Article source: BlockBeats
Original title: (7 Big Ideas for 2025 (and more trends to watch))
Written by: a16zcrypto
Translation by: Ismay, BlockBeats
Summary: This article will explore seven core trends in crypto, covering stablecoins, app stores, decentralized governance, and more. These trends will not only drive industry growth but also provide new perspectives for future technological innovations and applications.
The following is the original content:
Some trends we are watching
a16z released a comprehensive list of 'Major Ideas' for the coming year based on observations from its partners in fields such as AI, U.S. vitality, life sciences/health, cryptocurrency, enterprise services, fintech, gaming, and infrastructure, aimed at inspiring technology builders.
Below are some important ideas shared by members of the cryptocurrency team, and more exciting content can be found in the full article.
For insights into the outlook for policy, regulation, and other aspects in 2025, please refer to the article published in November.
1. Businesses will increasingly accept stablecoin payments
In the past year, stablecoins have found their product-market fit—this is not surprising as stablecoins are currently the lowest-cost way to send dollars, enabling fast global payments. Additionally, stablecoins provide entrepreneurs with a more convenient platform to develop new payment products: no intermediaries, no minimum balance requirements, or exclusive SDKs. However, large enterprises have yet to realize the massive cost savings and new profit opportunities that switching to these payment rails offers.
While we have seen some businesses showing interest in stablecoins (as well as early applications in peer-to-peer payments), I expect a wave of larger experiments in 2025. Small to medium-sized enterprises (like restaurants, coffee shops, and convenience stores) with strong brand influence, loyal customer bases, and high payment costs may lead the way in transitioning from credit cards to stablecoin payments. These businesses do not benefit from the fraud protection of credit cards (especially in face-to-face transactions), and high transaction fees significantly impact their profits (a 30-cent fee per cup of coffee is substantial for profit loss).
We should also expect larger enterprises to begin adopting stablecoins. If stablecoins can accelerate the evolution of banking history, then businesses will attempt to disintermediate payment service providers—directly adding 2% to their bottom line. Additionally, businesses will start looking for new solutions to address issues currently solved by credit card companies, such as fraud protection and identity verification.
——Sam Broner (X platform @sambroner | Farcaster platform @sambroner)
2. Countries exploring on-chain national debt
Putting national debt on-chain will create a government-backed, interest-bearing digital asset while avoiding regulatory privacy issues associated with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Such products can provide new sources of collateral demand for lending and derivatives protocols in DeFi (Decentralized Finance), thereby increasing the stability and credibility of these ecosystems.
As governments around the world further explore the advantages and efficiencies of public, permissionless, and immutable blockchains this year, some countries may pilot the issuance of on-chain national debt. For example, the UK is exploring digital securities through a sandbox project established by its financial regulator FCA (Financial Conduct Authority); the UK Treasury has also expressed intent to issue digital bonds.
In the U.S., due to the SEC's (Securities and Exchange Commission) plans to require the clearing of national debt through traditional, cumbersome, and costly infrastructure next year, more discussions are expected on how blockchain can enhance transparency, efficiency, and participation in bond trading.
——Brian Quintenz (X platform @brianquintenz | Farcaster platform @brianq)
3. 'DUNA' will become the new industry standard for U.S. blockchain networks
In 2024, Wyoming passed a new law officially recognizing DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) as legal entities. DUNA (Decentralized Unincorporated Non-Profit Association) is specifically designed to support decentralized governance of blockchain networks and is currently the only viable legal framework for projects in the U.S. By incorporating DUNA into the decentralized legal entity structure, crypto projects and other decentralized communities can grant legal status to their DAOs—facilitating broader economic activities while protecting token holders from legal liabilities and properly addressing tax and compliance needs.
DAOs, as communities governing the affairs of open blockchain networks, are crucial tools to ensure that the network remains open and fair while avoiding unreasonable value extraction. DUNA can unlock the potential of DAOs, and several projects are already working to implement it. As the U.S. further supports and accelerates the development of its crypto ecosystem in 2025, I expect DUNA to become the industry standard for U.S. crypto projects. Additionally, other states may follow suit, adopting similar structures (Wyoming is leading this trend; they were also the first to adopt the widely used LLC) — especially in the context of the rise of other decentralized applications outside the crypto space (such as physical infrastructure / energy grids).
——Miles Jennings (X platform @milesjennings | Farcaster platform @milesjennings)
4. Developers will reuse infrastructure more than reinvent it
In the past year, teams have been continuously 'reinventing the wheel' in the blockchain technology stack—such as developing yet another set of custom validators, consensus protocol implementations, execution engines, programming languages, and RPC APIs. These attempts may have slight improvements in certain specific functions, but often underperform in broader or foundational functionalities. Take programming languages designed specifically for SNARKs as an example: ideally, such a language could help top developers build better-performing SNARKs, but in practice, it may lag behind general-purpose programming languages in compiler optimization, development tools, online learning resources, and AI programming support (at least for now), and may even lead to poor SNARK performance.
