Every industry will go through three cycles.
1. Innovation period
All great industries are initially not understood.
In the early days, it is always underestimated. For example, #Bitcoin, and true disruptors often lay the groundwork when no one understands.
2. Bubble period
Speculation is the accelerator of all technological diffusion.
Bubbles are not entirely harmful; they are the 'acceleration phase' for new paradigms to spread to the public.
3. Maturity period
It is only after the bubble bursts that the real construction begins.
Truly useful infrastructure always begins to solidify and establish only after the tide of hot money recedes.
The crypto industry has passed 17 years since Bitcoin's birth, and we are transitioning from the bubble phase to the maturity phase.
The most typical features include:
1. Early participants have completed the accumulation of original wealth.
2. Investors' risk preferences gradually shift from high-risk to conservative.
3. Project parties quickly transition from storytelling to genuine demand-driven approaches.
4. Regulatory compliance is becoming clear, and licensed operations are becoming mainstream.
Next, let's take a look at several major opportunities in the next cycle.
One, PayFi.
The past internet changed people's payment methods from cash to mobile payments, from bank online banking to Alipay/WeChat/Apple Pay.
Today, blockchain has upgraded mobile payments to on-chain payments. Faster, more transparent, decentralized, with global borderless transfers and settlements.
Users manage their own money. This is a technological upgrade and an advancement of the times.
Two, AI + Crypto
Five intersection points that AI and Crypto may generate:
1. On-chain settlement of AI services.
Paying and invoking AI models or inference tasks using smart contracts, charging based on the number of calls/computing power used.
2. Decentralized AI networks
Train and deploy models on decentralized networks, ensuring traceability and ZK verification mechanisms to prevent human malfeasance.
3. Data Incentive Mechanism
Using tokens to incentivize users to label data and upload datasets for training AI models.
4. AI-driven wallets/Agents (AI assistants).
Wallets or Bot tools connecting to AI analysis tools help users analyze and execute on-chain interactions.
5. Security and verification (anti-AI forgery/model verification)
Using blockchain to verify model output, resist data forgery, and mark deep synthetic content.
Three, RWA Real World Assets on-chain.
RWA (Real World Assets) has become one of the core trends in the crypto industry, representing the 'substantial integration' of the crypto industry with the global financial system, transitioning from narrative to realization.
Traditional giants like BlackRock, Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Franklin Templeton, etc., are entering the market rapidly.
Four, Launch platform for token issuance
Silicon Valley is trying a new token issuance model: ISO, Initial Seed Offering.
The difference from platforms that issue memecoins like pump fun is:
Founders/DEV with strong backgrounds, real-name entrepreneurship.
Having concrete projects, business plans, and exit mechanisms.
Tokens are no longer 'air'; they resemble early equity investments, giving ordinary investors the opportunity to participate in early unicorn angel rounds.
Mechanisms are more refined; invested projects must sign off-chain equity agreements (SAFT + Token + SAFE) and put corresponding rights on-chain (ERC-721/1155 can represent shares).
Five, DEX Decentralized Exchanges
Future DEXs with potential should possess the following characteristics:
Not custodial of user assets, featuring limit orders (Order Book DEX).
RWA DEX supports on-chain trading of real assets.
Cross-chain bridges + integrated matchmaking, reducing users' dependence on CEX.
Community co-management LP model, with the fund pool managed by DAO, automatically optimizing liquidity and yield strategies.
KYC-compliant DEX, integrating on-chain KYC, meeting FATF requirements while retaining self-custody.
DEX is an excellent stage for redefining 'decentralized finance' and a battlefield for entering a new phase of 'compliance + assets + experience.'
Six, Memecoin
Memecoins are still a very important cultural, traffic, and capital phenomenon in the Web3 world. Memecoins will continue to exist in the long term because:
1. Memecoins are an important entry point for users.
2. Strong dissemination ability, can quickly form consensus and propagation.
3. Meme culture is a community consensus and cultural experimentation.
But it cannot be denied that the market value of memecoins will decline:
1. After the industry matures, class structures begin to solidify, and the enthusiasm of industry old OGs for memes wanes.
2. Investors are maturing; everyone is more willing to put large sums of money into stable investment products. In life, one only needs to become rich once.
3. It is difficult for memecoins to emerge with strong consensus IPs like $DOGE, $SHIB, or $PEPE; nowadays, PVP habits are deeply ingrained.
