What to Expect in 2025?
I won’t waste time with a lengthy introduction – 2024 was indeed an exciting year. Let’s get straight to the point and see what changes I am most looking forward to in 2025:
Alternative Virtual Machines (altVMs)
2024 was a remarkable year for Alternative Virtual Machines (altVMs). @fuel_network successfully launched its mainnet, @cartesiproject continued to make steady progress, and MoveVM gained more applications with the support of @Aptos, @SuiNetwork, and @movementlabsxyz. 2025 could be the breakthrough year for these alternative virtual machines, ushering in the next wave of on-chain applications. It is worth mentioning that the hybrid execution model by @fluentxyz will play a crucial role in this field. It integrates EVM, SVM, and Wasm into a single execution environment, providing developers with the most comprehensive and flexible application building options. What’s even more exciting is that this design is scalable, which means any virtual machine can be added to this system in the future. Perhaps it will become the “ultimate solution” in the virtual machine field.
Chain Abstraction
Chain abstraction made significant progress in 2024. It evolved from a preliminary concept: creating an experience for users that feels like using a single chain, even though there are hundreds of chains working together in the background. Users no longer need to switch wallets frequently, manage multiple gas tokens, or deal with the hassle of cross-chain bridging. The UniversalX solution introduced by @ParticleNtwrk enables transactions of tokens on any chain through a unified interface, offering a Binance-like experience but entirely on-chain. The maturity of this technology will give birth to many new products, and more importantly, many existing projects will start adopting these solutions. This trend showcases deep collaboration between projects, such as @EverclearOrg, @SOCKETProtocol, and @NEARProtocol, as well as the collaborative efforts of @sedaprotocol and @routescan_io. The focus in 2025 will be on how to make these innovative solutions more accessible and widely used by users.
L1 Public Chains
The crypto industry wouldn’t be as exciting without the birth of new L1 public chains every year. In 2024, Sui and Aptos undoubtedly shone in this field. So, what about 2025? We can look forward to more anticipated new projects. @monad_xyz, @berachain, and @HyperliquidX could potentially form the “golden triangle” driving industry development. In particular, the HyperEVM launched by Hyperliquid deserves special attention. With the recent increasing popularity of Hyperliquid, how its ecosystem deeply connects with the exchange itself will be an important aspect to watch.
RaaS (Rollup as a Service)
RaaS might be one of the least discussed areas currently. Why is that? Perhaps it seems like a “boring business.” However, many seemingly uninteresting business models often prove to be the most valuable in hindsight. Rollups and L2 were hot topics in the crypto community (CT) in 2024, and this heat will not fade away in the short term. With @inkonchain and @AbstractChain set to launch related services in the coming months, the debate about these technologies will continue. One thing is clear: there will be more and more L2 chains in the future. Whether they are general-purpose or specific-purpose chains, the data speaks for itself. Rollup as a service platforms like @Calderaxyz have already supported the deployment of around 100 new chains this year, offering rich integration and customization options from day one. Additionally, @conduitxyz and @alt_layer are adopting similar models. The market demand for RaaS providers is becoming increasingly undeniable.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
According to statistics from @_kaitoai, AI has garnered over 40% of attention this year, making it an unprecedented hot topic. But my intuition tells me that this is just the beginning. The Eliza project from @ai16zdao has become one of the most popular open-source projects on GitHub in recent months. Can it be the bridge that attracts new developers to enter the crypto field? This will require time to verify, but it indeed has the potential to be an interesting “entry point.” We have already seen preliminary results of AI in the real world, such as the @virtuals_io developed @aixbt_agent. This intelligent body continues to attract attention within the crypto community while providing fairly accurate information. Will the focus shift to “interpreting the thoughts of AI intelligences” in the future? There is currently no conclusion, but it can be foreseen that more and more AI intelligences will take on tasks that were once the responsibility of humans in 2025.
Other Worthwhile Projects
@pendle_fi continues to achieve exponential growth and is now considered one of the “veteran” projects in DeFi. Will its Total Value Locked (TVL) exceed $10 billion in 2025? It is worth looking forward to. @_kaitoai is pioneering a new field called InfoFi. What will it look like in the future? The answer should be revealed next year. @Polymer_Labs will become a strong competitor in the field of cross-chain interoperability, and I believe interoperability will be an important topic in 2025. @OndoFinance is driving the entry of large traditional institutions into the blockchain field. Real-world asset (RWA) and asset tokenization have become trends, but they have not yet fully overcome obstacles. Will 2025 bring a turning point due to a more friendly regulatory environment? The mainnet of @nillionnetwork is scheduled to launch in February next year. In the context of increasing concerns about privacy, this project may have a significant impact. What’s even more exciting is that it is expected to lead a new wave of on-chain applications. See you in 2025.
This article is co-republished from DeepChain.