2025 Crypto Major Events Recap: Trump Sparks Policy Tsunami, Bitcoin Surges to a New High of $126,000, $1.4 Billion Hackers' Nightmare

The cryptocurrency world of 2025 has come to a close amid extreme volatility and historic breakthroughs. This year, a series of pro-cryptocurrency policies by former U.S. President Trump injected unprecedented political momentum into the industry, from pardoning Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht to promoting the establishment of a U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve. The policy momentum resonated with market sentiment, driving Bitcoin to a historic high of $126,000.

Meanwhile, the market also experienced significant events including multi-billion dollar sell-offs by OG whales, the protracted SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit reaching its conclusion, a staggering $1.4 billion hack of Bybit, and the rapid rise and fall of the Digital Asset Bonds (DAT) company craze. These twelve landmark stories together sketch a complex annual landscape of policy, capital, technology, and risk intertwined.

The “Trump Paradigm” in Politics and Policy: From Symbolic Pardons to Strategic Reserves

The 2025 crypto narrative kicked off with intense political undertones. In January, newly inaugurated President Trump fulfilled a core campaign promise by signing an unconditional pardon for Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road. This move was far more than a personal act of mercy; it was widely interpreted by the crypto community as a strong political signal: a correction of past regulatory overreach and an opening towards more inclusive attitudes toward blockchain innovation. Ulbricht’s imprisonment had symbolized the fierce conflict between the crypto world and traditional regulatory systems. His release instantly ignited community enthusiasm and brought Trump’s broader crypto agenda into the spotlight.

The policy wheel then accelerated. Within days of taking office, Trump signed an executive order establishing the “President’s Digital Asset Market Working Group,” led by White House crypto advisor David Sachs, with a key task of evaluating the creation of a “National Digital Asset Strategic Reserve.” Just over a month later, another more groundbreaking executive order was signed, announcing the creation of the “U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” based on approximately 200,000 Bitcoin seized through law enforcement. This not only elevated Bitcoin to a strategic asset akin to gold but also directed the Treasury and Commerce Departments to develop neutral, budgeted accumulation strategies. Subsequently, Senator Cynthia Lummis reintroduced a bill aiming to purchase 1 million Bitcoin over five years. Although still under review in Congress, it clearly outlined a forward-looking vision of including Bitcoin in the U.S. national balance sheet.

Legislatively, key progress was also made. In July, the House passed the milestone “GENIUS Act” and the broader “Clear Act.” The former, signed into law by Trump, provided the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins; the latter moved to the Senate, aiming to clarify the securities and commodities status of cryptocurrencies. Additionally, Congress successfully repealed a controversial IRS rule from the Biden administration’s late term, which sought to require DeFi front-end operators to collect user data like traditional brokerages. This series of dense, coherent policy moves fundamentally shifted the narrative tone of U.S. crypto regulation from hostility to active embrace and framework building, providing the market with much-needed certainty.

Market Rollercoaster: Bitcoin’s New Highs, Whale Sell-offs, and Historic Liquidations

Fueled by policy momentum, Bitcoin’s price in 2025 staged a thrilling rollercoaster. On October 6, Bitcoin hit a record high of about $126,000, sparking market euphoria. Yet beneath the celebration, underlying pressures simmered. A significant source was the awakening of long-dormant OG Bitcoin whales—early participants holding Bitcoin for over a decade, some since the Genesis block. They began leveraging improved market liquidity and a relatively friendly regulatory environment to offload assets on an unprecedented scale.

The most notable transaction occurred in July, when Galaxy Digital assisted an early Bitcoin investor from the Satoshi era in a one-time sale of over 80,000 BTC, worth over $9 billion at the time. The market absorbed this massive sell-off with remarkable resilience, but selling pressure was evident. In September, another whale wallet holding over $5 billion in Bitcoin started swapping large amounts for Ethereum, accumulating nearly $4 billion worth of ETH over a few weeks. These multi-billion dollar on-chain transfers, combined with continuous inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, created a delicate tug-of-war between bullish and bearish forces, largely offsetting each other and setting the stage for a sharp correction.

Market fragility was exposed in early October. Just days after reaching a new high, the crypto market experienced an epic deleveraging storm. Within hours, at least $20 billion in long and short positions were forcibly liquidated, triggering a liquidity crisis and chain reaction across the market. A major CEX (centralized exchange) had to pay $283 million in compensation to users after its three assets—USDe, BNSOL, WBETH—became severely de-pegged during the crash. The exchange attributed the incident to years of accumulated limit orders and liquidity exhaustion under extreme conditions, promising to improve its price index mechanisms. This event painfully reminded the industry that, under high leverage and complex derivatives, price stability remains fragile.

2025 Key Market Data and Risk Events

Prices and Scale

• Bitcoin’s all-time high: approximately $126,000 (October 6)
• Largest whale sell-off: 80,000 BTC, worth over $9 billion
• Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) holdings: 671,268 BTC, over 3% of total supply

Major Risk Events

• Bybit Hack: Losses exceeding $1.4 billion in ETH, the largest exchange hack in history
• Historic Liquidation: Over $20 billion in a single day, causing market turmoil
• DAT Bubble Burst: About 200 Bitcoin bond companies’ stock prices plummeted from highs, with market cap/net asset ratios shrinking

Regulatory and Legal Developments

• SEC Accelerated Approval Path: Crypto ETF review period shortened from up to 240 days to as little as 75 days
• Ripple Lawsuit Concluded: SEC dropped appeal, with the 2023 court ruling becoming the final legal basis
• Stablecoin Legislation: The “GENIUS Act” signed into law, establishing the first federal stablecoin framework

Thawing Regulatory Freeze: SEC Shift, Lawsuit Resolution, and ETF Boom

In line with the proactive stance of the White House and Congress, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), long seen as the main regulatory obstacle, also experienced a fundamental shift in 2025. The core driver was the appointment of a new, crypto-friendly SEC Chair, Paul Atkins, by Trump. In September, the SEC approved an accelerated listing standard for cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a transformative decision. The approval window for qualified funds was drastically shortened from the lengthy 240 days to as little as 75 days, removing the cumbersome 19b-4 review process and opening the door for dozens of pending crypto ETF approvals.

