Author: arndxt
Compiled by: Glendon, Techub News
Why I no longer suggest friends first 'learn about cryptocurrency.'
Last month, I tried once again to guide a friend who is not in the cryptocurrency field. Ten minutes later, when we got to 'choosing a wallet' and 'now you need to pay Gas fees with another token,' her eyes started to glaze over.
I suddenly realized: We're not facing a knowledge gap, but a design gap.
A harsh reality is that the speculative wave brought in the first wave of users but failed to attract the next billion users. True adoption begins when cryptocurrency products become invisible—people can benefit without realizing they are using crypto technology.
From the rise of stablecoins, institutional staking to the increasing role of AI in the development of the digital economy, the foundation for the large-scale application of cryptocurrency has been laid. But to unlock such a future, we must stop asking users to learn about cryptocurrency knowledge and start building crypto products that allow them to benefit without being aware of the underlying technology.
Here are 8 narrative directions and related projects worth noting in the field of cryptocurrency applications.
The winning strategy for next-generation wallets: single point optimization
Currently, wallets are undergoing a structural transformation: Users are developing the habit of using two complementary wallets—one for everyday usage, akin to fintech apps, and another for asset storage, akin to bank accounts.
Wallet functions and experiences are diversifying. Therefore, developers trying to cram all functionalities into a single interface will ultimately lose to those focusing on (a) frictionless onboarding experiences and (b) high-security storage.
Data shows that most users now use 2-5 wallets, with nearly 48% of respondents indicating this is due to each blockchain still being in its respective 'walled garden' isolation.
At the same time, wallets are also in a state of top collection, with seasoned users (having over 2 years of experience) concentrated in Binance, Coinbase, MetaMask, or Trust (accounting for over 54%), while any single wallet's share among novice groups is less than 20%.
Moreover, for most users, self-custody remains daunting. An interesting data point is that Binance's self-custody solution, 'Binance Web3 Wallet,' despite offering familiar branding and a simplified self-custody path, has only attracted a 22% user share, with most users still harboring concerns.
In fact, users do not want to use multiple wallets simultaneously; this is not their subjective preference, but a lack of choice.
Clearly, the 'seamless multi-chain future' that has been talked about in the industry has not truly arrived. Beyond the 48% of users owning multiple wallets primarily to access different blockchain ecosystems, 44% of users actively split wallets for security reasons, a significant increase from 33% last year.
It can be observed that the industry has failed to provide true interoperability, thus transferring operational complexity to the end users. Meanwhile, these users are becoming increasingly savvy—they no longer blindly trust that one wallet can handle all scenarios.
Project Examples
Phantom: A popular cryptocurrency wallet supporting Solana and Ethereum.
The divergence between behavior and beliefs
Speculation remains the core driving force. Although 54% of users in the last quarter actually used cryptocurrency for payments or peer-to-peer transfers, when asked about their favorite activities, only 12% chose payments. Trading (spot, meme coins, DeFi activities) continues to be the most frequent behavior weekly, covering nearly all user types. Therefore, speculative behavior will continue to siphon attention away from cryptocurrency payments as a public utility's future.
The core reason hindering the development of practical scenarios lies in three major resistances:
Cost resistance: 39% of respondents believe high L1 Gas fees remain the biggest barrier to adoption;
User experience resistance: Only 11% of respondents believe existing crypto products are friendly to beginners and sufficient to meet the needs of the masses;
Network Resistance: Payment behavior relies on existing merchants/friends and other social relationships, but fragmented chains and wallet ecosystems break this cycle.
Project Examples
Huma Finance: PayFi cross-border payment pioneer, no pre-funding required, earning actual yields from real-world payment flows (APY up to 10.5%);
Tectum: Instant, free cryptocurrency payments through real-time liquidity;
Alchemy Pay: Fiat and cryptocurrency payment gateway;
NOWPayments: Payment gateway supporting over 300 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.
Chains are the new infrastructure layer, but users do not need to perceive their existence.
A multi-chain ecosystem is essentially a division of labor system. Chain abstraction will become the winning user experience (UX) model, allowing wallet sessions to seamlessly route orders, balances, and identities to any backend offering the best combination of latency, cost, and security, without requiring user choice.
Currently, Ethereum remains the institutional-grade settlement layer, but Solana is rapidly becoming the preferred chain for high-frequency, high-participation retail activities. From a momentum and growth perspective, Ethereum faces its strongest competitive pressure to date:
Solana's fees have increased by 3000% year-on-year, with TVL up 127%, leading all L1s;
This surge is largely driven by the Memecoin craze, especially in Q4 of 2024, but also reflects Solana's structural advantages in speed and transaction costs.
