Digital assets are rapidly strengthening their positions and increasingly influencing the global financial system. Growth in the user base, a sharp increase in the number of transactions, and active participation by institutional investors confirm that cryptocurrencies are gradually moving beyond a niche market and beginning to compete with traditional assets.
If in 2023 the Bitcoin network processed just over 20,000 transactions per day, by June 2025 this figure had increased almost fivefold, to more than 110,000 transactions per day.
The total number of daily active users across the five largest blockchain ecosystems reached 19 million, up more than 40% from the end of 2024.
Such dynamics indicate rapidly growing interest in cryptocurrencies, which already surpass traditional financial instruments across several parameters.
Minimal transaction costs
Bitcoin became the first asset that does not require physical storage costs. Unlike gold, which requires safes and vaults, or real estate with its tax burden, digital assets do not imply ongoing maintenance costs. Even holding fiat currencies* requires payment of bank fees and account maintenance.
* Fiat currencies are conventional money issued by the state (for example, dollars, euros). Their value is not tied to gold or other assets and is supported by trust in the state and the banking system.
Traditional assets almost always involve intermediaries, which increases the cost of transactions. For example, a bank transfer of $1 million may cost a client more than $10,000 in fees paid to the bank. On the Bitcoin network, transferring a similar amount costs only a few dollars, since the fee is paid exclusively to miners*.
* Miners are participants in the Bitcoin network who confirm transactions and add them to the blockchain, receiving rewards in the form of fees and newly issued bitcoins.
As of June 2025, the average fee on the Bitcoin network is about $1.3 and depends on blockchain congestion. For small payments, this may be inefficient; however, the issue is mitigated by second-layer solutions such as the Lightning Network. With its help, bitcoins can be sent almost instantly and with minimal fees. This is why LN is widely used for everyday payments at retail locations and food-service establishments that accept crypto payments.
Bitcoin as protection against inflation
One of Bitcoin’s key advantages is the predictability of its issuance. The number of coins that will be released into circulation is known decades in advance. More than 90% of all bitcoins have already been mined, and the adequate supply of Bitcoin is gradually decreasing.
This is because some users permanently lose access to their wallets—for example, due to lost private keys, damaged storage devices, or the death of the owner without transferring access. Such coins are technically impossible to recover or reintroduce into circulation, so they effectively leave the market, reducing the total supply of Bitcoin. According to various estimates, between 20% and 30% of all existing coins have been permanently lost.
Fiat currencies, by contrast, can be printed in unlimited quantities. For instance, between 2020 and 2022, the United States increased its money supply by approximately 40% as part of anti-crisis measures.
Bitcoin issuance, on the other hand, slows down thanks to the halving mechanism—every four years, the reward for mining a block is cut in half. This deflationary principle underlies the long-term growth in BTC’s value.
Even during market downturns, Bitcoin has outperformed inflation. Over the decade from 2013 to 2023, inflation in the United States amounted to about 28%, while the price of Bitcoin increased by more than 8,000%. Gold over the same period merely preserved its purchasing power, while the dollar lost purchasing power to inflation.
Returns: the crypto market beyond competition
By average annual returns, cryptocurrencies confidently rank among the leaders. According to analysts’ estimates, Bitcoin’s average yearly return is 130%, significantly higher than most stock market instruments.
For comparison:
- The S&P 500 index yields about 10% per year on average.
- Gold — around 3%.
Results for 2024:
- Bitcoin — growth of 120%;
- Ethereum — +46%;
- S&P 500 — +25%;
- Nasdaq — +36%.
An additional advantage of the crypto market is its continuous operation: trading is available 24/7 with no weekends. This allows investors to react quickly to sharp price movements and reduces the risks of gaps* that are typical of stock markets when exchanges are closed.
* A gap is a sharp price discontinuity when an asset opens at a significantly higher or lower price compared to the previous session’s closing price, usually because the market was closed and could not react to news.
Market capitalization and liquidity
By June 2025, Bitcoin’s market capitalization exceeded $2 trillion, and the total capitalization of the entire crypto market reached $3.3 trillion. This allowed Bitcoin to take sixth place among the world’s most significant assets, surpassing Alphabet (Google) shares and silver.
Over the past year, the market capitalization of the first cryptocurrency increased by approximately 1.5 times, while the average daily trading volume grew by nearly 30%, from $33.14 billion to $44.12 billion.
Institutional money is transforming the crypto market
The inflow of capital from large companies and professional investors into the crypto industry continues to grow. If in 2023 institutional investments were estimated at $4 billion, in 2024 they already exceeded $15 billion.
According to forecasts by Bloomberg and PwC, in 2025 this figure could reach $20 billion, including investments in staking* and DeFi projects.
* Staking is a way to earn income in cryptocurrencies in which users lock their coins in a blockchain network to support its operation and security, receiving rewards in the form of interest or new tokens.
For comparison, in 2020, corporate investments amounted to only $1.5 billion. Today, daily inflows into Bitcoin ETFs* exceed $1 billion. Experts believe that if Bitcoin’s price stabilizes around $100,000, daily investments in Bitcoin funds could grow to $1.5–2 billion.
* Bitcoin ETF is an exchange-traded investment fund whose price is directly linked to the value of Bitcoin. Such a fund buys and holds Bitcoin, allowing investors to invest in Bitcoin through familiar stock-market infrastructure. This makes it possible to buy and sell fund shares via brokers and exchanges without the need to personally store cryptocurrency, manage wallets, or secure private keys.
Mass adoption of cryptocurrencies is already close
In 2020, about 46 million people used cryptocurrencies. The growth of the DeFi and NFT sectors led to a sharp expansion of the audience—the number of users increased more than fourfold, reaching 200 million.
According to TripleA, in 2024, the number of people owning cryptocurrency exceeded 500 million, representing approximately 6% of the world’s population. In other words, every sixteenth person on Earth has already used digital assets.
According to a study by Rew Research, every fifth resident of the United States owns cryptocurrency, while in Asian countries, about 38% of the population uses digital assets. In Southeast Asia, young people are increasingly choosing cryptocurrencies instead of traditional bank accounts.
In May 2025, Bitcoin surpassed gold in the number of holders in the United States for the first time, with 49.6 million holders versus 36.7 million for gold, according to a River report. This highlights the growing perception of cryptocurrencies as tools for long-term capital preservation and growth.