The 2025 edition of the State of Crypto report by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) underscores a critical turning point for the industry: widespread institutional adoption, mainstream stablecoin use, robust infrastructure, and regulatory clarity have pushed crypto from the periphery to the center of global finance.
According to Chris Dixon, General Partner at a16z crypto, “crypto has become a meaningful part of the modern economy,” with market cap surpassing $4 trillion and usage metrics hitting all-time highs.
The report outlines how banks, asset managers, fintechs, and payments companies are now moving beyond exploration to full-scale crypto integration. Traditional financial incumbents like BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Fidelity have joined tech-native players such as PayPal, Robinhood, and Stripe in offering crypto products or building native blockchain infrastructure.
New U.S. laws like the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts have clarified crypto regulation, supporting developments in onchain payments, RWA tokenization, and wallets.
Stablecoins rivals Visa
Stablecoins have achieved product-market fit, powering over $46 trillion in annual transactions, comparable to Visa. Circle’s IPO and rising SEC mentions highlight growing institutional recognition. At the same time, blockchain throughput has surpassed 3,400 TPS, a 100x increase in five years, enabling efficient onchain applications.
The report highlights the growing overlap between AI and crypto, with use cases like identity verification and agent-based finance. a16z also introduced a dashboard tracking metrics such as wallet usage, ETF flows, builder activity, and stablecoin volume.
Institutional crypto custody
The findings align closely with recent moves by Citibank, which announced it will launch an institutional-grade crypto custody platform in 2026. The platform will target stablecoins and crypto ETFs, capitalizing on new regulatory clarity following the rescission of SEC rule SAB 121.
Citi plans to use its existing infrastructure, including tokenized dollar rails and CIDAP labs, to support cross-border digital asset services.
As a16z notes, “2025 is the year of institutional adoption,” and Citibank’s strategic shift reflects that sentiment. With traditional custodians like Citi entering a space long dominated by crypto-native firms, the competitive landscape is evolving rapidly.
As post-trade systems evolve and stablecoins gain traction, the divide between traditional finance and crypto is narrowing.
Also read: Maple and Aave Partner to Bring Institutional Assets On-Chain
