Author: @jessewldn; Translator: Plain Language Blockchain
In the past two years, the crypto industry has entered a period that can be called the "integration stage". During this period, the industry has paid more attention to optimization work rather than brand-new innovations "from scratch". This integration and optimization is mainly reflected in the following three aspects:
1) Infrastructure
2) Application scenarios
3) Top winners
01 Optimization and integration trends in the crypto industry in 2024
1) Optimization: Infrastructure in 2024
The maturity of infrastructure has made crypto technology no longer a bottleneck for the development of the industry. This achievement is the result of the optimization of a large number of technologies rather than a disruptive new architecture. These optimizations may have made the crypto industry ready for a bull run for the first time, including:
·More abundant block space
·Increasingly sophisticated development toolchains
·Almost zero or even no transaction fees for users
·Significantly reduced complexity in wallet usage
·The user experience of on-chain applications is gradually comparable to Web2 consumer products
Currently, this infrastructure abstraction, performance improvement, and reliability enhancement has just entered its 12th to 18th month. For example, the development of Ethereum L2, the stability improvement of Solana, and the application of wallet abstraction technology in actual production environments have developed, but have not yet reached the optimal level.
2) Integration: Application Scenarios and Top Winners in 2024
Two key application scenarios have gradually matured: speculation and stablecoins.These two scenarios have almost run through the entire development of the crypto industry:
· Bitcoin (2009) is the earliest speculative asset in the crypto industry;
· Stablecoins are one of the earliest token applications (USDT started in 2014).
Today, these two scenarios have reached a new peak due to the optimization of infrastructure.
· The peak of speculation: Memecoins
Memecoins are the ultimate embodiment of speculation, and now it has become extremely convenient and low-cost to create and trade.
· Seamless connection of stablecoins
Tools like Bridge make the issuance and trading of stablecoins more efficient than ever before.
3) The strong-win effect of the top winners
As the industry develops, the top winners in the past are further consolidating their positions and their advantages continue to expand. These winners include:
· Public chains: Solana and Ethereum;
· Wallet: Phantom;
· DEX: Uniswap and Raydium.
These platforms have benefited greatly from the growth of stablecoins and speculation, and are able to quickly adapt to market hotspots and speculative games such as Memecoins or NFTs.
02 The next stage of the crypto industry
As the infrastructure bottleneck gradually subsides, the other two major bottlenecks facing the industry are gradually emerging. These two bottlenecks have largely driven the current integration and optimization stage and hindered the industry's further innovation breakthroughs from "zero to one".
1) Bottleneck 1: Infrastructure issues
The infrastructure bottleneck is gradually being eliminated. Technical optimization rather than breakthrough architectural innovation has brought significant progress to the industry. Today, the available block space of blockchain is sufficient, the tools are gradually maturing, the transaction fees are close to zero, the wallets are easier to use, and some applications on the chain can rival the consumer experience of Web2.
2) Bottleneck 2: Hostile and uncertain regulatory environment
The second bottleneck to be solved is the unfriendly and uncertain regulatory environment. However, this problem currently seems to be gradually alleviated. Trump's coming to power has given the crypto industry hope that the United States will usher in clearer regulatory rules, eliminate bad projects, and help the positive participants in the industry grow and develop.
As infrastructure performance improves and the regulatory environment becomes clearer, the industry is about to break through the third bottleneck - the talent problem.
3) Bottleneck 3: Talent Shortage
Since 2022, the number of new talents entering the crypto industry has been in a bottleneck state. This is understandable because negative news and an uncertain regulatory environment pose huge personal risks to founders. However, the lack of new talent has directly led to the stagnation of innovation "from scratch" in the industry.
I believe that this trend will begin to reverse next year through the following two steps:
A. Leaders in the consolidation stage will continue to expand their advantages. The success of these head projects may exceed everyone's expectations.For example, Polymarket proved this in this election cycle, and there will be more similar cases in the future. As on-chain applications are gradually accepted by the mainstream (both consumers and institutions), we will see: · Startups will go public; · More projects will issue tokens; · Society's expectations of the impact of the crypto industry will be readjusted. This is the first step to inspire a new generation of developers to gain a deeper understanding of the crypto industry. Only by attracting more new blood can the industry usher in the next round of real breakthroughs. B. A new generation of entrepreneurs will redefine the industry based on first principles. These new entrepreneurs will no longer be limited by traditional infrastructure and outdated concepts. They will conduct innovative experiments based on clear rules and around the core of "ownership" to bring new products and experiences to users.
03 Future Outlook: Finding Stability through Verification
Although the crypto industry is still full of volatility, with the arrival of new rules, new talents and new ideas, we hope that in the next five years, we will know clearly: Whether the crypto industry can go beyond speculation and stablecoins and bring more real value.
"Ownership" may become a core element of new products and networks, and these networks will achieve faster growth by establishing deep connections with users with economic incentives. Verification through breakthrough applications will become an important way to reduce long-term volatility.
The crypto market is still worth looking forward to in 2025. With Bitcoin's momentum of breaking new highs, which track will be the first to explode and relay the bull market in 2025?
Beincrypto
dailyhodl
Bitcoinist
Cointelegraph