The world of cryptocurrencies is constantly evolving, with new trends, technologies, and regulations shaping its future. As we stand on the cusp of 2025, crypto enthusiasts and investors are eager to know what lies ahead. Paul Veradittakit, Managing Partner at Pantera Capital, one of the earliest and largest institutional investors in digital currencies, shares his intriguing predictions for the crypto landscape in the coming year.
DeFi Summer 2.0 & The Rise of RWAs
Veradittakit foresees a resurgence of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) in 2025, dubbing it “DeFi Summer 2.0”. He predicts that by year-end, Real World Assets (RWAs), excluding stablecoins, will account for a staggering 30% of on-chain Total Value Locked (TVL), up from the current 15%.
The increasing ease of using private credit to move money into crypto, coupled with the growing adoption of on-chain T-Bills and commodities, is expected to accelerate RWA inflows. Moreover, the simplified infrastructure for minting and maintaining RWA protocols may finally make it feasible to introduce more complex financial products like stocks, ETFs, and bonds on-chain.
The Dawn of Bitcoin-Fi
Bitcoin-native finance protocols that do not require bridging, such as Babylon, are expected to drive the growth of Bitcoin-Fi. Veradittakit predicts that pushed by high returns, soaring Bitcoin prices, and increased appetite for more BTC assets like runes, Ordinals, and BRC20, 1% of all Bitcoins will participate in Bitcoin-Fi by the end of 2025.
Fintechs as Crypto Gateways
Major fintech players like TON, Venmo, PayPal, and WhatsApp are poised to become crypto gateways, thanks to their neutrality and vast user bases. By acting as simplified entryways into the crypto world, these platforms are expected to attract a diverse range of users and may even rival smaller centralized exchanges in terms of crypto holdings.
Unichain’s Dominance as Leading L2
With Uniswap’s impressive TVL, daily transactions, and volume, Veradittakit predicts that if its newly launched Unichain captures just half of Uniswap’s volume, it would easily surpass the largest L2s to become the leading L2 by transaction volume in 2025.
The Utility-Driven NFT Resurgence
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are expected to make a comeback, but with a focus on utility in various applications such as on-chain gaming, AI, identity, and consumer apps. From restaurant rewards to exclusive memberships and IP tokenization, NFTs will be integrated to serve specific purposes rather than being an end in themselves.
Restaking Protocols & zkTLS
2025 may also see the launch of restaking protocols like Eigenlayer, Symbiotic, and Karak’s mainnets. Additionally, the advent of zkTLS, which uses zero-knowledge proofs to validate off-chain data, could bring new types of data on-chain, such as verifiable oracles for non-financial data or cryptographically secured data oracles.
Regulatory Support on the Horizon
For the first time, the U.S. regulatory environment appears to be crypto-positive, with the election of 278 pro-crypto House candidates and the anticipated appointment of Paul Atkins, a crypto-supportive figure, as the new SEC chair. The crypto industry is hopeful for a winding down of SEC lawsuits, clear definitions of crypto as a particular asset class, and favorable tax considerations.
We enter 2025 on tailwinds of possible regulatory clarity, continued mainstream interest, and rising crypto prices. Crypto users are entering the new year with strong optimism.
– Paul Veradittakit, Managing Partner at Pantera Capital
As we step into 2025, the crypto ecosystem is poised for exciting developments across DeFi, Bitcoin-Fi, NFTs, L2s, and regulatory landscapes. With experts like Paul Veradittakit sharing their insights, investors and enthusiasts can navigate this dynamic world with greater clarity and capitalize on the opportunities that lie ahead.
