Key Events Shaping the Crypto Space in Q3 2025
Q3 2025 key crypto moves: Kraken entered prop trading; Tether planned a US-compliant stablecoin; Bullish and Gemini went public; the US SEC accelerated crypto ETF approvals; and the UK FCA lifted the retail ban on crypto ETNs.
Q3 2025 was defined by major crypto industry shifts across regulation and expansion. Kraken entered prop trading by acquiring Breakout, aiming to mainstream crypto prop services. Tether revealed plans for a US-compliant stablecoin, USA₮, hiring a former White House advisor to target the US market. Bullish ($5.4 billion valuation) and Gemini ($3.3 billion valuation) both went public in the US. Regulatory moves included the US SEC fast-tracking crypto ETF listings, cutting the approval process by 165 days, and the UK’s FCA lifting the ban on retail access to crypto ETNs, effective October 2025.
Kraken Enters Prop Trading
Kraken has become the first cryptocurrency exchange to enter the prop trading market by acquiring Breakout.
The California-headquartered crypto platform will combine its infrastructure with the prop firm’s evaluation-based trading model, offering a unique service in the industry.
Why does it matter?
Prop trading has become very popular over recent years, but mostly for margin FX and CFD instruments. There are also firms offering futures prop services, mostly concentrated in the US. However, prop services are still a niche in cryptocurrency trading.
Kraken’s Breakout acquisition has the potential to bring crypto prop trading services into the mainstream.
“Breakout gives us a way to allocate capital based on proof of skill rather than access to capital itself,” said Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, adding: “We want to build systems that reward demonstrated performance, not pedigree.”
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Seed Funding Raised | $4.5 million |
| Acquisition Status | Acquired by Kraken |
Tether to Launch US-Compliant Stablecoin
Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, has revealed its plans to launch a US-compliant stablecoin, USA₮, which will be backed by the US dollar. The company also hired Bo Hines, a former White House crypto adviser, as the CEO of Tether USA₮.
How can it impact the industry?
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Tether's USDT Market Cap | over $172 Billion |
Although Tether estimates that nearly 500 million people use USD₮, its circulation is strictly outside the US. Now, with a US-compliant stablecoin, the offshore stablecoin giant is targeting the world’s largest economy.
The hiring of Hines is also a statement by Tether towards the future of stablecoins in the US. The 30-year-old former college football player previously served as Donald Trump’s crypto adviser when the US President adopted several key crypto regulations, including the Genius Act.
“Excited to help build an ecosystem of digital asset products that set the standard for compliance & innovation—empowering the US,” Hines wrote in a post on X.
Crypto Exchanges Are Going Public
Two cryptocurrency exchanges, Bullish and Gemini, went public in the US in the third quarter of 2025, riding the bullish market sentiment.
How is it significant?
For many years, Coinbase remained the lone crypto exchange to be listed on Nasdaq. While many contemplated going public, none actually did until crypto-friendly Trump’s second term in the White House. While eToro and Circle went public in the second quarter, they were not pure crypto exchanges – the first is a brokerage offering crypto trading among other assets, while the second is a stablecoin issuer.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Amount Raised in IPO | $1.1 billion |
| Valuation | $5.4 billion |
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Amount Raised by Gemini | $425 million |
| Valuation | $3.3 billion |
Both exchanges debuted strongly on their first trading day; however, the stocks corrected from their peaks.
SEC Fast-Tracks Crypto ETF Listings
The US SEC commissioners, under the chairmanship of Paul Atkins, have voted in favour of enabling national securities exchanges to adopt generic listing standards for new cryptocurrency and other spot commodity exchange-traded products.
Why is it important?
The new regulatory process will cut the maximum time from filing to launch to 75 days, down from 240 days or longer.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Shorter Regulatory Process | 165 days shorter |
Until now, the SEC has handled every spot crypto ETF filing on a case-by-case basis and required two separate filings: one from the exchange that planned to list the product and one from the asset manager, both needing approval from different divisions.
Now, asset managers and the exchanges – the NYSE, Nasdaq and Cboe Global Markets – must meet generic listing standards for a new spot crypto ETF to be approved without a lengthy, customised regulatory review.
“This is a watershed moment in America’s regulatory approach to digital assets,” said Teddy Fusaro, president of Bitwise Asset Management.
The first ETFs likely to launch under the new rules are those tracking Solana and XRP.
UK Allows Retail Crypto ETNs
The UK’s FCA has decided to lift the ban on retail access to cryptoasset-backed exchange-traded notes (cETNs), effective from 8 October 2025.
How will it impact the industry?
The regulatory decision is going to remove a major barrier to retail investment in cryptocurrencies.
Retail investors will be able to access cETNs if they are listed on FCA-recognised UK investment exchanges. These are referred to as Recognised Investment Exchanges.
“Since we restricted retail access to cETNs, the market has evolved, and products have become more mainstream and better understood,” said David Geale, Executive Director of Payments and Digital Finance at the FCA.
The decision was finalised at the beginning of August, two months after the regulator started a consultation on the matter.