This week, the blockchain and virtual asset markets witnessed a simultaneous advancement of technological infrastructure and institutional integration, demonstrating a clear structural shift across the industry. Global research reports analyzed the rapid expansion of on-chain utilization in various sectors, including gaming, AI, decentralized finance (DeFi), and cloud infrastructure, while the real-world adoption of financial functions, particularly stablecoins and Bitcoin, accelerated. Notably, despite increases in transaction volume and user count, some protocols' asset metrics showed adjustments, suggesting a more fragmented growth phase.
At the same time, changes in the traditional financial sector and regulatory environment have emerged as key variables driving the restructuring of the market. As Bitcoin becomes increasingly established as an asset in institutional portfolios, the need for risk management surrounding won-denominated stablecoins, global exchange structures, and year-end liquidity conditions has also been raised. The industry has assessed that, as we enter a phase where technological advancement and institutional stability are simultaneously required, mid- to long-term infrastructure competitiveness is increasingly likely to determine project performance, rather than short-term indicators.
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Messari Research
Say, DeFi assets decline amid 100 million game transactions… Mesari analyzes 'mixed signals'
SEI saw explosive growth in gaming traffic in Q3, driven by a surge in daily active addresses and transactions. However, DeFi TVL decreased by more than 25%, indicating a mixed signal of increased activity versus decreased capital. Conversely, DEX spot trading volume reached an all-time high, maintaining demand for on-chain transactions.
In liquid staking, spSEI quickly rose to first place in market share, reorganizing the iSEI-centric structure. Supply pressure was observed to ease due to vesting reductions. Mesari predicted that the "Giga" upgrade would be a key catalyst for enhanced performance and the attraction of next-generation dApps.
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Akash Network sees rising demand for inference but faces infrastructure tightening; Mesari Research calls it a "growth transition."
Akash saw a significant rebound in leases, demonstrating improvements in AI model integration and tooling. However, it also experienced a period of "retrenchment," with overall capacity reduced due to a lack of long-term execution infrastructure and a decline in providers. GPU utilization remained above 50%, supporting demand for inference workloads, but overall resource usage, including CPU, RAM, and storage, declined.
Mesari diagnosed this trend as a signal of workload restructuring centered on short-term inference. The company noted that attention will be focused on whether the expansion of StarCluster and AkashML in the fourth quarter will serve as a turning point for long-term workload restoration and enterprise adoption.
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"Games are entering the era of decentralization"... Mesari sheds light on the MapleStory universe's on-chain economic experiment.
MapleStory Universe (MSU) is simultaneously strengthening the sustainability of the game economy and encouraging participation through regular burning of NXPC tokens (based on 20% of user revenue), open IP/API strategies, and expanded builder incentives.
By opening APIs for external IP integration and enhanced logic, MSU expanded its "game + creator platform" identity, and accelerated its expansion strategy with a $50 million ecosystem fund. In terms of fairness, MSU solidified its foundation of trust by blocking bots and macros through credit rating and KYC re-verification layers. Messari suggested that MSU could become a reference for a large-scale game IP-based Web3 economy.
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"The Core of DeFi Infrastructure in 2025"...The Evolution of On-Chain Financial Platforms Spotlighted by Mantle and Mesari Research
Mantle has evolved beyond L2 into an on-chain financial infrastructure encompassing asset management, liquidity integration, and RWA tokenization, with staking-based assets growing to over $1 billion, according to Messari. The transition from Optimistic to a ZK-based validation architecture has improved processing efficiency, and the introduction of EigenDA has optimized data availability costs and structure.
As the staking/restaking ecosystem centered around mETH and cmETH grows, the financial layer connecting collateral, lending, and DEX liquidity is strengthening. Messari believes that combining the technology roadmap and RWA standardization will redefine the network as optimized for "real-world financial use."
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Filecoin Reinvents Itself as an On-Chain Cloud… "Blockchain Infrastructure Core in the AI and DePIN Era"
Filecoin is expanding from archival storage to a verifiable programmable cloud with the Filecoin On-Chain Cloud (FOC), targeting AI, DePIN, and agent workloads, Mesari announced. The core of the platform is Proof-of-Possession (PDP)-based warm storage, which provides integrity, auditability, and automated settlement—features that centralized clouds struggle to provide.
