Author: Alex O’Donnell, CoinTelegraph; Translated by: Tao Zhu, Golden Finance
Several industry executives pointed out that with Bitcoin staking, tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), and agent-based AI catalyzing applications, decentralized finance (DeFi) will reach a turning point in 2025.
In 2024, as investors pour over $100 billion into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Bitcoin's price will first exceed $100,000.
"Bitcoin's historical peak will spark new interest in cryptocurrencies from institutions and regulators, and will revitalize the entire cryptocurrency industry in 2025," noted Dean Tribble, CEO of Layer 1 network Agoric Systems.
According to data from DefiLlama, in December, the total locked value (TVL) in DeFi protocols reached $130 billion, nearing the ecosystem's historical peak of about $175 billion in 2021. Industry executives expect this upward trend to continue next year.
"By 2025, DeFi infrastructure and blue-chip protocols like Aave, Maple, and Maker will be operating on a large scale for over four years," noted Jacob Phillips, co-founder and strategic lead of Bitcoin staking protocol Lombard.
"These platforms will become reliable venues for institutions and new users to utilize Bitcoin," said Phillips.
Source: DefiLlama
Bitcoin Staking
Bitcoin's emerging Layer 2 (L2) scaling networks and DeFi protocol ecosystems are creating unprecedented opportunities for investors to earn yield from Bitcoin.
"Currently, Bitcoin DeFi accounts for 0.1% of its total asset value. This represents a 300-fold opportunity to develop DeFi on Bitcoin," pointed out Alexei Zamyatin, co-founder and CEO of Build on Bitcoin, adding:
"We have spoken with dozens of large Bitcoin DeFi users and funds who are eager to utilize their Bitcoin assets to earn yield."
Bitcoin L2s like Babylon and CoreChain are paying fees to stakers to secure their networks by locking BTC as collateral.
At present, liquid staking tokens (LST) representing staked BTC claims are surging. According to data from stakingrewards.com, as of December 19, the total locked value (TVL) of Bitcoin LST reached $2.5 billion.
Matt Hougan, research director at asset management firm Bitwise, believes that by 2025, Bitcoin staking ETFs could also gain attention.
"The demand for Bitcoin yield is significant. I am not sure if it will become an ETF structure in the U.S., but it definitely will in Europe," said Hougan.
Source: Stakingrewards.com
RWA Tokenization
Colin Butler, head of global institutional capital at Polygon, noted in August that tokenized real-world assets (RWA) — digital tokens representing claims on any asset from U.S. Treasury bonds to artwork — represent a $30 trillion market opportunity globally.
According to data from RWA.xyz, they have already achieved a TVL of approximately $14 billion. Tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds with yields are particularly popular, with a TVL exceeding $3 billion.
"Tokenizing real-world assets like real estate and carbon credits will unleash unprecedented liquidity, while advancements in payments will further simplify cross-border transfers," pointed out Raj Brahmbhatt, CEO of Web3 settlement platform Zeebu.
Even the U.S. Treasury has praised the potential of tokenization to improve liquidity and reduce "operational and settlement friction."
Brahmbhatt stated, "In the U.S., with (elected President Donald) Trump's victory, I am very optimistic about the U.S. becoming a global leader in this field by the end of this year."
Source: RWA.xyz
Agent-based AI
According to CoinGecko, in 2024, the market capitalization of tokens related to agent-based AI (machines autonomously pursuing complex goals) reached nearly $10 billion.
Analysts expect the convergence of AI and blockchain technology to transform Web3, creating a future where autonomous AI builds decentralized applications and interacts with human users.
J.D. Seraphine, CEO of the AI protocol Raiinmaker, pointed out that agent-based AI "has proven to be at the core of the industry's future."
Seraphine stated that in 2025, "AI agents are expected to play a more important role in decentralized communities."
Hougan stated that the potential fields for AI agents are almost limitless, adding:
"If you don't know exactly what will happen, that's okay, as long as you know that what is happening really has potential significance and you want to engage with it."
