Some trends we are watching
a16z has released a comprehensive list of 'significant ideas' for the coming year based on observations from its partners in AI, American vitality, life sciences/health, cryptocurrency, enterprise services, fintech, gaming, and infrastructure, aiming to inspire technology builders.
Here are some key ideas shared by members of the cryptocurrency team; for more exciting content, please read the full article.
If you want to understand the outlook for policies, regulations, and other aspects in 2025, please refer to this article to be released in November.
Businesses will increasingly accept stablecoin payments
In the past year, stablecoins have found a product-market fit—this is not surprising, as stablecoins are currently the lowest-cost way to send dollars and enable fast global payments. Additionally, stablecoins provide entrepreneurs with a more convenient platform to develop new payment products: no intermediaries, minimum balance requirements, or exclusive SDKs. However, large enterprises have yet to recognize the enormous cost savings and new profit margins that switching to these payment rails would bring.
Although we have seen some companies show interest in stablecoins (as well as early applications in peer-to-peer payments), I expect a wave of larger trials in 2025. Small and medium-sized enterprises (such as restaurants, cafes, and convenience stores) with strong brand influence, loyal customer bases, and facing high payment costs may be the first to switch from credit card payments to stablecoin payments.
These businesses have not benefited from credit card fraud protection (especially in face-to-face transactions), and the high transaction fees have a significant impact on their profits (30 cents per cup of coffee is a huge loss of profit).
We should also expect larger-scale enterprises to begin adopting stablecoins. If stablecoins can accelerate the evolution of banking history, then enterprises will attempt to disintermediate payment service providers—adding 2% of profits directly 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)
Countries exploring on-chain government bonds
Issuing government bonds on-chain will create a government-backed digital asset with interest while avoiding the regulatory privacy issues brought by central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Such products can provide a new source of collateral demand for lending and derivative product agreements in DeFi (decentralized finance), thereby increasing the stability and credibility of these ecosystems.
As governments worldwide that support innovation further explore the advantages and efficiencies of public, permissionless, and tamper-proof blockchains this year, some countries may pilot the issuance of on-chain government bonds. For example, the United Kingdom has already explored digital securities through its financial regulator FCA's sandbox project; the UK Treasury has also expressed its intention to issue digital bonds.
In the United States, due to the SEC's plan to require the clearing of government bonds through traditional cumbersome and costly infrastructure next year, more discussions are expected on how blockchain can enhance the transparency, efficiency, and participation of bond trading.
——Brian Quintenz (X platform @brianquintenz | Farcaster platform @brianq)
Countries exploring on-chain government bonds
Issuing government bonds on-chain will create a government-backed digital asset with interest while avoiding the regulatory privacy issues brought by central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Such products can provide a new source of collateral demand for lending and derivative product agreements in DeFi (decentralized finance), thereby increasing the stability and credibility of these ecosystems.
As governments worldwide that support innovation further explore the advantages and efficiencies of public, permissionless, and tamper-proof blockchains this year, some countries may pilot the issuance of on-chain government bonds. For example, the United Kingdom has already explored digital securities through its financial regulator FCA's sandbox project; the UK Treasury has also expressed its intention to issue digital bonds.
In the United States, due to the SEC's plan to require the clearing of government bonds through traditional cumbersome and costly infrastructure next year, more discussions are expected on how blockchain can enhance the transparency, efficiency, and participation of bond trading.
——Brian Quintenz (X platform @brianquintenz | Farcaster platform @brianq)
Countries exploring on-chain government bonds
Issuing government bonds on-chain will create a government-backed digital asset with interest while avoiding the regulatory privacy issues brought by central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Such products can provide a new source of collateral demand for lending and derivative product agreements in DeFi (decentralized finance), thereby increasing the stability and credibility of these ecosystems.
As governments worldwide that support innovation further explore the advantages and efficiencies of public, permissionless, and tamper-proof blockchains this year, some countries may pilot the issuance of on-chain government bonds. For example, the United Kingdom has already explored digital securities through its financial regulator FCA's sandbox project; the UK Treasury has also expressed its intention to issue digital bonds.
In the United States, due to the SEC's plan to require the clearing of government bonds through traditional cumbersome and costly infrastructure next year, more discussions are expected on how blockchain can enhance the transparency, efficiency, and participation of bond trading.
——Brian Quintenz (X platform @brianquintenz | Farcaster platform @brianq)
Countries exploring on-chain government bonds
Issuing government bonds on-chain will create a government-backed digital asset with interest while avoiding the regulatory privacy issues brought by central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Such products can provide a new source of collateral demand for lending and derivative product agreements in DeFi (decentralized finance), thereby increasing the stability and credibility of these ecosystems.
As governments worldwide that support innovation further explore the advantages and efficiencies of public, permissionless, and tamper-proof blockchains this year, some countries may pilot the issuance of on-chain government bonds. For example, the United Kingdom has already explored digital securities through its financial regulator FCA's sandbox project; the UK Treasury has also expressed its intention to issue digital bonds.
In the United States, due to the SEC's plan to require the clearing of government bonds through traditional cumbersome and costly infrastructure next year, more discussions are expected on how blockchain can enhance the transparency, efficiency, and participation of bond trading.
——Brian Quintenz (X platform @brianquintenz | Farcaster platform @brianq)
From holders to users: The transformation of crypto users
In 2024, the crypto space made significant political advancements, with many key policymakers and political figures expressing positive views. At the same time, crypto as a financial movement continues to evolve (for example, Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs have broadened the pathways for investor participation). In 2025, crypto is expected to further develop into a movement of computational technology. But where will the next user base come from?
I believe it is time to reactivate those currently 'passive' holders of crypto assets and turn 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 on-chain, especially as blockchain infrastructure continues to improve and user transaction fees keep decreasing.
This means that new applications will gradually emerge for existing and new users. At the same time, some early applications we have already seen—covering areas like stablecoins, DeFi, NFTs, gaming, community, DePIN, DAOs, and prediction markets—are becoming more accessible to mainstream users as communities focus increasingly on user experience and other optimizations.
——Daren Matsuoka (X platform @darenmatsuoka | Farcaster platform)
'Hiding technical details' helps the killer applications of Web3 to emerge
The technological advantages of the blockchain industry make it unique, but they also hinder mainstream user adoption to some extent. For creators and fans, blockchain technology offers new possibilities for connectivity, ownership, and monetization... However, industry jargon (such as 'NFTs', 'zkRollups', etc.) and complex designs have become barriers for those who could benefit the most. I have deeply felt this in countless conversations with senior executives in media, music, and fashion regarding Web3.
The large-scale adoption of many consumer technologies has followed a similar path: technology leads, followed by a landmark company or designer abstracting complexity, resulting in breakthrough applications. Think back to the development of email—SMTP protocol was hidden behind the 'send' button; or credit cards, where most users today do not care about the payment rails 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 the concept of 'hiding technical details.' The best decentralized applications have 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 committed to sleek designs and clear communication; successful products need no explanation; they solve problems directly.
6 Major Trends in Decentralized Governance in 2025
2025 will be an exciting year for decentralized governance. Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) are continuously breaking through innovations, exploring new models for collective governance among anonymous token holders. Investment management companies are also striving to persuade clients to participate more frequently in online shareholder voting. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence companies are beginning to utilize citizen assemblies to set norms for large language models (LLMs). These efforts will lead to various decentralized governance experiments unfolding simultaneously, including:
A website to help 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
This article is collaboratively reprinted from: Deep Tide
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