What’s Driving Crypto in 2025? 99Bitcoins Releases Q2 Report

The crypto market has been on a tear in 2025, and the latest 99Bitcoins Q2 State of Crypto Market Report, authored by Manisha Mishra and sponsored by KCEX, lays it all out. The quarter saw institutional demand surge, Bitcoin ($BTC) hit a then-ATH of $111,980, and crypto hiring spike 753%.

Despite the rally, the total market cap was still 12% below its $3.7 trillion peak, hinting at room to run. With stablecoin adoption booming and long-term holders stacking, Q2 may have been the real start of this cycle’s breakout.

Read the full report here: State of Crypto Q2 2025 – 99Bitcoins

A Record-Breaking Quarter for Bitcoin

Bitcoin lit up Q2 with a 25.66% gain, smashing past resistance to hit a then-record $111,980 on May 22. That put it well ahead of gold’s 7.21% rise and most equity indices, marking a sharp reversal from Q1’s pullback.

According to 99Bitcoins’ Q2 report, the rally was driven by institutional inflows, ETF demand, and growing sovereign interest, with governments now holding 2.5% of Bitcoin’s total supply. Meanwhile, spot ETF flows consistently outpaced miner issuance, tightening supply just as demand surged.

Chris Wright of 21Shares summed it up:

“We believe that Bitcoin ETFs will attract 50% more inflows this year compared to last year. This would result in net inflows of approximately $55 billion in 2025, representing an increase of around $20 billion year-over-year.”

A golden cross in late May confirmed the uptrend, following a clean breakout from months of consolidation. It’s a textbook bullish structure.

With price action and fundamentals in sync, Q2 marked the clearest shift yet: Bitcoin is back, but powered by institutions, not retail.

Institutions Took the Wheel, Retail Turned to Altcoins

According to the 99Bitcoins report, this bull run has a different driver behind the wheel. And it’s not Reddit. 9 out of 10 experts interviewed in the Q2 report said retail traders have shifted their focus to the best altcoins, chasing faster gains while institutions quietly accumulated Bitcoin.

The on-chain data backs it up. Glassnode shows that 30% of $BTC’s supply is now held by centralized entities, with large players dominating inflows. Meanwhile, Google Trends reveals that retail interest in “Bitcoin” searches stayed surprisingly low throughout Q2, even as $BTC hit new highs.

Confidence among long-term holders also climbed. UTXO activity dropped, and the amount of BTC in long-term storage kept rising. A sign that serious capital isn’t looking to sell anytime soon.

Stablecoins and DeFi Picked Up Steam

If Q2 proved anything, it’s that stablecoins aren’t just stable, they’re also scaling. The Circle IPO popped 168% on day one, marking the first stablecoin issuer to go public and signaling TradFi’s growing appetite for crypto exposure without the volatility.

According to 99Bitcoins, 81% of crypto-aware SMBs now want to use stablecoins for daily ops, and the number of Fortune 500s planning to integrate them has tripled since last year.

On the DeFi side, Ethereum ($ETH) held L1 dominance, Chainlink ($LINK) led dev activity, and $HYPE – the native token of Hyperliquid – saw serious traction, fueled by the DEX’s rise to 70%+ of all perp DEX volume.

While others chased memes, HYPE rallied on actual utility.
In short: DeFi’s still cooking, and stablecoins are fueling the fire.

Memecoin Mayhem

After tanking in Q1, the memecoin market bounced back slightly in Q2, though volatility stayed extreme and price action remained erratic.

Q2 saw the meme coins hit new heights, with over 5.9 million new tokens launched and most of them churned out via pump.fun. It was chaotic, noisy, and pure degen energy. While most faded instantly, tokens like $FARTCOIN and $SPX kept riding the wave.

That said, the surge in token activity came with a dark side: phishing and wallet-targeted hacks climbed, especially among memecoin holders.

Regulatory Wins and Macro Shifts Driving Confidence

If Q2 had a theme, it was relief on both the policy and economic fronts. The U.S. pulled back on crypto enforcement, scrapped IRS reporting rules for DeFi, and signaled a more constructive stance overall.

Meanwhile, the Fed held rates steady for the fourth straight time, hinting at a possible cut in July. With unemployment flat and growth slowing, capital started flowing into safe-haven assets, and this time, Bitcoin was firmly on that list.

The result? Confidence surged. Bitcoin ETF inflows accelerated, volatility dropped, and $BTC’s macro narrative strengthened. It’s no longer just a risk asset; it’s becoming part of the defensive playbook.

Elsewhere, $XRP finally closed its long-running legal battle with the SEC, potentially clearing the runway for a new ATH later this year.

What’s Next for Q3?

Back in Q2, 99Bitcoins forecasted that if BTC could flip $111K–$112K resistance, the path to $120K would open, with $135K as a stretch target. Fast forward to now, and that prediction is aging well: Bitcoin is already trading at above $118K, edging toward that psychological milestone.

The report also noted $BTC was holding firm above $103K support, forming a bullish structure backed by rising miner wallet balances, shrinking exchange reserves, and growing illiquid supply – all signs of confidence from long-term holders.

Still, Q3 isn’t without risk. ETF inflows could slow, and macro headwinds, from global conflict to sudden rate hikes, remain on the radar.

But if institutional flows stay hot and the Fed delivers a rate cut, $135K no longer feels like a moonshot. It’s just part of the next leg up.

Final Thoughts: A Bull Market With Depth

The 99Bitcoins Q2 report by Manisha Mishra paints a clear picture: this bull market isn’t built on retail hype.

Institutions, regulatory tailwinds, and real product traction are powering it. From ETF inflows to stablecoin adoption and supply-side tightening, the signals all point toward a more mature, resilient crypto cycle.

And with Bitcoin already pushing towards $120K, many of the Q2 projections are already playing out. If momentum holds, and macro conditions don’t throw a curveball, Q4 could be the real breakout.

Read the full report here: State of Crypto Q2 2025 – 99Bitcoins

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Please always do your own research (DYOR) before investing in crypto.