Stablecoin Deals and China, Europe to Follow U.S. With Bitcoin Reserve: Wintermute Predictions

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By James Van Straten | Edited by Sheldon Reback Jan 17, 2025, 1:40 p.m. UTC Institutional adoption exploded last year. (Peter H/Pixabay) What to know : Wintermute's 2025 predictions: China, UAE, and Europe may follow the U.S. in creating a BTC strategic reserve. Wintermute saw OTC trading volumes grow by 313%. Institutions continue to search for more sophisticated yield and risk management instruments. Crypto will become more deeply integrated into traditional finance (TradFi) through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and corporate holdings this year, according to crypto-trading firm Wintermute. In addition, a large corporate event such as an acquisition or merger will be settled in stablecoins, the market maker and liquidity provider said in an annual review and outlook . Among its other forecasts: The U.S. will begin consultations to create a strategic bitcoin reserve, with China, the UAE and Europe following suit. A publicly listed company will sell debt or shares to buy ether (ETH), mimicking MicroStrategy's (MSTR) bitcoin acquisition policy. A systemically important bank will offer spot cryptocurrency trading to clients. The predictions follow substantial demand growth last year, which saw over-the-counter (OTC) trading institutional trading volumes more than triple following the approval last January of bitcoin (BTC) ETFs and later arrival of ether (ETH) ETFs. The report attributed the interest to improved regulatory clarity and demand for capital-efficient trading. The average OTC trade size increased 17% and total volume 313%, it said. Derivatives volumes grew by over 300%, driven by institutions searching for more sophisticated yield and risk management instruments. In spot trading, Wintermute noted a record-breaking single-day OTC volume of $2.24 billion, surpassing 2023's weekly record of $2 billion. Shift in Asset Preferences Memecoins were one of the success stories in 2024, seeing their market share more than double to 16%. This was primarily driven in the Solana ecosystem by tokens such as dogwifhat (WIF), bonk (BONK) and ponke (PONKE), though ether continues to dominate. OTC Spot volume of meme coins by ecosystem, % split (Wintermute) "We saw record-breaking growth driven by demand for sophisticated products like CFDs and options, reflecting a maturing market that increasingly mirrors traditional finance," CEO Evgeny Gaevoy said in the report. "We anticipate even greater momentum as crypto integrates deeper into global financial infrastructure through ETFs, corporate holdings, tokenization, and the rise of structured products." Wintermute OTC Predictions James Van Straten As the senior analyst at CoinDesk, specializing in Bitcoin and the macro environment. Previously, working as a research analyst at Saidler & Co., a Swiss hedge fund, introduced to on-chain analytics. James specializes in daily monitoring of ETFs, spot, futures volumes, and flows to understand how Bitcoin interacts within the financial system. James holds more than $1,000 worth of bitcoin, MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Semler Scientific (SMLR). X icon X icon ABOUT About Us Masthead Careers CoinDesk News Research CONTACT Contact Us Accessibility Advertise Sitemap POLICIES Ethics Privacy Terms of Use Cookie Consent Do Not Sell My Info DISCLOSURE Please note that our privacy policy , terms of use , cookies , and do not sell my personal information have been updated. CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies . CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. 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