Surveys show that 43% of respondents indicate Ethereum is their most used chain; 39% say it's Solana; only 10% primarily use L2s, indicating that interoperability remains in the theoretical stage rather than practical.
Project Examples
Chainlink: Launched Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP);
LayerZero: Launched Omnichain interoperability protocol and the Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard;
Wormhole: Cross-chain messaging protocol;
SOCKET Protocol: Cross-chain interoperability protocol, token launch imminent;
eOracle: Ethereum-based oracle platform providing permissionless professional data services for smart contracts.
The illusion of increased security
Users claim that on-chain security has improved, but their wallets tell a different story.
So, how do we explain this paradox?
In fact, users confuse personal reinforcement experiences (hardware wallets, multi-signature) with systemic risk. Meanwhile, attackers industrialize 'phishing as a service,' shortening the lifecycle of malicious contracts by four times.
Current product priorities should focus on 'push-based anti-phishing' user experiences (clear signing interfaces, real-time simulations, MPC trading firewalls), shifting from advanced add-ons to default settings, especially in mainstream 'everyday' wallets.
NFTs are becoming the infrastructure of digital culture
The NFT market is undergoing a necessary healthy adjustment, shifting from speculative profile (PFP) projects to experiences driven by real digital assets and practical scenarios. This is also the first time NFTs begin to show sustainability.
Moreover, the surge in low-cost NFT collectibles on platforms like Base and Rodeo.Club highlights the rise of users engaging in low-priced, high-frequency participation, similar to in-game purchases, rather than traditional art collections.
NFTs are becoming the participatory infrastructure of the digital economy
NFTs will gradually become the default interaction layer for consumer applications: loyalty points, badges, membership rights—all of these will increasingly appear on-chain in the form of NFTs. Ownership will be transferable and tradable across platforms, no longer limited to a single platform, unlocking secondary value for users and more monetization channels for brands. Imagine Starbucks' loyalty program operating on-chain, where points earned in one app can unlock benefits across an entire partner service network.
NFTs are becoming the digital representation of cultural capital: NFTs are rapidly becoming a mechanism for users to express identity and cultural affiliation in the digital space. As social platforms integrate on-chain assets, NFT ownership will evolve into a primary means of digital self-expression, akin to wearing brands in the real world.
Success will depend on retention, not floor price: The era of judging NFTs by speculative value is coming to an end. The new metrics are retention rates and participation frequency. How often do users interact with NFTs? Are these NFTs related to ongoing experiences, content, or rewards? This will be the primary concern for builders, who should design NFT ecosystems to encourage repeated participation through unlockable content, evolving token attributes, and real-world benefits.
AI + NFTs will unlock the next wave of personalized dynamic assets: AI-generated NFTs related to user behavior, emotions, or community events are on the horizon. These dynamic assets will evolve with user engagement, unlocking deeply personalized experiences and emotional attachments that static assets cannot achieve.
Project Examples
Treasure: NFT infrastructure;
Mocaverse: Infrastructure connecting Animoca brand ecosystem using MOCA tokens;
Rodeo Club: NFT participation platform;
NFP: AI-driven UGC platform;
Good Vibes Club: NFT community;
Onchain Heroes: Popular collections on Abstract;
Hypio: High trading and rapidly growing NFT collections;
steady teddys: Popular collection series on Berachain;
Pudgy Penguins: One of the leading NFT brands, adopted by the mainstream;
Bored Ape Yacht Club: Iconic collection with a strong community and ApeCoin token;
CryptoPunks: Original NFT collections, considered historical digital artifacts;
Azuki: NFT series inspired by Japanese anime, featuring ANIME tokens and strong brand influence;
doodles: Colorful NFT collections, recently launched DOOD tokens on Solana;
Milady Maker: Features CULT tokens and a strong community.
Bitcoin: A new paradigm of macro assets
Bitcoin has evolved from a speculative asset into a financial tool on a macro level.
A parallel transformation is underway. Thanks to the maturity of second-layer ecosystems, particularly emerging protocols like Lightning Network, Ark, and Fedimint, Bitcoin is quietly becoming the invisible transaction layer for global settlement, supporting the next generation of cross-border payments, institutional finance, and sovereign digital reserves.
The macro correlation of Bitcoin
From hedge asset to strategic reserve asset: Countries struggling with de-dollarization are quietly exploring Bitcoin as part of their sovereign reserve diversification strategy; institutions and even sovereign actors view it as a necessary insurance policy against systemic financial risks.
