Author: Sandy Carter, COO of Unstoppable Domains
Translated by: BitpushNews
Although it has taken a long time, Bitcoin finally achieved the predictions of countless individuals by successfully breaking through the $100,000 mark at the end of 2024. If you want, feel free to pop the champagne to celebrate. But I believe that Bitcoin breaking this historic barrier is just the beginning, and even more significant events are on the horizon. I firmly believe that 2025 will be the long-awaited year of decentralization.
The reasons are largely unrelated to Bitcoin's soaring valuation. Over the past year, anyone paying attention to the prospects of decentralized technology has witnessed an explosive growth of new use cases. Some of these use cases are quirky, others are cool, and some hold potential to address some of the biggest challenges humanity faces today. Together, they elevate the utility of decentralization through measurable impacts rather than mere speculation. More importantly, they provide compelling reasons for people to adopt and engage with decentralization in 2025.
Buckle up, here are my five predictions for the coming year.
1. Bitcoin is expected to soar
It seems like something is missing in December without bold predictions for Bitcoin's price. But instead of throwing out another number like $250,000 or $500,000 like others, let’s explore a bolder possibility: Bitcoin becoming the foundation of global strategic reserves.
The fundamentals support this possibility. If a world power (or an unexpected country) formally adopts Bitcoin as part of its treasury reserves, current price predictions could be overturned. We are not just talking about $500,000; prices of $1 million or even higher could become the new normal as countries scramble to acquire the world's rarest digital asset.
Even without geopolitical adoption, Bitcoin's scarcity itself makes it a unique asset. The number of Bitcoins is forever limited to 21 million, far fewer than the 60 million millionaires globally. As institutions and now potentially governments buy up significant Bitcoin reserves, it will soon become a rare opportunity for a select few to own a Bitcoin—unless they are smart enough to invest early.
Coupled with the continuing growth of Bitcoin as a decentralized network and its role as an unstable fiat alternative, we are witnessing exponential growth.
But here’s an unknown: what happens when Bitcoin's price is no longer driven solely by the market, but instead is hedged against each other among countries vying for digital dominance? This is where things really get tricky. With several countries already piloting Bitcoin fiscal plans, $500,000 might just be the starting point.
2. Depinners rapidly get rich
I have to admit that the cryptocurrency industry sometimes struggles to communicate its vision to the outside world: slogans like 'financial sovereignty' are almost meaningless to the average person unless their bank account is frozen.
So, what if we look at it from a different angle? Imagine this: decentralization can allow you to earn money without doing anything. Don’t think this is a pipe dream, because the 'Depinners' have already done it. By leveraging and 'farming' your computer resources, like mobile processors, anyone can earn passive income by contributing to decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN).
The DePIN revolution perfectly showcases how decentralization changes the concept of ownership and empowers the people with (earning) power. Equally important, it is spawning incredible new use cases that address a wide variety of issues, from noise pollution to managing energy networks and natural disaster warnings. Although DePIN is still in its infancy, its almost limitless application potential means that by 2025, early adopters could quickly earn passive income equivalent to 5% of the average income of ordinary people—without requiring much effort.
3. Memecoins become serious
I predict that in 2025, there will still be 'serious' financial commentators who do not recognize any practical value of memecoins, considering them just overhyped internet jokes, but these financial commentators are not only wrong, they're hilariously so.
In some ways, I really can’t blame them: on the surface, most memecoins seem like a joke, especially the typical, ubiquitous DOGE. But ignoring them can be dangerous: memecoins are growing rapidly, and their development transcends their origins. The value of these tokens is not driven by speculation, but by their ability to bring people together for various projects ranging from entertainment to politics.
In fact, memecoins can teach us a lot about the essence of community and participation in the decentralized world. By 2025, we will see brands recognizing the extraordinary potential of memecoins to attract new audiences, nurture new communities, and reimagine the relationship between businesses and consumers. It is certain that memecoins can make money—but in the long run, their value to forward-thinking brands will far exceed the price of their tokens.
4. Time magazine's Person of the Year could be a robot
I predict that the Person of the Year for Time magazine in 2025... will no longer be a single individual. For the first time in its 98-year history, this annual award will be given to what I call 'Mrs. Humanoid'—a composite role symbolizing the rise of artificial intelligence and robotics and their integration into human society.
This humanoid robot (sometimes referred to as a 'gynoid') will represent the tremendous impact of artificial intelligence and robotics in fields such as healthcare and education, highlighting the machine’s ability to blur the boundaries between human and machine labor. Time magazine has previously selected some rather controversial figures (like the Person of the Year in 1938), but I think there’s nothing wrong with choosing a robot. I even believe that not featuring a robot on the cover would be irresponsible to society.
The rapid rise of robots should trigger global discussions focusing on the ethics of artificial intelligence, ways of working, privacy, and the redefinition of human identity. Many of these changes are positive, but there are also moral gray areas and even potentially concerning situations. Therefore, how to address these challenges and seize opportunities, as well as to develop new regulatory frameworks, should become one of the most important issues of this century alongside climate change. Featuring Mrs. Humanoid on the cover of Time magazine would be an important step in raising awareness of this issue, especially among regulators and legislators.
5. Traditional search loses to AI
Will 2024 be our last time to 'Google' things we don't know? With the emergence of Gen AI applications, we have ample reason to believe so.
Tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity represent the biggest change in the search field since Google appeared 25 years ago. Utilizing the power of artificial intelligence not only yields more accurate results (thanks to its ability to understand semantics) but also changes the dynamics of search.
These new applications have excellently passed the Turing test, enabling people to engage in meaningful conversations on a variety of topics, from cooking to philosophy. Thus, they represent a fundamental change in our emotional relationship with technology, making 'traditional' search (exemplified by Google’s long-standing near-total monopoly) look very outdated.
Just as the advent of the internet sparked a 'SEO arms race' among brands vying for the first page of Google search results, in 2025 we will witness companies beginning to explore how to maintain their relevance in an AI-driven search era.
One of the biggest changes will be the evolution of websites, which will increasingly cater to AI agents rather than human users. In 2025, we will see domain names take on new significance, with the most successful brands being those that can leverage on-chain domain names to protect consumer data, integrate AI capabilities, and provide revolutionary online experiences for their audiences.
Regardless of whether these predictions are all, partially, or completely wrong, one thing is undeniable: as we enter the second half of the 2020s, decentralization is no longer a distant future, but is about to become an inescapable, integral part of everyone’s present.
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