In 2025, the narrative surrounding the crypto market has shifted from FOMO (fear of missing out) to practical values and systems that deliver tangible impacts on people's lives. This year marks a transition to truly ready-to-use solutions, elevating the exchange and payment of value on a global scale.
Experts from SynFutures, Brickken, and Cake Wallet say that stablecoins, privacy, Tokenize assets, and applied AI have driven the wave of crypto adoption through real demand, rather than just speculation.
The year crypto became infrastructure
The year 2025 can be considered a special milestone. This is the first time the crypto market has reached such a deep level of integration with the traditional financial system, where users can interact with crypto applications without necessarily having to worry about "using crypto".
Although the market remains volatile, only a select few crypto topics truly stand out due to their practical applications. Meanwhile, those that rely solely on hype or bandwagon effects are quickly forgotten.
When speaking with BeInCrypto, industry representatives shared a common assessment: trends focused on collaboration and practical applications are sustainable, while projects that are merely novel gradually lose their value.
Despite the many topics discussed, stablecoins remained the most noteworthy focus of the past year.
Stablecoins have become a prime use case for crypto.
Stablecoins have helped connect adventurous retail investors with more cautious users who want to access the crypto market with limited risk in a sector Capital for its volatility.
By maintaining a stable value against assets like the USD or gold, stablecoins have become a more reliable option compared to many other digital assets. Their ability to facilitate cross-border transactions is also a major advantage over traditional fiat currency.
Legal advancements, such as the passage of the GENIUS Act , further strengthen confidence in stablecoins, helping to gain greater recognition for their application value and the convenience of their infrastructure.
“Stablecoins have solved a practical, everyday problem: fast international money transfers and payments without relying on the slow and costly Capital banking system,” Chia Brickken CEO Edwin Mata. “For users, stablecoins open up opportunities to access the USD and euro in areas where access to traditional banking is limited, expensive, or unstable,” he added.
This impact is clear and tangible, especially as Stripe and Visa have integrated stablecoins into their payment and financial management operations. At the same time, Circle has enabled businesses to use USDC as working Capital instead of viewing it solely as a speculative asset.
As stablecoins gain increasing trust as secure payment tools, they also pave the way for the advancement of Tokenize real assets (RWA) .
Tokenization has evolved far beyond the experimental phase.
According to SynFutures CEO Rachel Lin, RWAs have helped bridge the gap between traditional finance and crypto. However, this approach is not yet truly comprehensive.
The development of RWA has actually focused on only a few specific areas, rather than spreading across all sectors as initially expected.
“ Tokenize assets like treasuries, investment funds, and yield products are seeing real interest because they offer clear value: fast payments, easy integration, and diverse accessibility,” Lin Chia with BeInCrypto. “However, 2025 also indicates that RWAs will only truly be effective once there is legal clarity, liquidation , and a reputable issuer. The story has shifted from testing to real-world deployment, but everything is still in its early stages.”
The reality is clear, with many large banks and asset managers leveraging Tokenize to improve operational efficiency. Just this week, JPMorgan launched a Tokenize money market fund on Ethereum, a step further than previous internal experiments.
Simultaneously, asset managers like BlackRock are continuously expanding their Tokenize fund products , while banks are integrating stablecoins into their Capital management and payment processes.
Another topic that has attracted significant attention both within and outside the crypto field over the past year is artificial intelligence (AI).
Areas where AI delivers measurable value.
Initially, AI was associated with fears that robots would replace humans in all decision-making, but this topic quickly subsided.
Instead, the community is more interested in how AI delivers an optimal user experience , helping users better understand risk and allocate portfolios.
“AI is truly valuable when it helps reduce the complexity of thinking and operations, especially in trading platforms, risk control, and decision support. Products that use AI to help users understand risks, automate transactions, or prevent costly mistakes all offer clear benefits,” Lin further analyzed.
The rise of AI agents has also attracted attention, although people have become more realistic over the past year.
The success of AI agents depends primarily on transparency, reliability, and user-defined limits, rather than solely on the level of automation. Use cases such as liquidation optimization, automated strategy deployment, or automated Capital management all show significant potential when subject to strict regulatory oversight.
However, as AI becomes increasingly prevalent in crypto products, concerns about data security are becoming more and more prominent.
This has made privacy a central theme of 2025, rather than just a concern for a select few.
Why privacy can't wait any longer.
Privacy has emerged as one of the most important trends in the crypto market this year, as more people are becoming aware that the modern financial system is increasingly exposing users' information and behavior.
Therefore, long-standing concerns about data transparency have become a more widely discussed topic. Simultaneously, privacy – once XEM an option for a select few – is gradually becoming a crucial and mandatory element .
“One of the biggest shifts in industry perception ever has happened this year, as people realized the need (and market) for simple, accessible privacy for their assets,” Seth for Privacy, Vice President of Cake Wallet, Chia BeInCrypto.
The increasing use of Monero, global media attention on Zcash , and the shift toward integrating security features into stablecoins and Layer 2 networks have reinforced this shift.
“All of this helps solve one of the biggest problems for crypto users – how can I maintain the same privacy as in the traditional financial system or with cash, while still taking full advantage of the power and decentralization of crypto?” – Seth added.
The development of security solutions, along with many other success stories over the past year, shows that the adoption of crypto increasingly depends on the real value it brings to users.
As the crypto landscape matures, success no longer hinges on attracting attention or flashy advertising, but rather on how effectively and stably it delivers results for users.
