The 2025 Crypto Market's Thousand Phenomena: A Twelve-Month Journey of Trials and Triumphs

In the days remaining until 2026, looking back on the complete cycle of this crypto world truly prompts deep reflection. Some say the crypto market feels like a year in a day, but those who are truly immersed feel it more acutely: this year seems to have condensed three years of upheaval, from early ambitions to year-end silence and waiting. Market sentiment has been as volatile as a roller coaster. How have the gains been this year? Did you seize the opportunities, or did the market teach you a lesson? Are the coins you held at the beginning still in your hands?

Let’s review this grand market feast month by month.

January: AI Narratives and Political Token Frenzy

Keywords: Rise of AI Agents, Political Concept Coins, Optimism, First Cooling at Month’s End

January’s stage was dominated by AI Agents. AI16Z hit a historical high of $2.47 on January 2nd, with a market cap surpassing $2.5 billion, becoming the first AI token on Solana to cross this milestone. Names like AIXBT, ARC, ZEREBRO frequently appeared in discussions, as if each represented a new wealth opportunity.

Political concept tokens also took center stage. On January 17th, the official $TRUMP token was launched, soaring from under $1 to a peak of $75, with a market cap over $14 billion. Many were shocked to see this number in the morning, doubting its authenticity until confirming it was indeed the first time a national leader issued a token. XRP also surged 50% amid rumors of policy talks, fueling speculation that it might become the first approved alternative coin ETF.

Macro policy signals were also positive. On January 23rd, an executive order proposed establishing a digital asset working group, discussing national crypto reserves, and banning CBDC issuance, fueling unprecedented market optimism. However, at month’s end, a turning point occurred—DeepSeek released a low-cost AI model on January 20th that undermined the narrative of crypto AI Agents, causing those AI concept coins that had just risen to fall back to their starting points over the following weeks.

February: Security Breaches and Political Token Disillusionment

Keywords: Major Exchange Hacks, Token Fraud Scandals, Massive Liquidations

February was filled with shattered dreams. On February 21st, North Korean hacker group Lazarus stole about 400,000 ETH from a well-known exchange, worth $1.5 billion—marking the largest exchange hack in crypto history, surpassing the losses during the FTX collapse.

Trust in political tokens completely collapsed. On February 14th, the Argentine president posted a token on social media, which surged to $5 within 40 minutes, with a market cap of $4.5 billion. Hours later, the price plummeted 85%, causing over 40,000 investors to lose more than $250 million. The president then deleted the post and denied involvement. $TRUMP and related tokens continued to weaken throughout February.

Between February 24th and 27th, Bitcoin experienced its worst three-day decline since the FTX collapse—down 12.6%, with $3 billion in leveraged positions liquidated. Meme coins were nearly halved, and Solana’s TVL plunged 30% to a six-month low. But there were exceptions: on February 20th, Pi Network officially launched its mainnet, with the token soaring to $2.98, reigniting discussions about grassroots networks finally monetizing.

March: Policy Favorability and Trade Panic Tug-of-War

Keywords: Strategic Reserves Policy, Tariff Panic, Meme Coin Collapse, On-Chain Risk Events

March saw the implementation of policy support. A politician hosted the first crypto summit at the White House, signing an executive order on “Strategic Bitcoin Reserves.” Days later, they announced on social media that XRP, SOL, ADA, and others would be included in digital asset reserves, with ADA soaring 70% in a single day past $1, fueling market belief that regulation had turned a corner.

However, policy support couldn’t withstand trade war fears. Tariff threats triggered risk-off sentiment, leading to a broad sell-off of risk assets. Meme coins fell 40-60%, while BSC chain became a safe haven. A Middle Eastern-themed meme coin surged thousands of times on a major exchange’s influencer push, with BSC trading volume surpassing Solana at one point.

Another major event involved a derivatives protocol. Attackers manipulated JELLY tokens to short the market, causing $12 million in collateral losses. The platform ultimately voted to forcibly liquidate—an example of a “decentralized exchange” handling crises in a centralized manner, prompting rethinking of DEX fundamentals. Meanwhile, a well-known company continued aggressive Bitcoin purchases, announcing on March 18th a $500 million issuance of preferred shares for Bitcoin buying, with Bitcoin holders remaining steadfast.

