What I Most Want to See Develop in the Crypto Space in 2025

This article looks ahead to key trends in the crypto space for 2025, including the rise of altVMs and Chain abstraction technologies

As we head into 2025, several key trends are poised to shape the crypto space. Among them are the rise of altVMs and Chain abstraction technologies, both of which are set to drive cross-chain transactions and a more seamless user experience. Additionally, the next generation of L1 platforms and Rollups-as-a-Service (RaaS) will continue to evolve, while AI technologies, especially AI agents, are expected to play an increasingly important role in more applications. Finally, projects like pendle fi and nillionnetwork are also set to see new breakthroughs, injecting fresh vitality into the crypto market.

Here's a closer look at each of these trends:

altVMs have performed exceptionally well this year. The fuel network has successfully launched its mainnet, the cartesiproject continues to advance, and MoveVM has gained some adoption with the support of Aptos, SuiNetwork, and movementlabsxyz. While EVM will likely remain dominant for the next few years, 2025 may just become the year of promise for altVMs, bringing about the next wave of on-chain application explosions.

In this field, fluentxyz and its hybrid execution approach will play a key role. By integrating EVM, SVM, and Wasm into a single execution environment, Fluent may become the preferred solution for developers seeking the most complete and flexible way to build applications. The coolest part? This design is scalable, meaning any virtual machine can be added, and it may ultimately become the "final BOSS" of virtual machines.

Chain abstraction had its moment in 2024. Initially, it was just a rough idea: to create a user experience that allows users to operate smoothly as if using a single chain, even with hundreds of chains working together. No more switching wallets, managing multiple gas tokens, or, worst of all, dealing with cross-chain bridges.

The UniversalX released by ParticleNtwrk allows you to trade any token on any chain through a single interface, feeling like Binance, but many new products will emerge on-chain, and more importantly, many existing projects will start using these solutions. This narrative is worth paying attention to, showcasing real collaboration between EverclearOrg, SOCKETProtocol, NEARProtocol, as well as sedaprotocol and routescan io. 2025 will be a year to introduce users to these new solutions.

A year in crypto wouldn't be as interesting without new L1s, and Sui and Aptos are clearly the stars in this field for 2024, both of which are expected to launch their mainnets soon. So what can we expect for 2025? We have many expectations. Monad xyz, berachain, and Hyperliquid X may become the "Holy Trinity." The release of HyperEVM by Hyperliquid is worth noting, especially with the recent buzz surrounding Hyperliquid. How the entire Hyperliquid ecosystem connects with exchanges will be an exciting highlight.

This is a narrative that has been discussed less frequently. Why? It may be because it is a boring industry, but looking back, boring industries often turn out to be the most interesting. In 2024, Rollups and L2 have been hot topics in the crypto space, spoiler alert: this trend won't change anytime soon. With inkonchain and AbstractChain launching in the coming months, the debate around L2 will continue, but one thing is clear: L2 will become increasingly prevalent.

Whether general-purpose or application-specific, the numbers speak for themselves. Rollup-as-a-Service platforms like Calderaxyz have launched around 100 chains this year, offering countless integrations and customizations from day one. Conduitxyz and alt layer are also following the same pattern. The demand for RaaS providers is hard to ignore.

According to data from kaitoai, AI captured over 40% of attention this year, which is simply crazy. My intuition is that this is just the beginning. The Eliza GitHub repository from ai16 zdao has been one of the most talked-about projects in recent months. Could this be a way to bring new developers into the crypto space? Time will tell, but it certainly looks like an interesting Trojan Horse.

We have already seen the first practical use case of the aixbt agent, built by virtuals io, which has gained significant attention in the CT community while providing very accurate information. Will our future revolve around the idea of reading AI agents? Who knows, but in 2025, more AI agents will take on tasks once performed by humans.

Some other projects that are worth mentioning include:

Pendle fi continues to grow exponentially and can now be considered a DeFi OG. Will it reach $10B TVL in 2025?

Kaitoai leads the way in InfoFi; what will the future look like? Perhaps next year will give us the answer.

Polymer Labs