Web3 Investment Outlook: DeFi and AI Will Dominate in 2025

With the implementation of the cryptocurrency regulatory framework in 2025, traditional investors will massively enter this field. Their investment decisions will be more rational, focusing on the fundamentals and cash flow of projects. Against this backdrop, decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain Layer 1 protocols (L1) are expected to become investment hotspots.

DeFi projects have greater growth potential due to their lower market capitalization. Some DeFi projects have generated over $100 million in revenue this year, which will undoubtedly attract the attention of traditional investors. It is foreseeable that DeFi will eventually become one of the key investment directions for institutional investors. A well-known asset management company has already started collaborating with DeFi projects, and this trend is taking shape.

Investing in blue-chip DeFi projects can focus on long-term development, with potential comparable to ETH. Emerging DeFi projects may bring short-term high returns. Next year, some DeFi projects may announce adjustments to their fee mechanisms, and investors need to be prepared for this. It is expected that DeFi will dominate at least two quarters of next year.

Artificial intelligence ( AI ) may face criticism in 2025 due to its rapid and uncontrolled expansion. The discussion around “responsible AI” will become a focal point. AI agents ( may experience a round of bubble-like growth, with 13,000 agents currently on the market, and this number is expected to grow to at least 100,000.

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Regulation will also spark interest in privacy infrastructure, with projects involving confidential Decentralized Finance, privacy computing, storage, and inference likely to receive more attention.

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The Meme market will remain active. Although regulators may not support it, speculators will still look for opportunities among the large number of new coins added daily. Some established Meme coins like DOGE and PEPE may attract the attention of more serious investors.

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In 2025, mobile Web3 wallets and super applications will also emerge. With related companies going public in traditional markets, it may drive a speculative frenzy for Web3 wallet-related tokens with strong revenue performance.

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Overall, in 2025, DeFi and AI will become two major core investment themes, meme speculation will continue, and privacy and decentralized physical infrastructure networks ) DePIN ( may emerge in some quarter. Web3 wallets are expected to drive mainstream adoption by improving user experience.