April: Launch of Monetary Easing Cycle

Keywords: Tariff Suspension, Regulatory Shift, Institutional Allocation, Sentiment Reversal

April brought a reversal. On April 9th, the announcement of a 90-day tariff suspension sparked a market rally— the S&P 500 rose 9.5% in a single day, its biggest jump since 2008. On the same day, ETH options trading was approved, boosting institutional tools. The new SEC chair’s pro-crypto stance injected confidence.

Throughout April, the total crypto market cap rebounded 10.8%, with Bitcoin climbing from a low of $76,000 to over $90,000. A country launched the world’s first Solana spot ETF. A new on-chain token project benefited from fund attention and rumors of payment giant collaborations, surging over 50%.

Meme coins also revived. A coin named after “exhaust” rebounded hundreds of times from lows to lead the pack, and a coin claiming to be “Elon’s endorsed” skyrocketed thousands of times. After the brutal months of February and March, April truly made people feel “We’re back.”

May: Market Peak

Keywords: New All-Time Highs, Trade Thaw, New Narratives, On-Chain Innovation Boom

May was the month of the highest market sentiment in 2025. On May 2nd, China and the US agreed to a 90-day tariff pause, easing trade tensions, and risk assets rebounded across the board. On May 7th, a blockchain completed its largest hard fork since 2022, and although the price response was delayed, ETH rose 44% over the month, with market enthusiasm heating up.

Bitcoin broke $110,000, hitting a new all-time high, and new narratives emerged: the “digital asset inventory” trend continued, with gaming and tech companies launching BTC and ETH purchase plans. A new on-chain platform emerged—just by @a certain project, tokens could be quickly issued, sparking hot discussions about “Internet capital” (ICP) concepts, with platform tokens gaining significant monthly increases.

New AI startup projects sparked buying frenzy, with Genesis platform tokens rising 60%. An on-chain social system’s point reward mechanism turned “mouth farmers” into mainstream earning methods, with tokens up 190%. A decentralized derivatives platform’s tokens rose 75% in a month, with the Chinese community discussing its “efficiency per person”—a model where few employees generate huge income. May was a celebration for all participants.

June: Infrastructure Explosion

Keywords: Stablecoin IPO, Record Financing, Tokenization Expansion

June ignited the stablecoin narrative. A stablecoin company IPO’d on the NYSE, with a three-letter ticker, priced at $31, oversubscribed 25 times. Weeks later, it soared to a record $299, a 9-fold increase from IPO, marking a milestone for crypto-native companies entering US stock markets.

Four days later, a new stablecoin project held a public sale on a platform, raising $500 million in five minutes, with the round fully subscribed within 30 minutes. Tether’s CEO and prominent investors participated, indicating strong interest in stablecoin infrastructure.

“Digital asset inventory” continued to heat up. A listed company bought 1,088 BTC in a single month, and a DeFi development firm announced a $5.5 billion plan to buy SOL, calling it “SOL version.” A gaming company’s ETH holdings reached 188,000 ETH. By month’s end, US stock tokenization quietly kicked off—an exchange and a payment platform launched over 60 US stock tokens (Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, etc.) on a blockchain. Derivatives trading remained dominant, and ETH staking hit record highs.

July: Regulatory Certainty and New Highs

Keywords: Federal Legislation, Historic Highs, Tokenization Expansion, Staking Boom

On July 18th, a politician signed the first federal stablecoin law in US history—the GENIUS Act—providing clear regulation. Bitcoin also surged from July 10th, breaking $120,000 on July 14th, with a record $1.2 billion ETF net inflow in a single day. ETH hit a new high of $3,848 on July 21st, continuing to set records.

The tokenization wave further expanded. A retail trading platform launched over 200 US stock tokens on Layer2, covering private equity (like OpenAI, SpaceX). A penguin-themed token gained attention due to ETF applications, potentially becoming the first ETF with NFT components.

Stablecoin platforms began competing for ecosystems. Tether and a certain exchange announced “Stable” roadmaps, competing with other stablecoin projects. Meme coins saw over 100% gains, and an older stablecoin project ENA surged over 160%. The market maintained a positive momentum.

August: Exchange Token Era

Keywords: Platform Coin Explosion, Data On-Chain, Multi-Chain Expansion

August’s spotlight shifted to exchange platform tokens. An exchange announced a one-time burn of 65.25 million tokens, fixing total supply at 21 million, while upgrading its Layer2 chain. This caused the platform token to surge 170% in a single day to a new high, then continued climbing to $255, nearly quadrupling from lows.

