Deng Tong, Golden Finance
In 2025, the regulation of the crypto industry will gradually become clearer, traditional finance will deeply penetrate, and technological iteration will accelerate. Every key moment relies on core figures who may lead policy direction, guide institutions into the market, tackle technical challenges, or stir the market.
What crypto actions will traditional giants like BlackRock, JPMorgan, Visa, and Mastercard take in 2025?
1. BlackRock: Strong push for ETFs, optimistic about RWA
Throughout 2025, BlackRock will strategically promote the layout of crypto assets and tokenization: including expanding the ETF series, researching asset tokenization, etc.
1. Promote ETFs
At the beginning of 2025, BlackRock is set to highlight Bitcoin as one of its annual core investment themes, emphasizing its 'long-term investment value' and continuing to promote the adoption of its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETF among institutional investors.
On February 26, BlackRock transferred approximately 1,800 Bitcoins (about $160 million) to Coinbase Prime's custody. This on-chain transfer event attracted market attention.
In the first half of 2025, BlackRock's portfolio grew by $23.91 billion, from $54.77 billion on January 1 to $78.67 billion on June 30. Among them, Bitcoin's appreciation contributed $23.3 billion, while Ethereum's appreciation contributed $678.9 million.
According to Finbold's (2025 Q3 cryptocurrency market report), driven by unprecedented inflows into Ethereum, BlackRock's cryptocurrency portfolio surged by $22.46 billion in Q3 2025. The report notes that BlackRock accelerated its proactive layout in digital assets in Q3 2025. From July 1 to September 30, BlackRock's on-chain cryptocurrency holdings increased from $79.63 billion to $102.09 billion, marking a quarter-on-quarter growth of 28.2%. This shift marks the first time Ethereum surpassed Bitcoin in contributing to BlackRock's quarterly portfolio growth.
As of 2025, IBIT ranks sixth in all ETFs with over $25 billion in inflows. Among the 25 funds ranked by inflows, the top is Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF (VOO) with $145 billion in inflows, while the 25th is iShares' S&P 100 ETF (OEF) with $10 billion in inflows.
2. Positive outlook on RWA
BlackRock executives have repeatedly stated that asset tokenization is an important trend in the next financial revolution, reflecting their optimism about integrating traditional assets into on-chain formats in the medium to long term. BlackRock's CEO Larry Fink firmly believes: the next major change in global finance will come from the tokenization of traditional assets, including stocks, bonds, and real estate. BlackRock views tokenization as an opportunity to bring new investors into mainstream financial products through digital means.
More details can be found in (BlackRock: How Tokenization Will Change Finance)
(BlackRock CEO's 2025 investor letter: BTC erodes the dollar's reserve status, the tokenization revolution in capital markets)
2. JPMorgan: Issue JPMD, enter public chains, CEO's attitude reversal
JPMorgan's CEO has previously held a strong critical attitude towards cryptocurrencies, primarily denying their value and attacking illegal uses. There was a softening of this stance only in 2025. JPMorgan itself is also making significant strides toward public chains in 2025.
1. Issue JPMD
In June, JPMorgan's blockchain business unit Kinexys pilot-launched JPMD, bringing institutional finance on-chain, marking an important step in the development of digital currency. JPMD is a licensed dollar deposit token used for real-time institutional payments on Base (an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain built within Coinbase). JPMD aims to support near real-time peer-to-peer transfers between Base wallets, enabling institutional clients to transfer funds flexibly, securely, and efficiently while minimizing delays. By reducing transaction friction, clients will be able to improve operational efficiency and support real-time financial decision-making.
2. Enter public chains
On July 30, JPMorgan reached a strategic cooperation with the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase. The cooperation includes: allowing Chase Bank users to directly link their bank accounts with Coinbase for crypto asset operations; providing users with easier ways to buy/trade cryptocurrencies. This is an important bridge between JPMorgan's financial services and mainstream crypto trading platforms.
