Major Cryptocurrency News of 2025: XRP's New Heights, $19 Billion Losses, CZ's Pardon, and More

In the last year, the cryptocurrency landscape was characterized by both thrilling highs and devastating lows. The awaited regulatory clarity in Washington faced off against record-setting hacks and severe liquidations.

Key Takeaways

XRP's Growth: XRP surpassed its previous all-time high, driven by the conclusion of lingering legal battles.
Major Hacks: North Korean hackers executed the largest crypto hack ever, stealing $1.5 billion from Bybit.
Regulatory Changes: SEC's Gary Gensler stepped down, marking the end of the "regulation by enforcement" era.
Bitcoin Milestones: Strategy's Bitcoin holdings topped 500,000 BTC.
Market Reactions: The rapid deleveraging event wiped out $19 billion within a day.
Stablecoin Developments: Circle Internet Financial went public, becoming the first stablecoin issuer listed on the NYSE.

Major Cryptocurrency News of 2025: XRP's New Heights, $19 Billion Losses, CZ's Pardon, and More

The year marked the end of the crypto "Wild West." In 2025, the United States witnessed the resignation of SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the establishment of the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and the passing of the GENIUS Act.

Despite these developments, the crypto market remained volatile. Investors were challenged by significant hacks and sharp price drops, putting their resilience to the test. As we wrap up this transformative year, let’s delve into the 15 key news events of 2025.

Key Events in 2025

The Ethereum mainnet completed the significant Pectra (Prague-Electra) hard fork, marking its most important update since "The Merge." This upgrade introduced the Max Effective Balance (MaxEB), enabling validators to stake up to 2,048 ETH per slot, a substantial increase from the previous limit of 32 ETH.

The biggest headline of the year was SEC Chair Gary Gensler's official resignation at noon on January 20. This marked the end of the "regulation by enforcement" approach, resulting in XRP and UNI tokens surging 15% and 12%, respectively, just hours after the announcement.

In a shocking incident, North Korean hackers perpetrated the largest cryptocurrency hack in history, exploiting a vulnerability in storage software to steal $1.5 billion in Ethereum from Bybit. This hack led to an immediate market sell-off and a liquidity crisis for Ethereum on centralized exchanges, causing Bybit to halt withdrawals for 48 hours.

On March 23, 2025, Strategy surpassed the 500,000 BTC milestone for the first time, reaching a total of 506,137 BTC. They continued to increase their holdings, accumulating an additional 100,000 coins throughout the year. The company's name was simplified from "Micro" to "Strategy," with a new logo that features a stylized "B" and a refreshed official brand color of orange.

After over two years of bankruptcy proceedings, the initial wave of cash distributions commenced, bringing about $1.2 billion into the market in late February. Despite this, the FTX saga continues, with reports indicating that former executive Caroline Ellison will be released from federal prison earlier than expected.

In March, Executive Order 14202 was signed, officially creating the "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile." While it did not sanction new crypto purchases, it paused all U.S. Marshals Service auctions of seized cryptocurrencies, a disappointing development for many.

The U.S. reasserted its leadership in digital finance with the passing of the GENIUS Act, which provided much-needed regulatory clarity for the fast-growing stablecoin sector.

In a noteworthy development, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), former CEO of Binance, received a full presidential pardon in late October. After completing a four-month custodial sentence in 2024, the pardon cleared his felony conviction, enabling him to seek executive roles in U.S.-linked financial companies.

Circle Internet Financial made history by becoming the first stablecoin issuer to go public in the United States, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the CRCL ticker. The stock faced a strong rally, contributing to the ongoing trend of crypto initial public offerings (IPOs).

The SEC also announced a rule change that sped up listings for commodity-based trust shares, allowing the launch of the first spot XRP and Dogecoin ETFs, alongside various other altcoin offerings. This expansion significantly broadened the selection of institutional crypto products.

XRP finally broke its previous all-time high of around $3.40 following the resolution of its legal battle with the SEC. This surge was fueled by positive market trends that began in Q1 when the SEC dropped its appeal against Ripple. However, despite this breakout, XRP finished the year lower than expected.

In September, the Federal Reserve reduced interest rates by 25 basis points for the first time amidst high inflation concerns, a move that revived optimism in the crypto market.

However, in a surprising twist, the crypto market experienced a harsh deleveraging event in October, erasing $19 billion in just 24 hours due to an unforeseen geopolitical shock. This event left the market struggling to recover.

After a lengthy legal battle spanning nearly five years, the SEC and Ripple reached an agreement to dismiss all pending appeals. The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals approved this on August 22, retaining the previous ruling that determined programmatic sales of XRP are not classified as securities. Ripple agreed to pay a previously imposed $125 million penalty.

In the first week of October, Bitcoin peaked at $126,080 but could not sustain this momentum, dropping over 35%. It ended 2025 nearly 30% below its lifetime high.

As we enter the new year with a more innovation-friendly SEC, a publicly traded stablecoin sector, and a government that holds Bitcoin, it's clear the "Wild West" era is over. Still, the question remains: will cryptocurrency regain its allure and popularity among retail investors after the challenges of Q4?

U.Today wishes our readers a successful and prosperous 2026!