For millions of people, crypto has shifted from a speculative asset to a critical utility.

It has become the rail for sending money home, a hedge against fragile local currencies, and a bypass for legacy financial systems that are slow, expensive, or out of reach.

This shift in behaviour is showing up clearly in the data: global retail transactions surged by more than 125% in between January to September 2024 and during the same period in 2025, signalling that individuals, not just institutions, are driving the next phase of growth.

TRM Labs’ 2025 Crypto Adoption and Stablecoin Usage report indicates Asia as the centre of gravity for this functional adoption.

According to its Country Crypto Adoption Index 2025, seven Asian nations feature prominently in the rankings, with India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Republic of Korea, and Japan all in the global top 10. For these markets, the driver is clear: a grassroots demand for functional financial alternatives.

Yet, the global landscape is defined by a powerful duality. While Asia drives the breadth of user adoption, the United States continues to dominate the depth of the market.

US crypto activity surged by roughly 50% between January and July 2025, pushing past US$1 trillion and cementing its status as the world’s largest market by absolute transaction volume.

That acceleration has unfolded alongside a clear shift in Washington. The Trump administration has moved quickly to deliver on its pledge to make the US “the crypto capital of the world,” translating campaign rhetoric into policy action.

Congress has since passed the GENIUS Act, establishing the country’s first comprehensive framework for stablecoins while also advancing the CLARITY Act to set out a broader market structure for digital assets.

Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy and Government Affairs at TRM Labs, reinforces this structural divergence:

“Crypto adoption in 2025 is being shaped by two powerful forces — policy clarity and user-driven innovation. We’re seeing not only institutional participation accelerate in regulated markets like the US, but also grassroots adoption thrive in regions with economic volatility. The rise of stablecoins sits at the centre of both stories.”

Asia’s Diverse Adoption Story

The Country Crypto Adoption Index 2025 places Asia firmly at the heart of global crypto adoption, with India retaining the top position for the third consecutive year.

Pakistan and the Philippines have surged into the global top five, while Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand all remain within the top 15.

India’s continued leadership is fuelled by a “crypto-fluent” middle class and a massive demographic dividend. Beyond retail enthusiasm, the market is maturing rapidly: a thriving developer ecosystem and rising interest from institutional and high-net-worth investors are deepening liquidity and reinforcing the country’s accelerating adoption.

Pakistan has jumped to the #3 spot globally, moving up one rank from 2024. This rise is driven by a decisive policy pivot.

In March 2025, the government established the Pakistan Crypto Council to foster the local blockchain ecosystem and announced plans for a dedicated regulator, the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), signalling a shift towards formal oversight.

Bangladesh presents a stark contrast, proving that economic necessity often supersedes the law. Despite ongoing warnings from the central bank since 2014 and the fact that, as of 21 October 2025, no platforms are licensed to operate legally, adoption thrives underground.

Driven by strict capital controls and a scarcity of foreign exchange, its citizens seem to be turning to crypto as an essential alternative to the traditional financial system.

Ultimately, this suggests that crypto has become an essential utility, capable of flourishing equally: where governments build regulatory bridges and where they attempt to build walls.

Stablecoins Quickly Gain Traction in Crypto Adoption

Stablecoins accounted for 30% of crypto transactions from January 2025 to July 2025, according to analysis from TRM Labs. The market remains overwhelmingly US dollar–centric, with more than 90% of fiat-backed stablecoins pegged to the US dollar. Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC together account for 93% of total stablecoin market capitalisation.

Regulatory momentum has kept pace with this growth. In 2025, the US passed the GENIUS Act to establish a federal stablecoin framework, Hong Kong approved its Stablecoin Bill, and the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) came into force.

As of August 2025, TRM Labs analysis shows stablecoins reaching their highest annual transaction volume on record. Transaction activity rose 83% between July 2024 and July 2025, with more than US$4 trillion in stablecoin volume recorded between January and July 2025 alone.

Over the same period, leading stablecoins expanded their share of the overall crypto market by 52%, underscoring their rapidly growing role in how crypto is being used globally.

The Compliance Paradox

TRM Labs estimates that 99% of stablecoin activity remains licit. Yet in the first quarter of 2025, stablecoins accounted for 60% of all illicit crypto transaction volume.

This concentration reflects exposure rather than misuse, as stablecoins are considered the most liquid and accessible on-chain medium.

This imbalance reflects the same characteristics that have driven legitimate adoption: low transaction costs, speed, and wide availability on open blockchains such as TRON and Ethereum.

Across both leading stablecoins and the wider crypto market, investment fraud was the largest contributor to illicit volume growth between 2024 and 2025. However, when stablecoins are excluded, sanctions-related activity emerges as the primary driver, increasing by more than US$1 billion in comparison to 2024.

That pattern diverges sharply within the stablecoin segment itself. Sanctions-related volume involving leading stablecoins fell by US$5.2 billion over the same period, pointing to a possible behavioural shift among threat actors.

As enforcement pressure and monitoring around stablecoins have intensified, some illicit actors appear to be moving towards alternative digital assets to evade sanctions.

Within the stablecoin ecosystem, extortion and blackmail showed the fastest relative growth, with volumes rising 380% YoY between January and July 2025. The rise highlights how criminal activity adapts quickly to liquidity and reach, even as overall compliance improves.

Regulation as an Accelerant

The data from 2025 confirms that the crypto market is maturing in behaviour and structure. With legislation advancing globally, stablecoins are evolving from crypto-native tools into regulated financial rails.

This shift underscores the defining trend of the 2025 Index: regulatory clarity is an accelerant, driving legitimate growth while narrowing the channels for abuse.

Featured image edited by Fintech News Singapore based on image by thanyakij-12 on Freepik