On November 12, JPMorgan has begun to launch a deposit token called JPM Coin for institutional clients, as part of financial institutions' ongoing efforts to expand their digital asset businesses. On December 18, JPMorgan has deployed JPM Coin to the Base blockchain under Coinbase, marking the Wall Street giant's first large-scale access to the public chain ecosystem.
On December 15, JPMorgan officially launched its first tokenized money market fund, 'My OnChain Net Yield Fund' (abbreviated as MONY). This private fund will operate on the Ethereum blockchain and is open to qualified investors. JPMorgan will inject $100 million of its own funds as startup capital for the fund.
3. CEO's attitude reversal
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was once a strong critic of cryptocurrencies. In September 2017, Dimon publicly called Bitcoin a 'fraud,' warning company traders that they would be fired for trading Bitcoin, linking it to Ponzi schemes and speculative bubbles, and deeming investors foolish. However, in October this year, Dimon publicly acknowledged that crypto, blockchain, and stablecoins are 'real and will be widely used,' and plans to allow institutional clients to use Bitcoin and Ethereum as loan collateral (third-party custody) by the end of 2025.
3. Visa: Seizing opportunities in stablecoins
For Visa, 2025 is a crucial time to seize the opportunities presented by stablecoins.
Visa's cryptocurrency business head Cuy Sheffield has stated that he is not worried that the rise of stablecoins may pose a risk to traditional payment companies, even though stablecoins provide consumers with a new payment method without credit cards; this payment giant views the rise of stablecoins as an opportunity. Cuy Sheffield pointed out that stablecoins do not solve many problems in retail payments, as data shows that most stablecoin transaction volumes come from high-value transfers rather than retail transactions. He added that the opportunities for stablecoins mainly lie in those economies centered on emerging markets outside the U.S., which have a demand for dollars but limited access to them.
On May 1, Baanx partnered with Visa to launch a stablecoin payment card linked to self-custody wallets, initially supporting USDC issued by Circle. The card 'allows cardholders to spend USDC directly from their crypto wallets,' transferring the USDC balance in real-time to Baanx via smart contracts at the time of authorization, which is then converted to fiat currency to complete the payment.
On October 28, Visa plans to support multiple stablecoins. Visa CEO Ryan McInerney stated during the fourth-quarter earnings call: 'We are adding support for four stablecoins that operate on four unique blockchains corresponding to two currencies; we can accept these stablecoins and convert them into over 25 traditional fiat currencies.'
On November 12, Visa announced the official launch of a stablecoin payment pilot program, allowing creators, freelancers, and businesses to receive payments directly in USDC issued by Circle through Visa Direct, enabling cross-border instant settlements. Visa stated that during the pilot phase, businesses can initiate payments in fiat currency in the U.S., while recipients can choose to receive USDC directly, with funds arriving in minutes, providing convenience for users in areas with currency fluctuations or limited bank access.
On December 16, Visa began supporting U.S. financial institutions in using USDC on Solana for transaction settlements, with Cross River Bank and Lead Bank being the first institutions to use the service. As a partner of the Circle Arc blockchain, Visa will also provide support after the Arc goes live.
Visa believes that stablecoins are expected to drive traditional financial institutions to partially migrate the $40 trillion global credit market into a programmable blockchain system, thereby changing the credit landscape. Banks and financial institutions should understand how programmable money reshapes the credit market to seize potential opportunities.
4. PayPal: Seizing the opportunities of stablecoins
On August 7, 2023, PayPal's stablecoin PYUSD was officially launched. For PayPal, 2025 is the year it will implement PYUSD into more application scenarios.
In early February this year, PayPal plans to increase the adoption of its stablecoin PYUSD in 2025, launching a billing payment product that allows its more than 20 million small and medium-sized merchants to choose to pay suppliers with PYUSD. Additionally, PayPal plans to add PYUSD as an option for global payments through Hyperwallet, a service that helps organizations send bulk payments to contractors, freelancers, or sellers around the world. PayPal CEO Alex Chriss stated: 'We've been talking about blockchain for a decade—these concepts will never become a reality until you truly start to consume them. I think that's what we've accomplished.'
