The crypto market of 2025 is a world of opportunity that looks nothing like the lure of get-rich-quick schemes or meme coins. While Bitcoin's price has shown resilience, rebounding to over $85,000 after a sharp decline triggered by new US tariff policies that initially caused the crypto world to shed some $500 billion in value, investors must remain vigilant. Geopolitical tensions, regulatory changes and technological vulnerabilities only added fuel to the fire and led to unnerving market volatility.

Stablecoins are intended to be a safe haven within the crypto ecosystem, maintaining their value and pegged to traditional fiat currencies such as the US dollar. Now they are coming under withering, growing scrutiny. Recently, the New York Attorney General’s office has sounded alarms on some of these stablecoins. Unlike banks, these stablecoins are not held to the same regulatory standards, creating sources of systemic risk. At the same time, US officials are raising questions about the general safety and stability of stablecoins, creating a second layer of uncertainty.

Regulatory developments, such as Europe's proposed Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) law, aim to establish clear operational guidelines for crypto businesses. These advocacy efforts are a huge step towards heightened scrutiny. More importantly, we need to assess the efficacy of these regulations and their impact.

The specter of fraud and theft hangs over the program as well. Over just the first three months of 2025, criminals made off with approximately $1.77 billion from crypto platforms. Before then, decentralized finance (DeFi) applications had been the rich target of choice for these cyberheists. US Department of Justice has recently made headlines for the arrest of Gotbit’s founder, who allegedly used AI to inflate trading volumes on multiple crypto projects. This case is an example of the creative strategies that evildoers are currently using.

Overall macroeconomic conditions are complicating matters even further. With fears of a looming US recession hanging over the current bull run, downward pressures are mounting on the current cryptocurrency bull run. Then, unexpectedly, the announcement of new US tariffs on Chinese imports rattled the stock markets. This unfortunate occurrence further emphasizes how intertwined crypto is with our established financial systems.