Filecoin Pay is accumulating real-world transactions by expanding its settlement rails with streaming payments and subscription models, while early builders are conducting various tests, including AI pipelines, indexing, and front-end. Messari assessed Filecoin as evolving into a "verifiable data/service layer for the open internet."
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"Capturing Profits and Reducing Risk"… Falcon Finance Presents a New Strategy for the Stablecoin Era
Falcon Finance targets both the profitability and stability of stablecoins by combining a dual-token structure of overcollateralized synthetic dollars (USDf) and yield-accumulating sUSDf with "institutional-grade" strategies such as delta-neutral hedging and arbitrage. Falcon Finance designed a multi-layered risk framework, including a dynamic overcollateralization ratio (OCR), insurance fund, and 7-day cooldown, to protect the peg during periods of rapid volatility. It also emphasizes operational transparency through custody, dashboards, and auditing.
The ecosystem is being expanded by encouraging participation in minting, staking, and LP with incentives like "Falcon Miles." Mesari evaluated this model as attempting to combine structural stability and profitability, which are required after Terra.
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"Bitcoin as a means of consumption"... Mesari draws attention to Starknet's real-life economic system amidst the growth of BTCFi.
Mesari analyzed that Starknet is building a self-custody economic loop that goes beyond simple bridging and staking in BTCFi, connecting lending, borrowing, looping, yield strategies, and actual spending. TVL nearly doubled in six months, and lending protocols like Vesu and STRK incentives have fueled demand for BTC collateral.
While wrapped BTC-based strategic products like mRe7BTC are attracting high-yield demand, Ready Wallet's onramps, virtual IBANs, and debit cards offer practical ways to "spend without a centralized exchange." Messari pointed to the potential for Starknet to establish itself as a complete model within BTCFi, encompassing staking, borrowing, earning, and spending.
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■ AM Management
"Year-end shift to maintenance mode"… AM Management analyzes Bitcoin's technical rebound signals.
AM Management diagnosed that the market is shifting to "conservative mode" amidst interest rate and indicator events and changes in the liquidity environment as the year approaches. Bitcoin is attempting a rebound after a short-term correction, but slowing trading volume and overlapping resistance levels indicate a situation requiring technical confirmation.
The 30-day moving average and whether it breaks through the $94,000 level were identified as key variables that will determine short-term direction. The report stated that a conservative approach is necessary, as indicator releases and token unlock schedules could increase volatility.
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Kaiko Research
Bitcoin finally becomes a mainstream asset… Kaiko Research: "Financial institutions' strategic shifts will drive market maturity by 2025"
Kaiko analyzed that in 2025, the Bitcoin market will be reorganized around "identifiable participants" such as ETFs, asset management companies, and corporate finance departments, improving price stability and order book depth.
Accelerating changes in institutional attitudes, the expansion of digital asset integration at the platform and product level, and the revamp of Europe's MiCA and the US's stablecoin regulations were cited as factors reducing legal uncertainty. The long-term decline in 180-day volatility was cited as an indicator of a shift from speculative assets to portfolio assets. Kaiko assessed that the convergence of liquidity, transaction reliability, and regulatory clarity has brought mainstream asset inclusion to a realistic stage.
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■ Tiger Research
MagicEden Evolves Beyond an NFT Marketplace into a Digital Entertainment Hub… Tiger Research Analysis
Tiger Research analyzed that Magic Eden is transforming beyond an NFT exchange into an entertainment platform with probability-based and game-based features like "pack ripping" and "lucky buys." The platform's structure, which increases user retention time and spending, is driving revenue, and its successful expansion into markets outside the US by addressing regulatory risks was also noted.
The token and NFT collection buyback program, which utilizes 30% of sales, was presented as a mechanism to directly connect the community and project stakeholders. Tiger Research assessed that MagicEden is aiming to become a gateway to Web3 by expanding into adjacent areas such as prediction markets.
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