- Bitcoin in 2025: Favorable Regulatory Changes, Institutional Adoption, and Historic Volatility

A Turbulent Journey Between Record Highs and Sharp Corrections
Bitcoin prices surged to a new high of $126,199 on October 6, with a market capitalization exceeding $2.47 trillion, making it the seventh-largest asset globally, surpassing tech giants like (AMZN) and Meta platforms (META).
However, the rally was followed by a sharp correction, with Bitcoin trading around $85,000 in mid-December. Although 2025 ended relatively stable, the year was marked by record-breaking gains, steep pullbacks, and high volatility.
President Trump's Support for Cryptocurrency
The victory of Donald Trump in the November 2024 U.S. presidential election was seen as a positive signal for Bitcoin and the digital currency market. During the campaign, Trump took a pro-digital currency stance, promising fundamental changes to U.S. policies, contrasting sharply with the Biden administration’s crackdown on the industry, which involved over 100 enforcement actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against crypto companies.
A positive development for digital currencies began on November 21, 2024, when SEC Chairman Gary Gensler announced his resignation, effective on January 20, 2025, the day Trump takes office. This news positively impacted the digital currency market, as Gensler had previously been opposed to digital asset policies.
The chart below from CryptoQuant shows the percentage increase in major investors’ Bitcoin holdings on a monthly basis accelerating from -0.25% on January 14 to +2% on January 17, reaching the highest monthly growth rate since mid-December 2024. This increased demand drove Bitcoin’s price to a historic high of $109,588 on Trump’s inauguration day—January 20. However, the price subsequently retreated to $100,000 shortly after the swearing-in.
Bitcoin whale holdings on Inauguration Day. Source: CryptoQuant
$BTC Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he has issued an unconditional pardon for Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the dark web Silk Road marketplace.
In 2013, U.S. federal authorities arrested Ulbricht and sentenced him to life imprisonment for creating and operating the Silk Road e-commerce platform, which facilitated the buying and selling of illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services. This news boosted confidence in the digital currency community, as Trump fulfilled his promise to the industry.