Conference Presentation, Panel, Fireside Chat
Crypto's Wild Ride: The Great Debate | Global Conference 2025
Milken InstituteNicole Valentine, Sebastian Bea, Zoe Cruz, Dante Disparte, Mary-Catherine Lader, Caroline D. Pham, Ivan Soto-Wright
- The industry anticipates continued growth contingent on regulators maintaining AML, KYC, and investor protection principles, with fiat on-ramps expected to be regulated like local financial institutions.
- Market structure legislation is expected to be finalized this year or potentially by next year, aiming to transition the sector from regulatory overhang to clarity and enabling retail investor readiness.
- Tokenization of financial instruments and real-world assets is projected to reach a total addressable market of $2 trillion to $5 trillion by 2030, driven by over $1.5 trillion in institutional repo and payments.
- Digital assets and device-centric financial services are expected to normalize the formal economy for billions of people, potentially moving beyond investment capital to facilitate trillions of dollars in real-world activity.
- Crypto wallets are predicted to replace or become universally embedded within bank accounts and global financial transactions as merchants increasingly integrate crypto payments and stablecoins.
- Bitcoin is forecasted to reach valuations between $800,000 and $1 million in 10 years, with specific Coinbase Asset Management projections citing approximately $840,000, while the broader investment opportunity in finance upgrades is expected to define 2026.
- Traditional players are expected to begin utilizing interoperable protocols for instant, 24/7 global liquidity this year, while users will increasingly adopt crypto technologies for various assets without explicit awareness.
- Ethereum is anticipated to remain the market hegemony with a 55% share in stablecoins, followed by a 30% share for the next largest competitor, despite a 40% decline from its peak since earning $27.8 billion in real money revenue.
- Stablecoins are expected to serve as a significant investment for dollar access and become a necessity for global businesses to accept and convert, though near-term retail investment suitability faces skepticism.
- The CFTC is expected to participate as an observer in industry tokenization pilots to facilitate capacity building, while firms like Golan and BlackRock enter the space as institutional career risk shifts toward future outcomes.
- Infrastructure development is expected to allow teams to launch tokens disclosing ownership and on-chain revenue as soon as next year, facilitating faster paths to liquidity and capital markets for those with on-chain revenue.
- With 6.8% of the global population currently engaged in crypto, the industry expects to realize wealth access promises for retail investors, pending the achievement of regulatory clarity for on-chain productive assets.