4. New Use Cases for Cryptocurrencies

The last three points have mainly focused on speculation in this cycle. But for cryptocurrency to truly be sustainable in the long term, we need stronger use cases to emerge.

AI, gaming, and DeFi all seem like obvious candidates, but they have yet to find their footing. The infrastructure has significantly improved since 2021 (despite the price declines). I’m hopeful this will lead to the development of several killer dApps.

Cryptocurrencies only need 2-3 breakthroughs to drive widespread adoption. This cycle feels very much like “short-term overvaluation and long-term undervaluation,” at least for now.

In conclusion, yes—retail trading has largely retreated. There are solid reasons for this, and this cycle is fundamentally different because of them.

But it won’t take much to bring retail trading back. And that day will come sooner than you think.