Races Worth Watching in 2025: Emerging Technologies and Trend Forecasts
In 2025, several key sectors in the decentralized field will witness further maturity and innovation. With continuous technological breakthroughs, the industry is showing strong momentum of development, and the application scenarios and market demands in various fields are also growing day by day. In this year, we will witness the progress of trends such as the combination of AI and blockchain, the in-depth integration of DeFi and Real World Assets (RWA), and the continuous optimization of modular infrastructure. These trends not only represent technological innovations but also demonstrate the extensive application and huge market potential of blockchain in various industries.
Integration of AI and Blockchain (AI x Blockchain)
In 2024, the combination of AI and blockchain became the frontier of technological innovation, with multiple new projects emerging. Eliza Labs launched the Eliza Framework, which provides an open-source technical framework to support the creation, deployment, and management of intelligent AI agents on different platforms and integrates with blockchains (such as Solana), facilitating the development of autonomous AI agents in decentralized finance. Additionally, Virtuals Protocol was launched on the Ethereum L2 Base platform, allowing users to create and profit from tokenized AI agents. These AI agents can not only interact with users through text, voice, and 3D animations but also open up new revenue opportunities.
Trends in 2025:
Growth of Autonomous AI Agents: AI agents will gradually execute tasks independently in fields such as financial transactions, content creation, and social interactions, promoting the popularization of decentralized AI applications.
Further Integration of AI and DeFi: More AI-driven DeFi applications will emerge, enhancing the capabilities of automated investment, credit scoring, and risk management.
AI-Driven Decentralized Governance: The application of AI in DAOs and decentralized organizations will become more widespread, used for coordinating and managing community decisions.
Attention to Privacy and Security: With the in-depth application of AI in blockchain, privacy protection and data security will become priorities, driving the research and development of new technologies to ensure the credibility of agents.
Layer-2 Scaling Solutions
In 2024, the Layer-2 scaling solutions field witnessed multiple innovative projects, promoting the improvement of blockchain network performance. RISE Chain attracted an investment from Vitalik Buterin with its "Layer2 + Parallel EVM" architecture, aiming to enhance performance and EVM compatibility. Taiko focused on zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-Rollups) to improve transaction privacy and efficiency, while Mantle made new progress in cross-chain interoperability and scalability.
Trends in 2025:
Enhancement of ZK-Rollup: Layer-2 solutions based on ZK-Rollup will be more widely applied, improving privacy and scalability while reducing transaction costs.
Interoperability and Cross-Chain Technologies: The interoperability between Layer-2 networks will become the focus of attention, with more sophisticated bridging technologies being developed to ensure seamless asset transfers.
User Experience Optimization: Layer-2 will further improve the user experience, attracting more non-technical users through more intuitive interfaces and operation processes.
Performance Optimization and Cost Reduction: Layer-2 will continue to optimize performance and reduce the deployment and maintenance costs of blockchain networks.
DeFi 2.0
In 2024, multiple new projects were launched in the DeFi 2.0 field, promoting the combination of decentralized finance and Real World Assets (RWA) and improving capital efficiency. Aave V3 introduced cross-chain liquidity and efficient use of collateral, while Uniswap v4 optimized liquidity pools and enhanced trading efficiency. MakerDAO promoted the integration of DeFi and traditional finance by incorporating RWAs such as bonds and real estate into the collateral pool of the stablecoin Dai.
Trends in 2025:
Integration of RWA and DeFi: More traditional assets will be tokenized and connected to DeFi protocols, promoting the development of decentralized finance.
Innovative Lending Mechanisms: DeFi protocols will innovate lending mechanisms to improve capital utilization efficiency and liquidity.
Cross-Chain Interoperability: The maturity of cross-chain technologies will facilitate asset flows between different blockchains, promoting the further integration of the DeFi ecosystem.
Stablecoins and Payments
In 2024, with the massive growth of the crypto market, the stablecoin and payment sectors were the first to gain the favor of Wall Street capital. Ethena cooperated with BlackRock to launch USDb, and PayPal cooperated with Ernst & Young to complete commercial remittances through PYUSD, promoting the application of stablecoins in global payments. Usual, a decentralized stablecoin project collateralized by Real World Assets (RWA), also recently announced that it had received a $10 million Series A financing led by Binance Labs and Kraken Ventures.
Trends in 2025:
Increased Institutional Participation: Traditional financial institutions will further get involved in the issuance of stablecoins, promoting the popularization and application of stablecoins.
Decentralized Cross-Border Payment Solutions: Stablecoins will become the core of cross-border payments, providing low-cost and high-efficiency payment solutions.
Diversified Applications of Stablecoins: Stablecoins for specific industries or purposes will become more diversified, such as those for supply chain finance and travel payments.
Decentralized Science (DeSci)
In 2024, the decentralized science field continued to innovate. VitaDAO and MoleculeDAO promoted scientific research transparency and community governance by converting the intellectual property (IP) of scientific research into NFTs and putting them on the blockchain. Catalyst and Bio Protocol focused on promoting the application of blockchain technology in the commercialization of science.
Trends in 2025:
Expansion into Interdisciplinary Fields: DeSci will expand its application to more fields such as physics and chemistry, promoting interdisciplinary scientific cooperation.
Data Openness and Transparency: More scientific data will be put on the blockchain, improving data transparency and facilitating reproducible and verifiable research.
Application of Smart Contracts: Smart contracts will play an important role in scientific research cooperation, ensuring the fair distribution of scientific research achievements.
Modular Blockchain Infrastructure
Modular blockchain infrastructure made significant progress in 2024. Projects such as Gelato, Caldera, and AltLayer provided flexible modular solutions, while Hyperlane and Polyhedra were committed to improving blockchain interoperability.
Trends in 2025:
Popularization of Modular Applications: Modular infrastructure will be further popularized to meet the specific needs of more blockchain applications.
Privacy and Security: Privacy protection will become the core of modular blockchains, and zero-knowledge proof technology will enhance data privacy and transaction security.
Scalability and Cost-Effectiveness: The modular design will promote the scalability of blockchains, reduce costs, and improve network performance.
Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN)
The DePIN track witnessed multiple new projects in 2024, including Roam, World Mobile, and Spheron, promoting decentralized network services and the sharing of computing resources.
Trends in 2025:
Expansion of Market Penetration: DePIN projects will gain more extensive applications in fields such as energy and communications.
Deepening of Enterprise Cooperation: More traditional enterprises will cooperate with DePIN projects to promote the application of technology in practical scenarios.
Technology Optimization and Standardization: DePIN technology will continue to be optimized, attracting more capital inflows and promoting project diversification.
Tokenization of Real World Assets (RWA)
In 2024, multiple innovative projects emerged in the RWA field. MakerDAO and Franklin Templeton began to explore the tokenization of traditional assets such as bonds and real estate. rwa.xyz focused on tokenizing non-traditional assets such as gold and artworks, providing new investment channels for investors.
Trends in 2025:
More Asset Tokenization: In 2025, it is expected that more types of tokenized assets will emerge, including commodities and assets in emerging markets.
Deep Integration of DeFi and RWA: The further integration of RWA and DeFi will promote the emergence of more innovative financial products.
Compliance and Risk Management: As the scale of RWA expands, compliance and risk management will become the focus of attention, promoting more institutional participation.
