U.S. Institutions Drive Crypto Profitability in 2025; What’s Next?

• The most profitable crypto narratives in 2025 were RWA, Layer 1, and Made in USA.
• Solana ecosystem, GamiFi, and dePIN recorded the worst performance in 2025.
• The altcoin market is expected to morph in 2026, catalyzed by regulatory clarity in the USA and the pace of global retail adoption.

Less than a week to the end of 2025, and only three crypto narratives have recorded profits. Despite the notion, earlier this year, that Bitcoin (BTC) price would hit $200k by the end of 2025, the majority of crypto narratives recorded losses in 2025.

Only 3 Crypto Narratives Were Profitable in 2025

According to a CoinGecko report released on Wednesday, December 24, only three crypto narratives were profitable in 2025. The report noted that crypto tokens linked to Real-World Assets (RWA) have recorded returns of about 185.7% year-to-date (YTD).

The Layer 1 (L1) sector was ranked the second-best-performing crypto narrative in 2025 due to the high profits recorded by privacy-oriented chains. For instance, Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR) rallied over 691% and 143% respectively, YTD. Meanwhile, blue-chip L1 altcoins such as BNB, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Tron (TRX) have also posted gains despite broader market weakness

The third-highest profitable crypto narrative in 2025 is altcoins made in the United States. The Made in USA crypto assets are on track to record more than 30% in average returns YTD. According to the report, the impressive performance of ZEC YTD heavily influenced the profitability of the Made in USA crypto narrative.

Meanwhile, the memecoins, Layer 2, AI, DEX, GamiFi, and DePIN narratives all recorded double-digit percentage losses. According to the report, GameFi and DePIN narratives were the worst-performing crypto narratives with drawdowns of 75% and 76% YTD, respectively.

In the Solana ecosystem, which dropped 64% YTD, only Jupiter (JLP) was immune to the heavy losses.

What’s Next For 2026?

The crypto performance in 2026 is expected to record higher profits than in 2025 due to the cumulative fundamentals and ongoing macroeconomic shifts. While institutional investors drove the highest profits in 2025, the narrative is likely to change during the crypto blowoff tops in 2026.

In 2024, the most profitable crypto narratives were AI, memecoins, and RWA. As such, the expected return of the global retail traders will benefit the highly undervalued institutional-backed crypto projects, led by memecoins and RWA. 

The retail traders in 2026 will be influenced by the expected altcoin regulations in the United States through the Clarity Act. The altcoins that have already seen their spot exchange-traded funds approved in 2025 will benefit heavily from institutional flow in 2026 amid the expected regulatory clarity.

Related: Digital Assets 2026 Outlook: Institutional Growth, Security Risks, and Market Shifts