What happened?
Digital asset management company Grayscale recently released a “Cryptocurrency Report for the First Quarter of 2025”. In this quarter’s “Top 20” focus list, Grayscale added six new tokens.
These tokens cover various areas such as decentralized AI, Layer 1 blockchain, and the Solana ecosystem.
The report also explains that in 2024, there was intense competition in the Layer 1 blockchain network. In addition to well-known platforms like Ethereum and Solana, the development of high-performance blockchains like Sui and TON also attracted a lot of attention from developers.
Decentralized AI and Solana ecosystem tokens are worth watching
Digital asset management company Grayscale recently released a “Cryptocurrency Report for the First Quarter of 2025”. In this quarter’s “Top 20” focus list, Grayscale added six new tokens: Hyperliquid (HYPE), Virtuals (VIRTUAL), Ethena (ENA), Jupiter, Jito, and Grass.
These tokens cover various areas such as decentralized AI, Layer 1 blockchain, and the Solana ecosystem. Hyperliquid is an efficient Layer 1 blockchain, while Grass and Virtuals belong to decentralized AI platforms. As for Ethena, Jupiter, and Jito, they focus on decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, with Jupiter and Jito being native projects of Solana.
Grayscale states that the selection of these “Top 20” tokens is influenced by major industry trends, including a friendly regulatory environment in the United States, decentralized AI technology, and the rapid development of the Solana ecosystem. In 2024, the total value locked (TVL) in Solana’s DeFi grew from $1.5 billion at the beginning of the year to $8.5 billion by the end of the year.
Decentralized AI: Transferring the operation and management of AI systems from traditional centralized institutions to decentralized networks, using blockchain technology to achieve transparent, secure, and open AI applications.
Grayscale’s Top 20 focus token list for the first quarter of 2025.
Intense competition in Layer 1 blockchain
In addition to the noteworthy tokens, Grayscale also points out that certain areas have remained attractive in recent quarters, including Ethereum scaling solutions (such as Optimism), tokenization (such as Chainlink), and decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN, like Helium).
Furthermore, the report explains that there was intense competition in the Layer 1 blockchain in 2024. In addition to well-known platforms like Ethereum and Solana, the development of high-performance blockchains like Sui and TON also attracted a lot of attention from developers and provided users with more choices. Therefore, the big brother of smart contracts, Ethereum, also faced threats.
However, the ecosystem maintains its position in the smart contract market with a stable technical foundation and widespread adoption.
Grayscale’s report highlights the development potential of DeFi and decentralized AI technology in the future, and the improvement of the regulatory environment in the United States is a key factor in driving the market. With relaxed regulations in the United States, the expansion of the Solana ecosystem, and the emergence of diverse Layer 1 networks, market participants will continuously find new opportunities in the ever-changing market.
Sources: Cointelegraph, The Block, Grayscale