Jun 23, 2025
By Proper Asset Management
In June, the crypto market continued to show signs of institutional maturity amid global macro uncertainty, evolving regulation, and growing sectoral specialization. Below, we highlight the key narratives driving capital allocation and sentiment shifts.
Bitcoin: Institutional Bid Remains Unshaken
Despite heightened geopolitical risk — including escalating tensions between Israel and Iran — Bitcoin has maintained relative resilience. A brief dip below $100K was quickly absorbed, reinforcing BTC’s role as a structural macro hedge.
The underlying engine: steady inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs. With more institutional portfolios treating BTC as “digital gold,” dips are increasingly seen as buying opportunities.
Takeaway: As long as institutions are buying the dip, the market floor remains far higher than in past cycles.
Ethereum: From Protocol to Yield-Bearing Asset
While Ethereum has lagged behind BTC in relative terms, ETF inflows into ETH are now more stable than Bitcoin’s for the first time in weeks — a sign of growing confidence in its evolving role.
Key catalyst: The SEC’s May 29 statement clarified that protocol-level staking does not constitute a security. This opens the door to ETH ETFs with embedded staking yields, transforming ETH from a narrative-driven token into a cash-flow asset — one that fits neatly into traditional investor frameworks.
Pectra upgrade (increasing validator limits from 32 to 2048 ETH) and a record-high staking queue further underscore Ethereum’s transition into an institutional-grade asset.
Takeaway: Institutional investors aren’t chasing hype — they’re allocating into infrastructure with predictable returns.
Ethereum Foundation’s Treasury Strategy Signals Confidence
Ethereum Foundation’s newly disclosed treasury policy now limits spending to ≤15%, targeting a conservative 5% baseline — all in fiat. ETH is no longer being sold on open markets but instead allocated to privacy-enabled DeFi strategies.
Takeaway: The Foundation is positioning ETH as a productive asset and a long-term pillar of the Ethereum economy, not just as liquidity to be offloaded.
Solana: Volatility with Strong Fundamentals
Solana continues to lead in terms of developer activity and use-case diversity — spanning DeFi, NFTs, DePIN, and AI-native tooling. Despite higher short-term volatility, SOL has stabilized in the $147–$163 range.
Its ecosystem is evolving into a high-performance alternative to Ethereum with differentiated applications, not just a high-beta trade.
Takeaway: SOL is no longer “just an altcoin.” It’s a maturing technology layer with real throughput and market stickiness.
Regulatory Clarity Is Fueling Infrastructure Growth
The regulatory environment is becoming more constructive than ever:
In the US: The CLARITY and GENIUS Acts are moving forward, laying legal foundations for stablecoins and digital commodities.
In Europe: MiCA is now in effect, with major platforms like Coinbase, OKX, and Gemini receiving licenses.
In the UK: The FCA is considering reversing the ban on retail access to crypto ETNs — potentially unlocking millions of new market participants.
Meanwhile, traditional giants like Circle (via IPO), Amazon, and Walmart are signaling stablecoin ambitions, accelerating the on-chain/off-chain convergence.
Takeaway: Regulators are not holding crypto back — they are now actively shaping its institutional onramp.
NFTs: From Speculation to Infrastructure
The NFT market is undergoing a renaissance. Trading volumes on OpenSea, Magic Eden, and Blur have returned to early 2023 levels — but this time, driven by professional participants and strategic capital.
New use cases are gaining traction: reputation credentials, DeSoc identity, DeFi collateral, and RWA integration.
Solana and Bitcoin-native collections (Ordinals, Runes) are challenging Ethereum’s dominance by pushing into programmable NFT primitives.
Takeaway: NFTs are no longer about hype — they’re a foundational layer in the evolving Web3 data and access economy.
Macro & Market Outlook: Balanced, Not Overheated
Crypto’s total market cap stands at ~$3.3 trillion — below prior peaks, but with signs of organic liquidity and steady inflows.
Risks remain: geopolitical flare-ups and potential stalls in regulatory progress. But structurally, capital is being allocated more strategically than ever before.
Strategic View: We are entering a phase where bearish public sentiment diverges from institutional positioning — and that’s often where the best opportunities emerge.