VC Post-Mortem 2025: Crypto Value Flows - Stablecoins, Prediction Markets, and OGs Emerge as Biggest Winners

BlockBeats News, December 25th, after a year of gradually clarifying regulatory environment and differentiated market performance, several top VCs have started to reevaluate the value proposition of the 2025 crypto industry. In a recent podcast, Pantera Capital Partner Mason Nystrom, Hash3 Co-Founder Hootie Rashidifard, and Variant Partner Alana Levin unanimously agreed that stablecoins, prediction markets, and traditional finance and internet incumbents were the biggest winners this year.

Nystrom pointed out that established companies like Robinhood quickly moved after regulatory clarity, significantly accelerating their crypto strategy in 2025, "well anticipating where the puck is going to go."

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

Levin listed prediction markets as one of the fastest-growing tracks in 2025, with Kalshi and Polymarket dispelling doubts about "volume padding" and "solely betting on elections." She specifically mentioned that Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) invested $2 billion in Polymarket this year, which was impressive.


Looking at it from the perspective of failures:

On a personal level: Levin called out Terraform Labs Co-Founder Do Kwon. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December for fraud related to the collapse of Terra, considered a landmark failure case in the industry.

On an institutional level: Rashidifard believed that the U.S. SEC during the "Biden era" was one of the institutional failures, as long-term tough enforcement did not bring about actual regulatory results but instead forced many entrepreneurs to leave. He pointed out that with Gensler stepping down, the passage of the GENIUS stablecoin bill, and the advancement of market structure legislation, the U.S. government's attitude toward the crypto industry underwent a fundamental shift in 2025.