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

On December 25, following a year of gradual regulatory clarity and divergent market performance, top venture capitalists are reevaluating the 2025 crypto industry’s value proposition. Three VCs—Pantera Capital’s Mason Nystrom, Hash3 co-founder Hootie Rashidifard, and Variant’s Alana Levin—unanimously named stablecoins, prediction markets, and traditional finance/internet incumbents as this year’s biggest winners in a recent podcast. Nystrom noted established firms like Robinhood acted fast post-regulatory clarity, ramping up their 2025 crypto strategy significantly—“well anticipating where the puck is going to go.” Rashidifard said stablecoin trading volume and profitability have surged: “Tether has become one of the most profitable companies per capita.” He stressed stablecoins not only generate revenue today but deliver tangible fundamental financial value to end users. Levin flagged prediction markets as 2025’s fastest-growing track, with Kalshi and Polymarket dispelling doubts around “volume padding” and “election-only betting.” Notably, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) invested $2 billion in Polymarket this year—a standout move. On the flip side, key failures included: - **Personal**: Levin called out Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December for fraud tied to Terra’s collapse—dubbed a landmark industry failure. - **Institutional**: Rashidifard cited the Biden-era U.S. SEC as a major institutional misstep, arguing long-term tough enforcement yielded no actual regulatory progress but pushed many entrepreneurs to leave. He noted a fundamental U.S. crypto shift in 2025: Gensler stepping down, the GENIUS stablecoin bill passing, and market structure legislation advancing.