Crypto’s 12 biggest stories of 2025: From Trump’s policies to bitcoin all-time highs, OG whale moves, a DAT craze and the $1.4 billion Bybit hack

The year 2025 in crypto was marked by significant regulatory shifts driven by the Trump administration, including a pardon for Ross Ulbricht and the establishment of a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Key legislative wins included the signing of the stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act and the repeal of a controversial IRS data collection rule. The SEC, under a new crypto-friendly chair, fast-tracked listing standards for various crypto ETFs (Solana, Litecoin, XRP, Dogecoin, HBAR). Legal clarity arrived as the SEC and Ripple ended their long-running lawsuit, leaving the prior ruling intact. Market activity saw dormant OG Bitcoin whales selling billions, contributing to sell pressure despite new ETF demand, and Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) accumulating over 3% of the total Bitcoin supply. Major negative events included the $1.4 billion hack of Bybit's ETH cold wallet and a historic deleveraging event that forced Binance to pay $283 million in user compensation after several assets depegged. Finally, the year featured memecoin controversy, notably involving Dave Portnoy promoting the 'JAILSTOOL' token.

(Source：The Block)