Decoding Crypto in 2025: Binance’s Kushal Manupati on Institutional Growth, Web3 Trends, and the GENIUS Act

The GENIUS Act represents a critical inflection point in how policymakers are beginning to engage with emerging technologies like blockchain and Web3. By focusing on incentivizing innovation and collaboration between government, enterprise, and startups, the Act could lay the foundation for a more innovation-friendly regulatory framework which is crucial for the Web3 space.

From a developer and builder perspective, the Act could unlock several tangible opportunities:

• Regulatory Clarity: A structured environment allows developers to innovate without the fear of sudden enforcement or unclear compliance obligations.

• Funding & Public Sector Collaboration: The Act may encourage government grants and procurement of blockchain-based solutions, enabling developers to pilot real-world use cases in areas like identity, supply chains, and data security.

• Technical Standards: With potential government backing, we could see the development of interoperability standards that allow cross-chain and cross-industry collaborations—benefiting developers who prioritize scalability and adoption.

At Binance, we view such legislative efforts as a green light for deeper ecosystem collaboration and believe they can catalyze the next wave of decentralized innovation.

The global crypto industry is transitioning from its speculative, retail-driven early phase into a more structured, institutional-grade financial ecosystem. Over the next 12–18 months, we anticipate three key trends:

1. Institutionalization of Infrastructure: Major financial institutions are building or integrating blockchain infrastructure from tokenized deposits to programmable payments. This signals trust in blockchain's underlying technology and will likely accelerate adoption across capital markets.

2. Regulatory Convergence: Jurisdictions like the EU (with MiCA), UAE, Singapore, and even countries like India are expected to make positive frameworks. This will reduce jurisdictional risk and make it easier for compliant players to operate.

3. Real-World Asset (RWA) Tokenization: The tokenization of everything from equities and bonds to real estate is gaining momentum. We expect tokenized RWAs to emerge as a dominant use case, offering enhanced liquidity and transparency.

Binance is actively evolving to support this transition, focusing on robust compliance systems, institutional onboarding, and infrastructure that supports both retail and enterprise use cases.

Security and user protection have always been foundational to Binance’s global operations. We understand that trust must be earned, and in the blockchain space, that comes not only through innovation but also through uncompromising focus on compliance, safety, and transparency.

One of the primary ways Binance assures security is to incorporate a strong compliance and audit infrastructure into our technology stack.

It’s important to understand that decentralization and security are not mutually exclusive. While blockchain-based transactions eliminate the need for a centralized clearing authority, ethical platforms must nonetheless aggressively manage off-chain threats such as illicit fiat conversion, identity fraud, and wallet breaches. Binance invests substantially in multi-layered security procedures, including real-time monitoring, enhanced threat detection, and cold wallet storage, to protect user assets.

We have also made significant progress to match with local frameworks and satisfying AML duties as required. These activities demonstrate our commitment to being long-term partners in the markets where we operate.

At last, our objective is to create a safe and inclusive digital asset economy that balances innovation with responsibility. We believe that collaborating with regulators and continuing to educate people on both potential and risks are critical steps toward developing long-term trust.

Regulatory clarity is an important facilitator of investor confidence and institutional participation in the crypto ecosystem. The absence of well-defined guardrails can often cause hesitancy, especially among institutional investors who are accustomed to operating in highly regulated, risk-managed environments. Clarity on legal frameworks, tax frameworks, custody standards, and capital treatment reduces risk in decision-making and allows for deeper and more persistent engagement.

At Binance, we've seen a huge increase in institutional interest in recent months, notably in response to regulatory developments such as the introduction of crypto ETFs in some markets. These milestones indicate that the asset class is growing and becoming more integrated with existing financial frameworks, allowing institutions to consider cryptocurrency as part of a balanced strategy rather than a speculative outlier.

Institutional adoption, on the other hand, involves more than just gaining access to new asset classes; it is also about assuring infrastructure, counterparty security, and operational transparency. When it comes to digital assets, many institutional investors, from family offices to asset managers, look for familiar frameworks. That is why we have implemented procedures such as the tri-party banking arrangement, in which collateral is kept with a trustworthy banking partner in customized accounts in the client's name. This structure provides the confidence of traditional financial oversight while also allowing for smooth access to crypto marketplaces. It eliminates friction and greatly lowers counterparty risk, which are two of the most prominent concerns among institutional clients.

In markets where regulations are either ambiguous or still evolving, institutional players tend to stay on the sidelines. Clear and consistent regulatory policies empower them to build long-term strategies, develop compliant products, and allocate resources with confidence. They also encourage greater innovation from crypto platforms, who are then able to build services that align with these expectations whether it’s around reporting standards, AML procedures, or secure asset custody.

Furthermore, regulatory certainty does more than reduce risk, it promotes investor education and lowers misinformation, benefiting both early-stage innovators and major, established financial institutions. As we work with institutional clients in worldwide markets, it is apparent that a combination of compliance, education, and infrastructure is critical to enabling the digital asset ecosystem's next phase of expansion.

The sentiment in 2025 can be characterized as measured optimism, underpinned by growing institutional engagement and regulatory maturity. A few key observations:

• Institutions Are Here to Stay: Institutional players are not just experimenting they are integrating digital assets into long-term strategies. This brings credibility and stability to the market.

• Retail Confidence Is Rebounding: The market is seeing a resurgence in retail activity—not driven by hype, but by greater education and improved access to regulated, user-friendly platforms.

• Tech Innovation Remains Strong: Despite market cycles, developer activity in areas like Layer-2 scaling, zero-knowledge proofs, and modular blockchains remains at an all-time high. This ongoing innovation cycle is laying the foundation for Web3’s mass adoption.

• Regulatory Front is Maturing: Unlike the fragmented, reactionary stance we saw a few years ago, regulators are now taking proactive steps to integrate crypto into the broader regulatory framework. This change in posture is crucial for long-term growth.

Overall, we are moving towards a more resilient, compliant, and scalable crypto ecosystem, one that is increasingly integrated with the global economy. Binance remains committed to building responsibly within this evolving landscape.