Crypto Industry Mid-Year Review 2025: Q2 Financial Highlights & Outlook for Five Leading Companies

As 2025 reaches its halfway point, the crypto industry is once again showing signs of recovery. With the release of Q2 financial reports from major players, this mid-year moment offers a unique window into how leading companies are navigating the evolving landscape.

In this article, we have selected five standout crypto companies from different sectors to examine their financial performance and development strategies in Q2 2025. By comparing their profits and losses, we can not only reflect on broader industry trends, but also provide investors with valuable reference points—whether it’s spotting short-term and long-term growth opportunities, or assessing potential valuation bubbles among listed firms.

Galaxy Digital: Digital Asset Business Defies Market Downturn, Explores Share Tokenization

Galaxy Digital (TSX: GLXY) reported net income of $30.7 million for Q2 2025, reversing the $295 million loss from the previous quarter.

The digital asset firm's recovery was driven by balance sheet gains and strong performance in its global markets division, with Bitcoin holdings increasing to 17,102 BTC.

The firm's digital asset business posted adjusted gross profit of $71.4 million, up 10% quarter-over-quarter despite broader market challenges.

Galaxy completed the sale of over 80,000 BTC on behalf of a client—one of the largest Bitcoin transactions in crypto history—demonstrating its institutional trading capabilities.

The firm’s asset management and infrastructure solutions segment reported a 26% decline in profit, reflecting slower on-chain activity and diminished staking rewards. Nonetheless, assets under management and staking volume rose by 27% to reach $9 billion, supported by rising crypto prices and new capital inflows.

Galaxy announced plans to tokenize its Class A common stock through a partnership with SEC-registered transfer agent Superstate Services. “We are evaluating the feasibility of tokenizing our Class A common stock,” Galaxy Digital said in an SEC filing. “Tokenized GLXY would provide an additional mechanism for investors to hold and trade shares in the company.” CEO Mike Novogratz said the initiative could enable 24/7 trading and DeFi integration for traditional equity.

Coinbase: Core Business Weakness, Trading Slump and Investment-Driven Profits

In the second quarter of 2025, Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) reported total revenue of $1.497 billion, a 26% decline from the previous quarter. The company’s core trading revenue dropped sharply to $764 million, down 39% year-over-year, with total trading volume shrinking by 40% to $237 billion.

Both retail and institutional segments saw significant declines in activity, underscoring Coinbase’s heavy dependence on market volatility and user trading enthusiasm.

Despite the slump in its main business, Coinbase posted a GAAP net profit of $1.429 billion, a dramatic increase from $36 million in the same period last year. This surge was largely driven by a $1.5 billion gain from its investment in Circle and a $362 million mark-to-market increase in its crypto holdings.

Excluding these investment-related gains, adjusted net income was only $33 million, highlighting the ongoing weakness in the company’s core trading operations.

User engagement continued to deteriorate, with active traders dropping to 8.7 million, down by one million from the previous quarter.

More notably, the average trading volume per user fell by 38%, reflecting growing caution and fatigue among long-term retail users. This trend suggests that the core issue is not simply user attrition, but a significant decline in trading activity among existing customers.

In response to these structural challenges, Coinbase is accelerating its strategic pivot. The company plans to expand its product offerings to include tokenized real-world assets, equities, derivatives, and other new markets, aiming to become an “everything exchange.”

This diversification strategy is intended to reduce reliance on trading fees and position Coinbase as a direct competitor to platforms like Robinhood and Gemini.

Tether: Stablecoin Market Dominance and Global Asset Strategy

Tether further consolidated its position as the world’s leading stablecoin issuer in the second quarter of 2025. As of the report date, USDT boasted a market capitalization of $164.7 billion, accounting for 61.7% of all stablecoin value. This overwhelming share underscores Tether’s dominance and central role in the digital asset ecosystem.

A key highlight of the quarter was Tether’s deepening exposure to U.S. Treasurys. The company’s holdings surged to $127 billion—past South Korea to become the 18th-largest holder of U.S. government debt.

Notably, Tether’s ascent as a major Treasury holder coincides with U.S. policymakers’ push, through initiatives like the GENIUS Act, to reinforce the dollar’s global leadership in digital finance.

Financially, Tether reported robust growth. Total assets reached $162.6 billion, USDT circulation increased by $20 billion year-to-date, reflecting sustained demand for stablecoins. Net profit for Q2 soared to $4.9 billion, pushing year-to-date earnings to $5.73 billion.

While interest from Treasurys remains the primary source of recurring income, Tether’s diversified portfolio—including $8.9 billion in Bitcoin and $8.7 billion in gold—has contributed to both profitability and risk mitigation.

In summary, Tether’s Q2 2025 performance showcased strong profitability, prudent risk management, and a globalized asset strategy. As regulatory support for the digital dollar strengthens, Tether is poised to expand its influence and set new standards for compliance and risk management in the industry.

Robinhood: Crypto Surge Fuels Record Profits and Near-$1B Revenue

Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) delivered an impressive performance in the second quarter of 2025, demonstrating strong execution in diversified business expansion and global strategy.

The company posted revenue of $989 million, up 45% year-over-year, and net income reached $386 million, doubling from the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $549 million, with the profit margin rising to 56%, reflecting a significant improvement in profitability.

The primary drivers behind Robinhood’s stellar results were the robust rebound in its crypto trading and options businesses.

Options trading remained the largest contributor, generating $265 million in revenue, up 46% year-over-year. Crypto trading, meanwhile, became a new growth engine, with revenue reaching $160 million—a 98% year-over-year increase—accounting for 16% of total revenue. Equity trading also saw strong performance, bringing in $66 million, up 65% from the previous year. This diversified revenue structure gives Robinhood greater resilience against market fluctuations.

