How BlackRock and Stripe are driving crypto into ‘adulthood,’ according to a16z Crypto

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Crypto’s stellar 2025 sets the stage for the industry to accelerate its growth.

That’s the central message of venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto division’s latest State of Crypto report.

“Seventeen years in, crypto is leaving its adolescence and entering adulthood,” a16z Crypto wrote.

The report paints a picture of a maturing industry that has moved past its speculative phase and into “a meaningful part” of the economy.

The report comes as blockchains now process more than 3,400 transactions per second, and Wall Street giants and fintech challengers alike are building crypto products.

New institutional standard

BlackRock received special accolades from a16z Crypto.

It noted how the investment giant’s iShares Bitcoin Trust has been a roaring success that has driven institutional investments and added $175 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum onchain holdings.

Circle’s billion-dollar initial public offering, Stripe’s acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure startup Bridge, and the passage of the Genius Act, a landmark stablecoin bill that gave builders and institutions long-awaited regulatory clarity, were also hailed as key achievements from the industry.

Stablecoins now power $46 trillion in total annual transaction volume — up 106% year-on-year — nearly triple Visa’s throughput and on pace with the Automated Clearing House network, an electronic funds-transfer systen that underpins US banking.

Mentions of stablecoins in Securities and Exchange Commission filings have jumped 64% in 2025, and a wave of new products has followed. Firms including Citigroup, Fidelity, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and Visa are now offering or planning to offer crypto to their clients, a16zCrypto said.

Beyond trading, fintechs like PayPal, Robinhood, and Stripe are building blockchains of their own, focused on payments and real-world assets, while BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust became the most-traded Bitcoin exchange-traded product launch of all time.

“These companies have massive distribution. If development continues, crypto could become deeply integrated into the financial services we use every day.”