A RWA (Real-World Asset) chain token was listed by an exchange, to be used as a trading fee discount token, mimicking platform token mechanics. On August 28th, a commerce department announced a partnership with a data oracle service, bringing macro data like GDP and CPI on-chain, with related tokens up 61% in a month and oracle tokens surging over 70% in a single day.

Hong Kong officially implemented a stablecoin regulatory framework. A regulator opened license applications, with local e-commerce giants expressing interest, though some later withdrew. A celebrity token was launched: a rapper released YZY tokens on a certain chain, soaring 1,400% to $3 in an hour, with a market cap reaching $3 billion before crashing 80%. The artist claimed their account was hacked, adding another classic “fan buy-in” story.

A social app’s related token benefited from large app integrations and creator economy trends, surging over 100% in a month to a new high of $0.15. A startup platform regained control of Solana’s launch market, earning $46 million in August.

September: New Cycle Begins

Keywords: Fed Rate Cut, Privacy Coins Rise, Ecosystem Expansion

On September 17th, the Fed announced its first 25 basis point rate cut. That month, a stablecoin issuer conducted private funding, reaching a valuation of $500 billion. Though enormous, its direct impact on retail investors was limited.

What truly caught attention was the launch of the STBL protocol by a co-founder of a stablecoin. When launched on September 16th, it surged 455%, with a market cap over $1 billion, a 44-fold increase from lows to highs. The IPO wave of crypto companies continued—several listed on Nasdaq, with one touted as the “first RWA stock.”

On-chain innovation was fierce: “DEX wars” raged, with a new contract platform exploding in popularity, gaining 2,800% in its first week, surpassing an established derivatives platform in weekly trading volume. A token related to a coin-repurchase strategy (total buybacks exceeding $95 million) hit a record high on September 14th, up 160% for the month. Another token listed on two major exchanges within a week, rising 660%.

Another platform token surged 19.7% on ecosystem expansion news. An RWA chain token rose 130% due to exchange integration. By month’s end, a certain protocol announced a $402 million plan, laying the groundwork for sector explosion in the coming two months.

October: Autumn Turning Point

Keywords: Massive Liquidations, Market Reversal, Narrative Exhaustion

October was supposed to be “up and down October,” but this year broke that tradition. A Chinese community meme coin launched on October 4th, soaring from zero to $500 million in market cap within five days, a 3,000% increase, precisely hitting community sentiment.

However, after Bitcoin hit a new high of $126,000 on October 3rd, the market reversed. On October 11th, the largest single-day liquidation in crypto history occurred—$19 billion in leveraged positions wiped out within 24 hours. Afterwards, the market fell silent, with retail and institutional investors suffering incalculable losses. Although a privacy coin surged over 100% in a single day due to community promotion, overall market enthusiasm waned.

November: Long Bear Market

Keywords: Persistent Bear, Privacy Coins Surprise, Policy Turmoil, Platform Liquidations

November confirmed fears from October’s liquidations. Bitcoin dropped from $110,000 to $80,000, a seven-month low. Total crypto market cap shrank from $4.2 billion to $3.2 billion, nearly $1 trillion evaporated. A major Bitcoin fund experienced a record $2.34 billion net outflow in a single month.

Surprisingly, privacy coins became safe havens. One privacy coin surged from $40 in September to over $600 in November, a 1,200% increase. Another rose from $20 to $136, a sixfold increase. An AI payment narrative briefly gained popularity, with related tokens skyrocketing from zero to $70 million in market cap, but the hype quickly faded.

“Digital Asset Inventory Company” faced collective suppression. A well-known listed company fell 36% in November, and a rating agency even considered delisting it. Large amounts of Bitcoin confiscated from fallen corrupt officials sparked concerns about forced sales.

December: Silence and Waiting

Keywords: No Narratives, Market Calm, Collective Psychology Shift

December brought neither new rallies nor fresh narratives. Participants stopped discussing positions, only whispering about who lost, who cheated, and how wealth is unevenly distributed. Some observers called it the “Silent Bear Market”—quietly eroding everyone’s enthusiasm.

The only consensus: waiting. Waiting for liquidity to return, waiting for the new year.

Looking back on this year’s trillion-dollar market evolution—from January’s exuberance to December’s silence—the crypto world has condensed all facets of human nature into twelve months—greed, fear, hope, despair. Numbers come and go, but stories continue. We, the navigators, may not know our destination, but we keep sailing on this strange journey.

May 2026 be gentler to us all.