Robinhood also achieved significant growth in user base and platform assets. By the end of Q2, the number of funded accounts reached 26.5 million; active investment accounts grew to 27.4 million. Total platform assets surged to $279 billion, nearly doubling from a year ago. High-value users (Robinhood Gold subscribers) jumped 76% to 3.5 million. Average revenue per user rose to $151, a 34% increase, underscoring the platform’s improving monetization capability.

This quarter, Robinhood made bold moves in the crypto space:

• Completed the acquisition of top European exchange Bitstamp

• Secured over 50 crypto compliance licenses

• Launched crypto services in 30 European countries

• Introduced tokenized stock products

• Enabled crypto staking in the U.S.

• Plans to finalize the acquisition of Canada’s WonderFi later this year

In addition, Robinhood is gradually building a “financial supermarket” ecosystem: its digital advisory service (Robinhood Strategies) now manages $500 million in assets, retirement account assets have reached $20 billion, and Gold credit card users have surpassed 300,000.

Overall, Robinhood’s Q2 earnings highlight the high growth potential in its crypto and options businesses, as well as the sustained value creation from its user base.

Kraken: Diversification Accelerates, Profits Under Pressure

In the second quarter of 2025, Kraken reported revenue of $411.6 million, an 18% year-over-year increase, but a quarter-over-quarter decline. Adjusted EBITDA was $80 million, a significant drop from Q1, marking a notable decrease in profits.

Operationally, Kraken’s global user base reached 15 million, with funded accounts up 37% year-over-year to 4.4 million. Assets under custody grew 47% year-over-year to $43.2 billion. Total trading volume for Q2 was $186.8 billion, down 10.5% quarter-over-quarter, but still up 19% year-over-year.

In response to market volatility, Kraken accelerated its diversification strategy, actively advanced global compliance efforts, secured new licenses in multiple regions, and expanded local funding channels.

On the product side, Kraken continued to launch innovative services such as international stocks, tokenized equities, debit cards, and NinjaTrader, further enhancing its multi-asset offering.

Currently, Kraken is seeking to raise $500 million at a $15 billion valuation and is planning an IPO in 2026.

Analysts believe that with an active user base and a diversified product portfolio, Kraken has established itself as a “second-tier” brand featuring compliance and transparency.

With the expansion into derivatives, stock trading, and payments, Kraken is gradually reducing its reliance on spot trading fees and strengthening its resilience to market cycles.

Comparison of Profitable vs. Loss-Making Crypto Companies

The Q2 2025 earnings season for crypto companies highlighted a stark divergence between industry winners and laggards. Profitable firms like Tether, Galaxy Digital, and Robinhood showcased robust growth, while others such as Coinbase and Kraken struggled with shrinking revenues and mounting losses.

To better illustrate the overall trends behind these results, the following comparison summarizes the typical strengths and challenges of profitable versus loss-making companies：

Key Insights:

• Profitable companies typically have diversified revenue streams, strong risk management, and a proactive approach to innovation, allowing them to thrive even in volatile markets.

• Loss-making companies are often over-reliant on a single business model, making them vulnerable to market downturns and slow to adapt.

In Q2 2025, the contrast between Coinbase and Robinhood was particularly striking. Mizuho Securities analyses Coinbase's spot trading volume fell 45% quarter-on-quarter, and transaction revenue dropped 39%. Despite a rebound in July, the overall pressure on performance persisted.

In contrast, Robinhood achieved profitability through a more diversified product portfolio and lower fees. Mizuho explicitly stated a preference for Robinhood's long-term growth prospects, especially in areas like tokenized US equities. This case highlights the competitive advantage of diversification and innovation.

Industry Structure and Competitive Landscape

Q2 results further underscore the “winner-takes-all” trend in crypto: industry leaders with diversified businesses and regulatory strength continue to pull ahead, while second-tier players face mounting survival pressure. The sector’s reliance on trading fees is being challenged by fee compression, regulatory tightening, and user fatigue.

Intensified competition and product homogeneity have led to price wars and shrinking profit margins. The recent surge in US-listed crypto stocks has also sparked concerns about valuation bubbles, with investor sentiment sometimes decoupled from company fundamentals.

Coinbase’s share price fell by more than 20% in the seven days following its Q2 earnings release, dropping from a yearly high of $375.5 on July 9 to $303.67 on August 6. This decline far exceeded the 2% drop in the Nasdaq index over the same period, mainly due to a 39% decrease in Q2 trading revenue, disappointing earnings, and the negative impact from the $2 billion convertible bond issuance on August 5.

This sharp correction highlights how valuation bubbles driven by earlier market enthusiasm have become unsustainable.

As analyst Tom Lee warned, the valuation bubble in crypto-related US stocks is “even more fragile than the dot-com bubble in 2000,” reflecting a serious disconnect between market sentiment and company fundamentals.

Similarly, Galaxy Digital also saw its share price drop after releasing its earnings report, mainly because investors took profits following a strong rally in the stock.

This further illustrates the presence of valuation bubbles in the industry and how investor confidence can be easily swayed by market sentiment and short-term volatility.

Broader Implications for the Crypto Sector

The Q2 2025 earnings season makes it clear: the crypto industry is entering a phase of consolidation and transformation.

Companies with diversified business models, robust compliance, and a willingness to innovate are best positioned to capture future growth. Meanwhile, those clinging to old models are at risk of being left behind or acquired.

At the same time, the volatility in crypto stock prices and the disconnect between fundamentals and valuations serve as a warning for both investors and operators.

Sustainable growth will depend not only on capturing new revenue streams but also on maintaining investor confidence and adapting to regulatory changes.