As 2024 draws to a close, marked by the rise of inscriptions and the election of the first crypto-friendly president, this year has been a peculiar “bull market” for the crypto industry. Altcoins underperformed, memes dominated the narrative, and ultimately, all roads led back to Bitcoin. Despite some setbacks and challenges, the crypto space has indeed moved toward a more positive direction. Looking ahead to 2025, there are several promising areas worth attention. Here’s a concise forecast based on recent developments and trends.
At the current stage, blockchain abstraction projects often suffer from overly complex implementations that hinder user experience. Intent-based architecture projects, whether centralized (e.g., Telegram bots), structured (on-chain and off-chain preprocessing), or distributed (Solver + Executor frameworks), face common limitations. These include requiring users to have a deep understanding of DeFi and the need for clear, simple intent expressions. Complex or ambiguous intents often go unmet, and the scope of implementation remains limited. Since Paradigm introduced the concept in mid-2023, intent-centric projects have largely failed to lower user barriers or attract new users.
Layer 2 Ecosystem Challenges and Solutions
The growth of Layer 2 ecosystems has been notable, with alliances like OP Superchain expanding rapidly. Other projects, such as ZkSync’s Elastic Chain and Arbitrum Orbit, are also forming their own alliances to improve internal interoperability and address fragmented liquidity. However, for second-tier Layer 2 projects, fragmentation and interoperability issues are worsening. New Layer 2 projects like Movement and Fuel are launching mainnets, competing for scarce liquidity in the altcoin market.
To onboard new users, Ethereum must prioritize ecosystem alignment. The need for technical expertise alienates potential adopters, making mass adoption unattainable. Solana and Ton’s growth in 2024 highlights the importance of lowering entry barriers and providing Web2-like user experiences.
AI Browser Agents: A Game-Changing Solution
The only viable solution to these challenges may lie in AI browser agents. These agents, envisioned as super-apps capable of handling cross-application operations, could revolutionize user interactions. For instance, an AI agent could handle tasks like booking travel itineraries, managing expenses, and optimizing schedules based on user preferences.
Google’s upcoming Gemini-powered AI browser agent, Project Mariner, showcases this potential. By integrating AI into Chrome, users can perform complex tasks like building shopping carts or navigating multiple platforms seamlessly. Similarly, early-stage crypto AI agents can already execute on-chain token swaps and cross-chain transfers with minimal user input.
In 2025, AI browser agents could drive innovations in AI wallets, decentralized computing, and data projects. Crypto’s decentralized incentives can accelerate AI’s growth by enabling large-scale data labeling and feedback loops, creating a feedback economy that integrates seamlessly with Web3 applications.
2. Stablecoins: A Competitive Battleground
Stablecoins remain a high-barrier and highly contested sector within crypto. Even traditional finance has started recognizing their value, with players like PayPal (PYUSD), BlackRock (USDb), and VanEck (AUSD) entering the space.
Two Emerging Directions
1. Fiat-Backed Stablecoins in Emerging Markets: New issuers are targeting markets like South America, focusing on specific use cases.
2. Algorithmic Stablecoins with Low-Risk Collateral: Delta-neutral stablecoins like Ethena and Usual are attracting liquidity, leveraging low-risk treasury assets while innovating on protocol tokens and yield mechanisms.
Stablecoins are evolving toward more stable collateral and decentralized governance. However, the ideal solution would be a fully decentralized, non-overcollateralized stablecoin protocol—something we hope to see emerge in 2025.
3. Payments: The Next Competitive Frontier
As stablecoins become more regulated and widely adopted, their application in payments will drive the next wave of innovation. High-TPS chains like Solana and Move-based networks will likely serve as the backbone for payment solutions.
Transformative Payment Models
• Cross-Border Efficiency: Blockchain can eliminate pre-financing requirements, making cross-border payments faster, cheaper, and more accessible.
• Emerging Market Inclusion: Stablecoins already provide financial resilience in high-inflation regions like Africa and Latin America, enabling participation in global financial services.
Solana Foundation’s “PayFi” concept introduces timely settlement (T+0) and “Buy Now, Pay Never” (BNPL), potentially redefining how funds flow on-chain. Users can leverage stablecoins for loans or deferred payments, further enhancing flexibility and adoption.
4. Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs): New Directions
The fragmented Layer 2 ecosystem exacerbates overcapacity in block space and mismatches between infrastructure and application development. This imbalance may lead to the natural elimination of underperforming chains.
The Rise of On-Chain Order Books
On-chain order book DEXs are likely to become the next mainstream trend. While AMMs have grown increasingly complex with diminishing returns, Layer 2 DEXs face performance and gas fee limitations. Innovations in matching algorithms and gas optimization will be critical challenges to address in 2025.
5. Asset Issuance: A Persistent Theme
Asset issuance has been crypto’s consistent theme from the ICO era to the rise of inscriptions and AI meme platforms in 2024. While the ease of issuing assets has driven innovation, it also poses risks, turning the market into a “dark forest” of zero-sum games.
Revitalizing Asset Issuance
Projects like DeSci (Decentralized Science) showcase how asset issuance can serve constructive purposes, such as making research funding more transparent and accessible. Similarly, blockchain could address funding and resource shortages in independent gaming by introducing mechanisms to enforce accountability and value creation.
For crypto to progress, it must balance speculation with innovation. The industry will likely see more variations of ICOs in 2025, but the hope is for these efforts to spark the next “DeFi Summer.”
Conclusion
As we move into 2025, crypto continues to face challenges and opportunities across AI integration, stablecoin adoption, payments, decentralized exchanges, and asset issuance. With these trends driving innovation, the coming year holds great promise for shaping the future of blockchain and Web3.
【Disclaimer】The market is risky, so be cautious when investing. This article does not constitute investment advice, and users should consider whether any opinions, views or conclusions in this article are suitable for their specific circumstances. Investing based on this information is at your own risk.
News Source:Zeke，YBB Capital Researcher，This article does not represent our position.
