By 2025, the number of AI Agents is expected to exceed 1 million.
Original author: insights4.vc Original translation: TechFlow In order to help you save time and focus on market hotspots, we have carefully compiled more than 300 forward-looking predictions for 2025. Every year, top institutions and industry leaders share insights that have a profound impact on the future development of cryptocurrencies. This report brings together the views of ETF issuers, investment funds, research institutions, and market pioneers, not only providing you with an overall overview of market sentiment, but also bringing practical advice and actionable insights on emerging opportunities. The five most popular themes in 2025 include:

Growth and Adoption of Stablecoins
Tokenization of Real-World Assets (RWAs)
Expansion of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs
Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain
Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePINs)

1. The growth and adoption of stablecoins is predicted by Jason Yanowitz, founder of Blockworks, and Santiago R Santos, founder of Inversion Capital, to reach a market cap of 10% of the total cryptocurrency market by 2025. This growth may be driven by at least one major bank, tech company, or fintech firm launching a stablecoin. For instance, BlackRock, Robinhood, and Meta are considered potential participants. Tether is expected to maintain its market-leading position through its strategic political relationships, while USDC's market share may decline from the current 20% to around 15% due to the emergence of new competitors like PayPal. These changes could propel the regulatory process in the U.S., making stablecoins a key driver in payments and e-commerce. According to predictions from 21Shares, the current market cap of stablecoins has surpassed $170 billion and has made significant advancements in the global remittance market, especially in countries like the Philippines and Turkey. With the rise of tokenization in private credit, this trend is expected to further enhance capital liquidity and improve financial transparency. Platforms like Maple Finance are leading the industry by using smart contracts to streamline operations and reduce costs. As agencies like Moody's begin to provide ratings for tokenized credit, this sector is expected to become a mainstream asset class by 2025.
2. The tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) is predicted by Coinbase to be rapidly growing. It is expected to increase in total value by 60% by 2024, reaching $13.5 billion; by 2030, this figure could soar to $30 trillion. Currently, leading global financial institutions such as BlackRock and Franklin Templeton are actively promoting the tokenization of government securities. Tokenized assets are becoming important collateral in the DeFi ecosystem. According to predictions from Paul Veradittakit, managing partner at Pantera Capital, RWAs have grown 60% this year to $13.7 billion, with 70% being private credit and the remainder Treasury bills and commodities. The influx of funds is accelerating, and more complex types of tokenized assets are expected to emerge by 2025. Private Credit: With improvements in infrastructure, Figure has added $4 billion in tokenized credit in 2024. More companies are bringing funds into the cryptocurrency space through private credit. Treasury Bills and Commodities: Currently, the on-chain Treasury bill market is valued at $2.67 billion, while there are still trillions of dollars off-chain that remain un-tokenized. The yields offered by Treasury bills surpass those of stablecoins. BlackRock's BUIDL fund has an on-chain size of $500 million, while its off-chain size reaches hundreds of billions of dollars. DeFi pools have begun integrating Treasury bills, reducing the resistance to user adoption.
3. The expansion of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs is predicted by Bloomberg ETF experts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first 11 Bitcoin spot ETFs on January 10, 2024, followed by the approval of Ethereum spot ETFs on July 23, 2024. This approval marks a gradual easing of the regulatory environment and lays the groundwork for the launch of altcoin ETFs. The emergence of altcoin ETFs could further enhance market liquidity and lower the barriers to entry for crypto investments. The asset size of Bitcoin ETFs is expected to surpass that of gold ETFs by 2025. Currently, Bitcoin ETFs have an asset size of $110 billion, while gold ETFs stand at $128 billion. The rapid growth of Bitcoin ETFs suggests that this trend may materialize sooner than expected. If the SEC's leadership leans more liberal, it may approve altcoin ETFs, including XRP, Solana (SOL), and Hedera (HBAR), further enriching the variety of cryptocurrency investment products. If you wish to delve deeper into Bitcoin spot ETFs, we recommend referring to the article we published last month. Below is the ETF data as of January 8, 2025: On-chain holdings of Bitcoin spot ETFs (Source: The Block) Bitcoin ETF fund flows Bitcoin ETF trading volume Ethereum ETF fund flows, predicted by Bitwise, expect that by 2025, Bitcoin ETF fund inflows will exceed the record of $33.6 billion set in 2024. This growth is primarily driven by large brokerages such as Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, which will provide investment channels for more clients into crypto products. With increased investor confidence and the gradual mainstreaming of Bitcoin allocations in portfolios, ETF fund inflows are expected to accelerate further, mirroring the development path of gold ETFs over the past decades.
4. The integration of artificial intelligence and blockchain is predicted by Vaneck to see the number of AI agents exceed 1 million by 2025. These agents are expected to significantly drive growth in on-chain activities, as they can not only optimize DeFi yields but also automate the handling of various tasks and facilitate interactions in gaming and social media. Platforms like Virtuals Protocol are actively promoting the development of AI technology, expanding the application of agents from finance to gaming and marketing, thereby generating substantial revenue and enhancing user engagement. According to predictions from Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital, AI agents will widely adopt stablecoins for peer-to-peer transactions, especially as stablecoin regulations become more relaxed. This trend will also extend to large enterprises that will use stablecoins to replace traditional banking systems for greater flexibility and efficiency. Decentralized AI training and inference will witness rapid development, propelled by projects like ExoLabs, NousResearch, and PrimeIntellect, providing new options to current centralized AI models. NEAR Protocol is working to build a fully permissionless AI technology stack, making development and deployment more open. AI-driven wallets will transform user experiences by automating complex operations such as cross-chain bridging, trade optimization, cost reduction, and fraud prevention. This will provide users with a seamless cross-chain operation experience. By 2026, this automation trend may diminish the significance of blockchain network effects, as users will no longer need to interact directly with the blockchain.
5. Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePINs) are predicted by Multicoin Capital to see the Trump administration likely launch a national standard for autonomous driving (AD), which will provide new development opportunities for decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs) based on autonomous driving and robotics technologies. As the scale of GPU clusters surpasses 100,000 H100 units, autonomous driving technology will gain practical application capabilities. Some startups funded by traditional venture capital firms may adopt the DePIN model to decentralize operational risks and reduce costs. Early adopters of this model will be able to collect critical robotic operational data. For instance, the startup Frodobots has begun exploring this direction, and more similar companies are expected to join in the future. Additionally, Hivemapper is also trying out similar innovative concepts. According to predictions from Vence Spencer, co-founder of Framework Ventures, DePIN projects focused on energy (like Glow and Daylight) are expected to reach transaction fee levels comparable to top DeFi platforms. This indicates that the application of blockchain technology in managing and monetizing energy distribution is becoming increasingly widespread. For example, these projects optimize energy distribution efficiency through smart contracts while providing users with transparent transaction records and profit-sharing methods.

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