Crypto's Overexuberant 2025: From Hype to Tokenisation

If 2024 was the year of recovery, 2025 was the year of "overexuberance followed by utter deflation." While market cap peaked at $4.2 trillion and Bitcoin hit a high of $126k, the market has since cooled, with Bitcoin struggling to break past $100k since mid-November. But looking past the price action, the real story was the quiet rise of institutional plumbing.

Hann Liew, Founder and CEO of Halogen Capital, joins BFM to review a volatile 2025 and outline the outlook for 2026.

We discuss:

• The 2025 Scorecard: Hann describes the year as "overexuberance," where a pro-crypto US administration drove hype that outpaced reality. However, the market floor is now significantly higher than previous cycles.

• The Genius Act: How new US legislation has legitimised stablecoins, forcing major banks like JP Morgan to explore the "blockchainisation" of their internal systems.

• The $300B Stablecoin Utility: Beyond trading, stablecoins are now essential infrastructure. Hann explains why you can't have a tokenised bond market without tokenised cash to settle it.

• Tokenising Real World Assets (RWAs): How tokenisation upgrades assets from paper certificates to immutable code. We explore the potential for a tokenised bond and what it could mean for Malaysian capital markets.

• Bots Paying Bots: The intersection of AI and Crypto. Hann explains why AI agents can't open bank accounts, making stablecoins the essential currency for the emerging "machine-to-machine" economy.

• Outlook 2026: Why the lack of a "blow-off top" is a sign of maturity, the potential passing of the Clarity Act, and why fiat currency debasement remains the ultimate long-term tailwind.

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