Original Title: The Evolution of Crypto: A Look at the Future of the Industry
Original Author: Route 2 FI
Translation by: Asher (@Asher0210_)
Editor’s Note: As the bubble fades and faith wavers, the crypto industry gradually reveals deep structural issues and begins to show a more realistic trend of self-adjustment. Whether it is the shift in capital strategies after the speculation tide recedes or the product reconstruction from community governance to user experience, this round of transformation is not only the result of technological evolution but also a clash of market choices and long-termism. This article attempts to outline the true contours of this industry self-reconstruction amidst the chaotic signals.
The Future of Speculation and Stablecoins
Cryptocurrency is essentially an innovative financial infrastructure, possessing transformative potential akin to how the internet reshaped information dissemination. However, despite the widespread admiration for "decentralization," the core driving force behind the industry remains "speculation."
Whether in spot trading, lending, or derivatives markets, speculative behavior consistently represents the largest output and highest returns. Although the intensity of speculation may weaken at times, this characteristic is unlikely to disappear in the short term and may even continue to strengthen in the future. This means that even as the use cases for crypto expand, its essence as a "financial casino" will remain the industry's main theme for the foreseeable future.
At the same time, the stablecoin sector is approaching a critical juncture. With Circle's IPO on the horizon, stablecoins are seen as one of the important gateways for crypto adoption, but their growth potential is being doubly constrained by regulatory limitations and weakened competitive advantages. If interest rates continue to decline, the attractiveness of stablecoins for capital will also diminish.
The next breakthrough may no longer be the globally anchored dollar model but rather financial technology applications that utilize crypto payment infrastructure and target localized scenarios. For entrepreneurs lacking a Silicon Valley background and early massive funding, focusing on regional needs may actually lead to a more sustainable path.
The Decline of Token Premiums and VC Changes
Tokens were once viewed as high-growth assets, enjoying extremely high valuation premiums. However, the market sentiment has significantly shifted, with investors now focusing more on actual revenue rather than narrative packaging, driven by two major trends:
Valuation corrections following the retreat of the bull market, where high token valuations become unsustainable after the unlocking period;
The disappearance of marginal buying, with capital increasingly flowing towards traditional assets that exhibit similar volatility but clearer direction.
In this changing landscape, only those tokens linked to real revenue are likely to break through in the new paradigm.
Additionally, crypto venture capital is experiencing a "liquidation moment." The traditional VC model heavily relies on the monetization logic post-token launch, and increasingly, more founders are choosing not to issue tokens, opting instead to build small teams and pursue real revenue. This trend reflects the industry's reflection and correction regarding the bubble following the collapse of FTX.
In the future, only investment institutions that truly understand the new generation of entrepreneurial models will be able to retain a foothold in this structural adjustment.
Consumer Applications and the Intersection with AI
The crypto space has always lacked blockbuster consumer products like Uber or Instagram. People often attribute this to poor user experience or a lack of market education, but the deeper reason lies in the crypto capital structure's preference for "short-term monetization" rather than "long-term refinement."
True "billion-user" applications are only likely to emerge when entrepreneurs extend their time horizons and abandon the mindset of rapid token issuance. This is a difficult but necessary path of transformation.
At the cutting edge, the integration of crypto and artificial intelligence is still in its infancy. While directions like data provenance and distributed computing are imaginative, the reality of AI's training costs and performance bottlenecks poses significant challenges.
One early direction worth noting is the "crowd-sourcing IP addresses" mechanism, which leverages decentralized networks to mobilize idle resources, potentially exploring new pathways for AI and on-chain collaboration.
The Financial Service Gap for "On-Chain Middle Class"
Among current crypto users, there exists a high-potential group that has been overlooked: the "on-chain middle class" with a monthly income of $5,000 to $20,000. They typically possess a certain level of crypto knowledge and asset scale but lack integrated solutions for daily financial management.
The needs of this group include: salary management, fiat and crypto asset allocation, tax support, and other services. Although the initial user base for this market is not large (approximately 5,000 to 10,000 people), its extremely high average revenue per user (ARPU) signifies a tremendous product opportunity.
The Rebirth of DAOs and GameFi
Over the past two years, participation in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) has sharply declined, with voting governance becoming merely a formality. Meanwhile, the gaming sector has also quieted down due to the Axie bubble, but neither of these segments has completely lost its potential.
Social infrastructures like Farcaster may become catalysts for new forms of DAOs, evolving them from governance protocols into community coordination mechanisms driven by resources and culture. This shift could also give rise to "sustainable meme coins," breaking free from pure emotional speculation.
In the GameFi sector, 2025 to 2026 may witness a true explosion of integration between "content and economic models." Teams that have long focused on experience and gameplay are likely to establish virtual worlds and thriving markets with millions of users.
Talent Mobility and Cultural Development
Since 2022, a significant number of crypto talents have shifted to AI, traditional finance, and other fields, with many experiencing the psychological impact of "ideal disillusionment." This structural talent loss poses a more profound impact on the industry's long-term development, even surpassing the pressures brought by price corrections.
In this environment, companies with strong cultural drive will become "beacons of talent," continuously attracting builders willing to adhere to long-termism, becoming key players in the next cycle.
Media Integration and New Forces in Capital Structure
On one hand, the crypto content ecosystem is undergoing a process of de-bubbling, with traditional research institutions and media reliant on fund subsidies facing elimination. In the future, truly viable teams must possess creativity, business understanding, and distribution capabilities.
On the other hand, as more projects choose not to issue tokens and pursue genuine revenue paths without token modifications, private equity funds (PE) are expected to become the new capital mainstay in the crypto industry. In the next 18 months, PE may dominate the rise of a batch of pragmatic projects that do not rely on token issuance.
The Possibility of On-Chain Connections in the Content Industry
The integration of creative industries such as music, art, and writing with blockchain is still in its early stages. The current industry faces not only technical challenges but also a lack of "bridge teams" that can deeply understand creator behavior and distribution mechanisms.
In the future, whoever can become the connector between creators and blockchain will define the next generation of decentralized content ecosystems.
Conclusion
Crypto is still evolving rapidly; it is both idealistic and complexly realistic, reshaping global systems while grappling with its own issues. Only by focusing on data, respecting long-term strategies, and maintaining clarity can builders navigate this dual transformation further, writing a new chapter for the next decade.
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