end of November, Bitcoin inflows reached $37 billion, with $32.6 billion coming from ETFs. Assuming no significant downturn in December, Bitcoin inflows this year would almost triple the previous record of $10 billion in 2021 during the last bull run.

The growth has significantly impacted the U.S. financial sector. The top four ETFs in terms of inflows of the 575 launched in the U.S. this year are Bitcoin Spot ETFs: Blackrock’s IBIT, Fidelity’s FBTC, 21Shares ARKB, and Bitwise’s BITB. They’ve recorded nine months of positive inflows in the ten months since their launch and hit inflow levels that took gold ETFs five years to reach.

The success of Bitcoin ETFs has also boosted institutional interest. More companies are adopting the asset as a reserve asset due to its potential as a store of value and a yield generator, following in MicroStrategy’s footsteps. The company remains the largest corporate Bitcoin investor, with 402,100 BTC held.

Another contributing factor is the expected clarity in crypto regulation following Donald Trump’s win in the 2024 U.S. presidential elections. President Trump and Vice President Vance will likely lead a regulatory overhaul of the crypto industry in 2025.

Bitcoin mining is another area set to benefit under the Trump administration. During his campaign, the president-elect promised to protect mining operations, claiming they are critical for financial independence and national security.

Ethereum and Solana Growth

Coinshares predicts further Ethereum Layer Two (L2) growth and adoption in 2025. The Dencun upgrade earlier this year boosted Ethereum's growth and adoption due to lower costs and faster confirmation times, and the institutionalization of L2s by companies like Sony and Kraken will further contribute to it. The upcoming Petra upgrade will also vastly improve the network’s speed and performance.

Meanwhile, Solana’s Frankendancer and Firedancer upgrades will transform the network, boosting accessibility, uptime, and overall performance. However, updates to how the network handles transactions and data will be necessary to get the most out of the upcoming upgrades.