VC Review of 2025 Crypto Value Flows: Stablecoins, Prediction Markets, and "Established Players" Emerge as Biggest Winners

BlockBeats News, December 25 — After a year in which the regulatory environment gradually became clearer and market performance diverged, several top venture capitalists have begun to reassess where value will accrue in the crypto industry in 2025. In a recent podcast, Pantera Capital partner Mason Nystrom, Hash3 co-founder Hootie Rashidifard, and Variant partner Alana Levin all agreed: stablecoins, prediction markets, and traditional finance and internet "incumbents" are the biggest winners this year.

Nystrom pointed out that established companies like Robinhood moved quickly after regulatory clarity, significantly accelerating their crypto strategies in 2025, "accurately predicting where the puck is going."

Rashidifard stated that both stablecoin trading volume and profitability have exploded, "Tether has become one of the most profitable companies per capita." He emphasized that stablecoins now not only generate profits but also provide fundamental financial value to end users.

Levin identified prediction markets as one of the fastest-growing sectors in 2025, with Kalshi and Polymarket having overcome doubts about "wash trading" and "only betting on elections." She specifically mentioned: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) invested $2 billion in Polymarket this year, which was astonishing.


From the perspective of losers:

On the individual level: Levin singled out Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon. Due to fraud charges related to the Terra collapse, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December, becoming a landmark failure case in the industry.

On the institutional level: Rashidifard believes that the U.S. SEC during the "Biden era" is one of the systemic losers, as its long-term tough enforcement did not yield effective regulatory results and instead forced many entrepreneurs to leave the country. He noted that with Gensler's departure, the passage of the GENIUS stablecoin bill, and progress in market structure legislation, the U.S. government's attitude toward the crypto industry has fundamentally shifted in 2025.