Second-layer protocols are unlocking the payment usability of Bitcoin: The Lightning Network has evolved from a technical experiment to a scalable real-world payment layer, enabling near-instant low-cost cross-border transactions; new solutions like Fedimint and Ark are addressing Bitcoin's user experience and privacy limitations, making Bitcoin a viable transactional currency for emerging markets. Builders should focus on leveraging these second-layer payment solutions and cross-border financial products, particularly for remittance channels and regions troubled by currency devaluation.
Bitcoin as collateral: institutional lending rises: Major institutions are not only using Bitcoin as a passive investment but also as productive collateral for structured financial products. Bitcoin-backed credit instruments, fund management solutions, and derivatives seamlessly integrated with traditional financial markets are expected to proliferate.
A global settlement network is forming: As geopolitical frictions escalate, the demand for neutral, censorship-resistant settlement mechanisms will grow. Bitcoin has a unique advantage in serving as a clearing layer for global trade settlements, complementing rather than competing with fiat currencies. Infrastructure that hides the complexity of Bitcoin transactions from end users will drive adoption beyond the crypto-native circle.
Project Examples
Solv Protocol: Launched the first on-chain financialization and banking for Bitcoin;
stacks.btc: Bitcoin second-layer network, supporting smart contracts and applications;
Alpen: Bitcoin second-layer network;
Babylon: Bitcoin cross-chain and staking solutions;
Zeus Network: Bitcoin interoperability protocol;
corn: A network built for BTCFi.
Institutional staking: A new model for strategic capital allocation
As Bitcoin solidifies its position as a macro asset class and a core component of modern financial strategies, institutions naturally ask the next question: How can we make these assets work for us?
As retail investors continue to chase speculative gains through Memecoins and high-risk trading, institutional capital is quietly and steadily flowing into structured, yield-generating crypto assets, particularly through Ethereum and Solana's staking ecosystems.
Bitcoin may play a dominant role as a macro hedge tool, but staking is rapidly becoming the institutional bridge to productive on-chain capital.
Bitcoin as a means of value storage for productive capital: With the emergence of Bitcoin-native staking mechanisms (e.g., through the Babylon protocol and upcoming BTC Layer2 solutions), Bitcoin is also beginning to find its place in yield generation strategies without compromising its core currency attributes.
The real opportunity lies in infrastructure, not validators: The next billion-dollar influx of institutional funds will come from platforms providing institutional-grade custody, compliance reporting, and risk management staking products.
Yield diversification in an uncertain macroeconomic environment: As interest rates peak, traditional fixed-income products lose appeal, and staking yields present a new risk-adjusted income category—especially attractive for corporate finance departments looking to diversify assets, escape cash holdings and low-yield bonds, while avoiding exposure to volatile speculative crypto assets.
Project Examples
Core DAO: Bitcoin PoS layer, non-custodial Bitcoin staking solution;
BounceBit: Institutional staking platform;
TruFin: Institutional-grade liquid staking platform;
Archax: UK-regulated institutional exchange.
Regulation, stablecoins, and AI: The next entry point
Compliance unlocks the stablecoin market, creating real-world touchpoints from cheap, instant global payments to verifiable on-chain sources becoming the trust layer for AI to create value; payments are merely the 'beachhead.'
Regulatory optimism: 86% of respondents believe clearer rules will accelerate adoption; only 14% believe it will hinder innovation.
The appeal of stablecoins: Holding rates have nearly doubled year-on-year to 37% and have become the default payment method for payment giant Stripe in over 30 markets.
AI synergy: 64% of respondents believe AI will at least accelerate the development of crypto technology; another 29% expect a 'two-way flywheel effect.'
Project Examples
WLFI: Trump family project WLFI, launching USD1 stablecoin;
Ripple: Launched RLUSD stablecoin, with XRP as the Gas token;
Ethena Labs: Launched USDe stablecoin, focusing on TradFi-based tokens;
OpenEden: Launched yield-generating USDO stablecoin
cap: A stablecoin protocol with reliable financial backing.
Conclusion: User experience (UX) 2.0 determines life or death
Users are no longer deceived by narratives like 'Web3'; they expect to have Web2-level ease of use, Web3-level asset ownership protection, and AI-level intelligent experiences.
Teams that abstract chain choices, lower transaction fee thresholds, and embed predictive safety nets will transform cryptocurrency from a speculative 'playground' into a connection point for on-chain internet. The next billion users may not even realize they are using Web3 products, and this 'invisibility' will be the ultimate victory in user experience.