Once the accelerated pathway was opened, markets responded immediately. Following spot ETFs for Bitcoin and Ethereum, new spot ETF products tracking assets like Solana, Litecoin, XRP, Dogecoin, and HBAR quickly gained approval. This not only provided retail investors with more convenient, compliant channels to invest in these digital assets but also signaled higher acceptance of these assets within mainstream finance. The SEC’s policy shift was explained by new Chair Atkins as “increasing investor choice” and “simplifying access to digital asset products,” essentially acknowledging the maturity of crypto as an asset class.

A more symbolic certainty came from the end of a long-standing legal battle. In August, the SEC and Ripple reached an agreement, dropping their appeal in the Second Circuit Court. The years-long legal saga concluded with a historic ruling by Judge Torres in 2023—stating that Ripple’s retail sales of XRP did not constitute securities transactions, while sales to institutional investors did qualify as investment contracts—becoming the final, unambiguous legal precedent. Both sides bore substantial legal costs, but the case provided the clearest legal guidance to date on token sales. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse confidently stated that the U.S. would no longer revert to the “Gensler era” hostility, as the political landscape had shifted permanently. However, just before and after XRP surged to a record high of $3.65 on positive news, co-founder Chris Larsen’s related address transferred about $140 million worth of XRP to exchanges within seven days, reigniting discussions about token centralization.

Underlying Currents and Warnings: $1.4 Billion Hack, Meme Frenzy, and DAT Bubble Deflation

Behind the shiny policy breakthroughs and market records, 2025 was also filled with risk, speculation, and bubble-bursting cautionary tales. In February, crypto exchange Bybit suffered its largest hack ever, losing over $1.4 billion. Attackers tricked the multisignature wallet signers into approving malicious smart contract changes, gaining full control of cold wallets and stealing large amounts of ETH and staked tokens. Although Bybit emphasized its solvency remained intact, researchers estimated about 75% of user ETH deposits were looted. This incident exposed the extreme risks of crypto custody, especially in complex smart contract permission management.

On the other side, meme coin mania and controversy persisted throughout the year. From Trump’s own “Official Trump” token to Argentina President Javier Milei’s “Libra” saga, celebrity-backed meme coins became a phenomenon. The most notable was American influencer and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who promoted a series of highly volatile meme tokens, sparking outrage and accusations of “scalping” retail investors. His response was to promote another meme coin called “JAILSTOOL,” buying over 50 million tokens and pushing the chaotic marketing frenzy to a climax. These events highlighted how, in areas lacking real utility, markets can be driven to irrational extremes by social media influence and speculative sentiment.

Similarly, the DAT (Digital Asset Bonds) craze cooled after reaching a peak. Led by Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), a wave of listed companies rushed to buy Bitcoin as treasury assets, with the number rising to about 200. Strategy continued aggressive accumulation, holding over 670,000 BTC—more than 3% of the total supply—making it the largest single corporate holder globally. However, after the summer peak, enthusiasm waned. Many of these companies’ stock prices plummeted from highs, and their market cap-to-net asset ratios shrank sharply. Ironically, Strategy’s small move in July to pause its weekly buying program was perceived by the market as a trend reversal. Today, Strategy’s stock has fallen 64% from its high, and its market cap is even below the value of its Bitcoin holdings, reflecting a harsh reevaluation of the “Bitcoin holding company” valuation logic.

Conclusion: Maturing Through the Pain of Paradigm Shift

Looking back at 2025, the crypto industry seems to have experienced a complete cycle: from political breakthroughs and euphoric peaks to whale sell-offs, leverage collapses, and bubble bursts prompting deep reflection. The policy shift under the Trump administration was undoubtedly the strongest macro driver, successfully elevating crypto from regulatory margins to a central topic of U.S. national strategy. However, policy dividends cannot eliminate inherent cyclical volatility and structural risks.

The cashing out by OG whales reminds us that healthy markets require orderly succession of new and old holders and steady growth in cost bases. The $1.4 billion hack and the $20 billion instant liquidation are costly lessons, pushing the industry to upgrade security architectures, risk management, and product design. The cooling of the DAT narrative is a correction of “narrative valuation,” encouraging capital to more calmly assess the true enterprise value beyond mere asset exposure.

Looking ahead, the regulatory frameworks laid in 2025 (such as the “GENIUS Act” and SEC accelerated approval pathway) will provide clearer paths for compliance and scaled growth. Yet, challenges like technological security, market manipulation, and consumer protection remain. As crypto gains more mainstream recognition, it will also need to shoulder corresponding responsibilities and standards. These twelve stories of 2025 collectively tell the complex coming-of-age journey of this emerging industry, filled with hope, greed, innovation, and lessons learned.