Thus, I expect that in 2025 more teams will leverage others' existing achievements to reuse ready-made blockchain infrastructure components—from consensus protocols and existing staked capital to proof systems. This approach will not only help developers save a considerable amount of time and effort but also allow them to focus on creating unique value for their products or services.
Today, the infrastructure needed to develop Web3 products and services for the masses is largely in place. Just like in other industries, the teams that ultimately succeed will be those that can effectively leverage complex supply chains, rather than those that scoff at 'non-self-developed' technologies.
——Joachim Neu (X platform @jneu_net)
5. The crypto industry welcomes dedicated app stores and content discovery channels
When crypto applications are blocked by centralized platforms like Apple's App Store or Google Play, their top channels for user acquisition become limited. However, we now see some emerging app stores and marketplaces providing distribution and content discovery capabilities without stringent reviews. For example, Worldcoin's World App marketplace—not only storing verification information but also providing access to 'mini-apps'—has brought hundreds of thousands of users to multiple applications in just a few days. Another example is Solana's zero-fee dApp Store exclusively for mobile users. These cases also indicate that not only software, but hardware (such as mobile phones or verification devices) may become key advantages for crypto app stores, just as Apple devices once propelled the early application ecosystem.
At the same time, there are other stores containing thousands of decentralized applications and Web3 development tools (e.g., Alchemy), as well as blockchains acting as game publishers and distribution platforms (like Ronin). But this is not entirely an entertainment-focused ecosystem: if a product already has established distribution channels (like messaging apps), migrating it to the chain is not easy (with the exception of Telegram/TON network). The same goes for applications that have a significant distribution advantage in the Web2 ecosystem. However, we might see more such migrations happening by 2025.
——Maggie Hsu (X platform @meigga | Farcaster platform @maggiehsu)
6. From Holders to Users: The Transition of Crypto Users
In 2024, significant political progress was made in the crypto space, with many key policymakers and political figures expressing positive views on it. At the same time, crypto as a financial movement continues to evolve (for example, Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs have broadened investor participation channels). In 2025, crypto is expected to further develop into a movement in computational technology. But where will the next user base come from?
I believe it's time to reactivate those currently 'passive' crypto asset holders and convert them into more active users. Currently, only 5-10% of crypto asset holders are actively using crypto technology. We can bring the 617 million people who already hold crypto assets onto the chain, especially as blockchain infrastructure continues to improve and user transaction costs decrease. This means that new applications will gradually emerge for existing and new users. At the same time, some early applications we have seen—covering stablecoins, DeFi, NFTs, gaming, social, DePIN, DAOs, and prediction markets—are becoming more acceptable to mainstream users as the community increasingly focuses on user experience and other optimizations.
——Daren Matsuoka (X platform @darenmatsuoka | Farcaster platform)
7. 'Hiding Technical Details' Fuels the Birth of Killer Apps in Web3
The technological advantages of the blockchain industry make it unique but also hinder mainstream user acceptance to some extent. For creators and fans, blockchain technology offers new possibilities for connectivity, ownership, and monetization... However, industry jargon (like 'NFTs', 'zkRollups', etc.) and complex designs have become barriers for those who stand to benefit the most. I have experienced this in countless conversations with executives from media, music, and fashion sectors about Web3.
Many mass-market adoptions of consumer technologies have followed a similar path: technology leads, and then a landmark company or designer abstracts the complexity, giving rise to breakthrough applications. Recall the development of email—SMTP protocol was hidden behind the 'send' button; or credit cards, most users today do not care about the payment track behind them. Similarly, the music revolution of Spotify was not achieved by showcasing file formats but by delivering playlists directly to users' fingertips. As Nassim Taleb said, 'Over-engineering leads to fragility, while simplicity is scalable.'
Therefore, I believe that in 2025 our industry will adopt this philosophy: 'Hiding Technical Details.' The best decentralized applications have already begun to focus on more intuitive interface designs, making operations as simple as clicking a screen or swiping a card. In 2025, we will see more companies dedicated to clean design and clear communication; successful products require no explanation; they address problems directly.
——Chris Lyons (X platform @chrislyons | Farcaster platform)
Six Major Trends in Decentralized Governance for 2025
2025 is expected to be an exciting year for decentralized governance. Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) are continually breaking new ground, exploring new models for collaborative governance among anonymous token holders. Investment management companies are working to persuade clients to participate more frequently in online shareholder voting. At the same time, AI companies are beginning to use citizens' assemblies to set norms for large language models (LLMs). These efforts will prompt various decentralized governance experiments to unfold simultaneously, including:
A website that helps voters delegate their votes
AI-assisted delegation mechanism
AI as an agent
Smarter participation incentive mechanisms
More efficient funding support for public goods
More experiments in lottery governance