On April 24, Coinbase expanded its partnership with PayPal to accelerate the adoption, distribution, and usage of PayPal's stablecoin (PYUSD). Coinbase supports a 1:1 exchange of PYUSD with dollars through its custody and trading platform, enhancing the utility of PYUSD and exploring new use cases for PYUSD on-chain.
On April 29, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has terminated its investigation into its dollar stablecoin PYUSD, taking no enforcement action. This eliminates regulatory uncertainties for PYUSD.
On September 19, PayPal announced that its dollar stablecoin PYUSD has expanded to nine new blockchains through the LayerZero cross-chain protocol, namely Abstract, Aptos, Avalanche, Ink, Sei, Stable, Tron, and auto-integrated Berachain and Flow.
On September 22, PayPal made a strategic investment in Stablechain, enabling users to use PayPal USD (PYUSD) for commercial and financial transactions on Stablechain. On December 18, PYUSD officially launched on the Stable mainnet.
5. Mastercard: Seizing the opportunities of stablecoins
2025 is an important year for Mastercard as it transitions from the experimental phase to providing practical crypto solutions.
On April 9, Kraken announced a partnership with Mastercard to launch a crypto debit card. Kraken will introduce physical and digital debit cards for everyday transactions using cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. On April 29, Mastercard collaborated with OKX to launch the 'OKX Card.'
On April 29, Mastercard is promoting the use of stablecoins for consumer spending and merchant acceptance of stablecoin payments. 'Mastercard is offering a comprehensive 360-degree solution that allows consumers and businesses to use stablecoins as easily as using currency in their bank accounts.'
On October 19, Mastercard filed a trademark application for 'Virtual Asset Payment Processing.'
On November 5, Mastercard partnered with Ripple and Gemini to explore settling fiat card transactions using the RLUSD stablecoin on the XRPL blockchain. This collaboration is one of the first cases where regulated U.S. banks use public blockchains and regulated stablecoins to settle traditional card transactions.
On December 16, Mastercard allied with the Abu Dhabi ADI Foundation to advance stablecoin settlement, stablecoin payment cards, and asset tokenization applications in the Middle East, while NEO PAY (UAE) and INFINIOS (Bahrain) joined its stablecoin settlement program.
6. Goldman Sachs: Layout for stablecoins, focus on ETFs
On April 30, Goldman Sachs' Digital Assets head Mathew McDermott stated that clear regulations will make it easier for large institutions to deploy capital in the cryptocurrency space, driving its scaling development. Goldman Sachs will expand digital asset trading activities, explore crypto lending, and heavily bet on tokenization. More and more Goldman Sachs clients are eager to participate more actively in digital asset trading, and Goldman Sachs will focus on business implementation, hoping to obtain various regulatory approvals.
1. Layout for stablecoins
On October 10, according to Reuters, a global consortium of banks is collaborating to plan a joint stablecoin initiative, including Santander, Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, MUFG, TD Bank, and UBS.
On October 11, a group of banks including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and Citi are exploring the issuance of stablecoins pegged to major G7 currencies (USD, EUR, JPY, etc.). The project aims to issue 1:1 reserve-backed digital currencies that provide stable payment assets on public chains while adhering to regulatory requirements and best risk management practices. This move aims to explore the market competitive advantages brought by digital assets.
2. Focus on ETFs
On December 2, Goldman Sachs has agreed to acquire Innovator Capital Management for approximately $2 billion, incorporating this institution that issues 'defined outcome' exchange-traded funds (ETFs) into its asset management portfolio, including a structured fund for Bitcoin. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, adding approximately $28 billion in regulated assets to Goldman Sachs' asset management division.
7. Citi: Layout for stablecoins, explore crypto custody
Citi pointed out in its 2025 Digital Assets Report that by 2030, the scale of tokenized assets could reach $4-5 trillion, with stablecoins and tokenized deposits becoming core driving forces. Citi believes that blockchain is not a replacement for banks but a new 'settlement layer' for banks.
1. Layout for stablecoins
On July 16, Citi CEO Jane Fraser stated: Citi is exploring the possibility of issuing stablecoins.
