For more than a decade, bitcoin has weathered booms, busts and every accusation from “Ponzi scheme” to “planet killer”. Yet here it stands in 2025 — not just alive, but increasingly woven into the fabric of global finance. The difference this time? A confluence of regulatory clarity, institutional adoption and real-world integration that could redefine bitcoin’s place in the economy.
In the US one of the most important policy moves in years has quietly taken place. Under Project Crypto, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has approved spot bitcoin and ethereum trading on registered futures exchanges. It’s a dry sentence with huge implications.
Institutional investors — the ones who write nine-figure cheques — can now operate in a fully regulated environment, accessing both spot and derivatives markets under a single roof. That’s more liquidity, better price discovery and far fewer legal headaches.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also played its part, ruling that liquid staking tokens aren’t securities. While that’s mainly an ethereum story, it signals a willingness to differentiate between useful crypto infrastructure and unregistered securities — a nuance that benefits bitcoin’s own legal standing.
Opening the door
Bitcoin’s march into the mainstream isn’t just happening through regulation; it’s being pulled in by the gravitational force of traditional markets moving onto crypto rails.
Luno, Coinbase, Kraken and Robinhood are among crypto platforms expanding into tokenised stocks, which are equities issued and traded on blockchain infrastructure. It’s a shift that does two things at once: it gives stock investors a reason to use crypto native platforms, and it normalises digital assets as part of a diversified portfolio. The day is coming when you’ll check your portfolio and see Tesla, Apple and bitcoin listed side by side without a second thought.
In London, the Financial Conduct Authority is about to lift its retail ban on crypto exchange traded notes. From October UK investors will be able to buy regulated bitcoin and ethereum products directly through the London Stock Exchange. It’s not just symbolic. It puts bitcoin on the same legal and operational footing as gold exchange trade funds and blue-chip equity funds.
Meanwhile, the JPMorgan-Coinbase partnership will soon let millions of Chase customers buy bitcoin with credit cards or convert reward points into crypto. That’s not a “crypto exchange” experience — it’s everyday banking with bitcoin built in. The friction that once kept casual investors away is melting fast.
The 2025 initial public offering calendar reads like a who’s who of crypto: Bullish, Galaxy Digital, Kraken, OKX, Gemini, eToro, Circle. Public listings bring audited books, governance standards and regulatory scrutiny, which are the exact things institutions need to justify allocating serious capital.
And then there’s Charles Schwab. The US brokerage giant plans to offer bitcoin and ethereum trading and custody for 20% of all exchange traded crypto assets. With a million new accounts opened in the past quarter alone, Schwab could become one of the largest regulated onboarding ramps in bitcoin’s history.
Infrastructure
It’s tempting to view each of these developments in isolation — a regulatory tweak here, a bank partnership there. But together they mark a shift in bitcoin’s role. It’s no longer just a speculative asset you hope to sell at a higher price; it’s infrastructure. It’s being embedded in the systems that move stocks, credit and savings around the world.
There will still be volatility. There always is. But the foundation being laid today is deeper and more durable than in any previous cycle. Regulatory clarity reduces existential risk. Institutional adoption brings liquidity and credibility. Mainstream integrations make bitcoin a default option rather than an exotic outlier.
The result is a market where both the why and the how of owning bitcoin are stronger than ever. For long-term investors that’s not just good news; it’s the kind of structural shift that can power a rally for years to come.
• Muchena is founder of Proudly Associated and author of ‘Artificial Intelligence Applied’ and ‘Tokenized Trillions’.
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