The development of the cryptocurrency industry is becoming increasingly mature. At the end of last year, we identified 5 indicators to closely monitor in 2025 to track the ongoing growth and development of the industry, which are:
Monthly active wallet users, adjusted stablecoin transaction volume, ETP net inflows, ratio of DEX to CEX spot trading volume, total transaction fees (block space demand)
Here are the data conditions and importance analysis for the first half of this year.
1. Monthly active wallet users: +23%
2025: Monthly active mobile wallet users average 34.4 million;
2024: Monthly active mobile wallet users average 27.9 million.
Importance explanation:
Wallet infrastructure has significantly improved — we now have low transaction fees, new account abstraction protocols (EIP-7702), embedded wallet products (Privy, Turnkey, Dynamic), etc. Now is the best time to build the next generation of mobile wallets.
Related news:
Stripe strengthens its Web3 layout! Acquires crypto wallet startup Privy, expanding its digital asset footprint
Source: (Foresight News)
2. Adjusted stablecoin transaction volume: +49%
2025: Adjusted stablecoin transaction volume averages $702 billion per month;
2024: Adjusted stablecoin transaction volume averages $472 billion per month.
Importance explanation:
Stablecoins have achieved product-market fit. Today, we can transfer dollars in less than 1 second and at a cost of less than 1 cent — making stablecoins an ideal choice for payments. Major financial institutions are actively seizing this opportunity.
Related news:
＊ USDC issuer Circle lists on the New York Stock Exchange; (news link)
＊ Stripe acquires stablecoin infrastructure provider Bridge and announces multiple new products; (news link)
＊ Coinbase releases smart payment standards supporting stablecoin payments;
＊ Visa and Mastercard enhance stablecoin support features;
＊ According to reports, Meta is in talks to introduce stablecoins as a payment settlement method. (news link)
Source: (Foresight News)
3. ETP net inflows (Bitcoin and Ethereum): +28%
June 2025: Total ETP net inflows of $45 billion (Bitcoin $42 billion, Ethereum $3.4 billion);
End of 2024: Total ETP net inflows of $35 billion (Bitcoin $33 billion, Ethereum $2.4 billion).
Importance explanation:
Institutional money entering the cryptocurrency industry symbolizes the overall maturity of the industry. As regulatory policies become clearer and major distribution channels begin to gain traction, ETP product net inflows are expected to continue to grow.
Related news:
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently requested that the issuer of the Solana spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) update its S-1 filing documents, indicating a possible approval of the product in the near future.
Source: (Foresight News)
4. Ratio of DEX to CEX spot trading volume: +51%
2025 average: DEX/CEX monthly trading volume ratio reaches 17%;
2024 average: DEX/CEX monthly trading volume ratio reaches 11%.
Importance explanation:
As on-chain users continue to grow, we expect the usage of decentralized exchanges (DEX) relative to centralized exchanges (CEX) to steadily increase in the cryptocurrency trading industry. This continuous rise in ratio highlights the overall development of the DeFi ecosystem.
Related news:
Coinbase recently announced the launch of native DEX trading features in its app, allowing users to trade thousands of new assets directly.
Source: (Foresight News)
5. Total transaction fees (block space demand): -43%
2025 average: monthly transaction fees of $239 million;
2024 average: monthly transaction fees of $439 million.
Importance explanation:
The total transaction fees in USD reflect the overall demand for specific on-chain block space — that is, real economic value.
However, this indicator has many subtle differences, as most projects are explicitly trying to reduce user transaction fees. This is why it's also important to consider unit transaction costs — that is, the cost of using a specific amount of blockchain resources. Ideally, total demand (total transaction fees) should grow while gas fees (cost per unit of resource usage) remain low.
Related news:
Recently, we have seen a lot of discussions on the X platform about the importance of this indicator (and related indicators like REV).
Source: (Foresight News)
Another additional indicator I will focus on is: the number of tokens with monthly net income exceeding $1 million. As of June 2025, there are only 22 (data source: Token Terminal).
With the new regulatory environment and upcoming market structure legislation, tokens will eventually open a pathway to economic circulation. This will encourage more projects to directly increase the value of tokens through revenue, creating a healthier token economy.
This article is republished with permission from: (Foresight News)
Original title: (5 charts that explain crypto right now)
Original author: Daren Matsuoka, a16z
Translated by: xiaozou, Golden Finance
‘2025 Crypto Industry Booms! 5 Key Data Points on the Market: Stablecoins and DEX Are Exploding’ was first published in ‘Crypto City’