On October 11, Citi joined a European banking group to develop a euro stablecoin.
On October 27, Citigroup and Coinbase announced a partnership to jointly explore stablecoin payment solutions for institutional clients. It is reported that this partnership aims to leverage stablecoins to enhance cross-border and corporate payment systems, improving transaction efficiency.
2. Explore crypto custody
In February this year, Bloomberg reported that Citi will explore cryptocurrency custody services.
On October 14, reports indicated that Citi Bank is planning to launch crypto asset custody services in 2026, according to an executive during an interview. As Wall Street giants continue to expand their presence in the digital currency space, Citi's move shows that traditional financial institutions are accelerating their entry into this field. Biswarup Chatterjee, Citi's Global Head of Services and Innovation, stated that the bank has been developing crypto custody services for the past two to three years and has made substantial progress. 'We are exploring multiple avenues. We hope to launch a trusted custody solution in the coming quarters for our asset management clients and other institutional clients.'
8. Google: Blockchain as the cornerstone of AI, enhance stablecoin compatibility
AI + blockchain, traditional payments + stablecoins are Google's two major focuses in the crypto space in 2025.
1. Blockchain as the cornerstone of AI agents
On August 31, Ethereum and Google developers jointly proposed a new proposal aimed at making blockchain the cornerstone of the AI agent economy. Tech giants like Google and Amazon are betting on AI agents, while Ethereum developers believe their blockchain has unique advantages in supporting this new type of machine economy. Ethereum core developer Davide Crapis has proposed the ERC-8004 standard, which aims to enable mutual discovery, verification, and transactions among AI agents. Supporters argue that Ethereum's payment channels, digital identity tools, and scalable multi-layer architecture make it the most efficient infrastructure for an AI-driven economy.
2. Enhance stablecoin compatibility
On September 16, Google released a new open payment protocol designed to facilitate the transfer of funds across different AI applications, supporting not only traditional payment methods such as credit and debit cards but also stablecoins. To enhance compatibility with stablecoins, Google has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, which has built its own AI and cryptocurrency payment solutions. Additionally, Google has collaborated with other cryptocurrency companies, including the Ethereum Foundation, and reportedly consulted with over 60 organizations such as Salesforce, American Express, and Etsy to develop other elements of the new payment protocol.
9. SBI: Enter stablecoins, tokenized stocks
1. Enter stablecoins
On March 4, SBI VC Trade announced it had completed the first registration for stablecoin trading in Japan. After approval, it began processing USDC transactions on March 12. The company is able to provide buying and selling services for USDC to individual and corporate clients and needs to secure collateral in dollars equal to or more than the USDC deposited by clients. SBI Group's new trust bank will assume the role of trust security.
On August 22, Ripple partnered with Japan's SBI Group to plan to launch the stablecoin RLUSD in Japan in the first quarter of 2026.
On December 16, Japanese blockchain infrastructure company Startale Group and Japanese financial group SBI Holdings plan to launch a fully regulated stablecoin pegged to the yen by the second quarter of 2026 to support global settlements. The two parties will collaborate under a new agreement to develop this digital currency.
2. Tokenized stocks
On August 22, SBI announced a strategic partnership with crypto infrastructure company Startale Group to jointly launch an on-chain tokenized stock trading platform. This platform will combine SBI's financial ecosystem with Startale's blockchain infrastructure, supporting 24/7 trading of tokenized stocks and providing faster cross-border settlements and fractional ownership options. The platform will also integrate decentralized finance protocols and feature account abstraction, institutional custody, and real-time compliance monitoring.
10. Samsung: Terminal Crypto Services
On October 3, Samsung partnered with Coinbase to provide Coinbase One service access to 75 million Galaxy device users in the U.S., marking Coinbase's largest consumer distribution to date and Samsung's biggest move in the crypto space. Users can access Coinbase directly through Samsung Wallet, enjoying zero transaction fees and higher staking rewards without needing to download additional apps or transfer funds. This plan will also expand to international markets in the future.