In 2025, the focus in the crypto world shifted from hype to utility and systems that have measurable, real impact. This year marked a transition to systems that are ready for everyday use and make the global transfer and settlement of value easier.
According to experts from SynFutures, Brickken, and Cake Wallet, adoption and growth were primarily driven by stablecoins, privacy, tokenized assets, and applied AI, and thus by real needs rather than just speculation.
The year that crypto infrastructure was established
2025 was a remarkable year in many ways. For the first time, crypto was so integrated into institutions that people often used crypto rails without realizing they were interacting with 'crypto' itself.
Although the crypto sector remained volatile, particularly those stories that offered practical utility stood out. Narratives based primarily on hype and sensation quickly faded into the background.
From conversations with BeInCrypto, it became clear that topics about integration and real application persisted, while stories that were primarily new slowly became less important.
Despite the abundance of stories, stablecoins were repeatedly mentioned as the primary theme.
Stablecoins became the core use case of crypto.
Stablecoins help bridge the gap between risky crypto users and cautious people who want to engage with the sector known for its volatility with as little risk as possible.
Because stablecoins are linked to, for example, the US dollar or gold, they are seen as more reliable than other digital assets. Because they can be used globally, they are often more attractive than local fiat currencies.
New rules and laws, such as the adoption of the GENIUS Act, gave stablecoins even more confidence and made it clear that their utility and efficiency are valuable in themselves.
“Stablecoins solve a very concrete daily problem: sending money quickly and efficiently across borders without relying on slow, expensive, and fragmented banking solutions,” said Brickken CEO Edwin Mata. “For users, they made it possible to use digital dollars and euros in countries where banking is difficult, expensive, or unreliable,” he added.
This impact was immediately visible. Stripe and Visa processed stablecoins in their payments and treasury. At the same time, Circle allowed companies to use USDC as working capital instead of a speculative asset.
As stablecoins grew into reliable means of payment, they enabled tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).
Tokenization beyond pilot programs.
According to SynFutures CEO Rachel Lin, it has been possible to bridge traditional finance and crypto with RWAs. However, this did not happen completely and for everyone.
The success of RWAs was actually more selective than many people had thought.
“Tokenized government bonds, funds, and yield products performed well because they offered clear advantages: better settlement, better coherence, and broader access,” Lin told BeInCrypto. “But 2025 also showed that RWAs only work when there is legal clarity, liquidity, and credible providers. The narrative shifted from experimentation to real implementation, but it is still early.”
The facts speak for themselves: large banks and asset managers use tokenization to operate more efficiently. Earlier this week, JPMorgan launched a tokenized money market fund on Ethereum, a step further than just testing or pilot programs.
Asset managers like BlackRock also launched more tokenized funds, while banks began using stablecoins for their own settlement and payments.
Another story that received a lot of attention inside and outside the crypto sector was artificial intelligence (AI).
Where AI delivered measurable value.
In the beginning, the AI hype revolved around the fear that autonomous agents would take over human decisions, but that hype quickly faded.
What remained was the focus on how AI can enhance the user experience by helping people understand and manage their risks.
“AI delivered real value when it reduced cognitive and operational complexity—especially in trading interfaces, risk management, and decision support. Products with AI that help users understand their risks, operate within clear boundaries, or avoid costly mistakes brought real benefits,” Lin explained.
The rise of AI agents also received a lot of attention, although expectations became more realistic over the course of the year.
Whether they were successful depended less on their independence and more on trust, verifiability, and limits set by users themselves. Use cases such as liquidity management, automated strategies, and treasury optimization showed their value when there are clear frameworks.
However, as AI was increasingly used in crypto products, concerns about data protection also grew.
As a result, privacy became not a niche but a central theme in 2025.
Why privacy can no longer wait.
Privacy became one of the key crypto stories of the year, as more people became aware of how financial systems expose user information and behavior.
As a result, long-standing concerns about data visibility came to the forefront. At the same time, privacy, which was initially seen as a niche desire, was increasingly viewed as a structural necessity.
“One of the biggest narrative shifts in the sector took place this year when people realized that there is a need (and market demand) for simple, accessible privacy for their money,” said Seth for Privacy, vice president of Cake Wallet, to BeInCrypto.
The increasing use of Monero, more global media attention for Zcash, and a broader shift towards privacy features in stablecoins and Layer 2 networks reinforce this change.
“All of this addresses one of the biggest pain points for crypto users – how do I maintain the privacy I currently have in the financial system or with cash, with the decentralization and power of crypto?” Seth added.
The growth of privacy solutions, along with other successful narratives from the past year, shows that crypto adoption is increasingly about utility.
As crypto matures, success may not hinge on how loudly it promotes itself, but on how reliably it works.
