Date

January 6, 2025

The Dawn of the Fully-Fledged AI Era

Ikuma Mutobe

The Ongoing Expansion of AI Across All Fields

AI is a technology that I believe will have the greatest impact across a wide range of sectors, not just within crypto.

Over the past year or two, many people have started using AI every day, including ChatGPT. AI is now used for research, content creation (text, images, videos), discussions, hobbies, studying—you name it. What surprises me the most is how the rate of progress has exceeded experts’ expectations, and AI can already do far more than we ever imagined.

Although AI has been adopted in many fields for the last few years, what shocked me most this year was its “autonomy.”

Truth Terminal, the first AI Agent millionaire that attracted so much attention, ended up breaking away from its original developer and even borrowed $50,000 in BTC from Marc Andreessen at a16z. Then, it issued a meme coin based on other companies’ tokens, creating an AI Agent token whose market cap exceeded $1B. (See $GOAT)

In the SaaS and AI domains, AI Agents are said to be taking digital transformation to a whole new level.

It’s becoming commonplace for AI to think on its own, make decisions, and take action. There are still many challenges to overcome, but I’m starting to see numerous situations where AI outperforms humans in quality, quantity, and speed.

In 2025, I plan to delegate most of my tasks—and the majority of my work—to AI. If you’re thinking along the same lines, feel free to get in touch. I’d love to exchange ideas and initiatives with you.

AI x Crypto

AI and crypto both started heating up around mid-2023. However, aside from certain use cases, many people viewed it simply as a passing trend. Yet AI itself has continued to evolve rapidly since the launch of ChatGPT, and we’re now at a point where some say it’s even capable of “thinking.” Based on interviews with AI experts, as of late 2023, most believed that AI wasn’t yet capable of genuine thought, but the progress since then has been astonishing.

With this rapid development, there’s been a growing number of projects that combine AI and crypto—some aimed at solving fundamental problems or creating real social impact. In this article, I’d like to go beyond seeing AI Agents as merely token-price drivers or an extension of bots, and instead offer a new perspective.

Why AI and Crypto Go Hand-in-Hand

Strictly speaking, crypto and blockchain technology aren’t essential to improving or solving AI’s technical challenges. However, by leveraging crypto, we can enable the decentralization of AI, provide better validation methods and censorship resistance, and offer new payment solutions—opening the door to novel use cases.

Decentralizing AI

Traditionally, AI runs on servers or cloud infrastructure owned by large corporations with massive capital, which leads to centralized oversight and control. But with blockchain, AI agents can operate without a single controlling authority, exchanging tokens under predefined rules. This gives AI a higher degree of autonomy and allows it to function in ways that differ from the usual centralized-management model.

Data Management, Sovereignty, and Greater Transparency

As AI relies on increasing amounts of data for machine learning, the questions of “who” provides “what data” and “how” they use it become critical. By leveraging blockchain, it’s easier to ensure data authenticity and trace ownership. Individuals can potentially control their own data and even receive compensation if they choose to share it. Additionally, the parts of AI that are often “black box” could become more transparent through verifiable methods—something blockchain excels at. As the number of AI Agents grows, Proof of Personhood (or human verification) becomes increasingly vital.

The Age of Agents and Their Synergy with Smart Contracts

AI Agents are trending in crypto as well as in SaaS and the broader AI space. The key to AI Agents is autonomy, which makes them an excellent match for smart contracts. For example, if an AI Agent works autonomously to complete tasks and needs to receive rewards, crypto infrastructure is more suitable. (In today’s world of traditional banking and brokerage, it might be difficult for an AI Agent to open its own account.)

The Emergence of the Agentic Web

The term “Agentic Web” refers to the future in which AI Agents conduct economic activities autonomously on crypto infrastructure. Agents hold their own wallets, autonomously execute trades and tasks, and exchange stablecoins or other tokens with both humans and other agents.

Source: Coinbase Demystifying the Crypto x AI Stack

As shown in the diagram above, there are projects springing up across a wide range of areas in the Crypto x AI space. According to Coinbase’s classification, these projects fall into four main categories:

Computing

Networks that aggregate potential GPU resources in a decentralized manner for AI developers
Example use cases: general-purpose computing, AI/ML computing, edge computing

Data

Networks that enable decentralized access to, coordination of, and verifiable data for AI
Example use cases: marketplaces, user-owned/private data, data intelligence, storage, oracles

Middleware

Networks/platforms that allow for the development, deployment, and hosting of AI models/agents
Example use cases: open LLMs, on-chain model creation and training, privacy, agent networks

Applications

User-facing products that utilize crypto/blockchain alongside AI
Example use cases: wallets enhanced by AI Agents, AI Agent-based games, platforms for building/sharing/monetizing AI agents

Regulatory Easing in the US

On November 5, 2024, Donald Trump won the US presidential election, with pro-crypto lawmakers also securing a majority in Congress. As a result, with Trump’s inauguration in 2025, a series of regulatory reforms are expected to pass, potentially sparking significant growth for the crypto industry.

It appears likely that the incoming Treasury Secretary, new SEC Chair, Vice President, and officials in charge of AI and crypto will all be pro-crypto. Ongoing lawsuits, including those involving Coinbase and other exchanges, DeFi protocols, and Ripple, are worth keeping a close eye on in 2025 to see how they’ll be handled under the new administration.

Additionally, there’s increasing talk in the US about holding BTC as a Strategic Reserve. Should the US government begin to accumulate BTC, other countries may feel pressured to do so as well, which could drive up its price. Whether or not it’s beneficial for governments to hold large amounts of BTC is another issue entirely, and we’ll discuss that separately.

DePIN – When Decentralization Means Lower Cost and Higher Quality

It’s becoming increasingly clear that DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) has strong potential as a viable business model. If you can successfully distribute a certain amount of hardware and build out a network, monetization tends to be relatively straightforward.

For example, Helium—one of the most prominent DePIN projects—operates in North America and Europe and reportedly sells network access to established telecom carriers in certain regions. Meanwhile, Hivemapper, which is often referred to as a “decentralized Google Map,” sells dashcams and rewards users who contribute map data with tokens. They’re said to already be selling these frequently updated map datasets to mapping data vendors—at a higher refresh rate than Google Maps itself.

A World Where Stablecoins Are Routine

Many people have cited the further adoption of stablecoins as a key trend to watch this year, so I’ll leave the in-depth discussion to them. From my point of view, stablecoins are vital for making crypto more accessible in everyday life.

Over the past two or three years, there’s been a surge in debit cards that let you pay directly with crypto. For those of us who hold most of our assets in crypto, these services are a huge help. Normally, converting to fiat involves on-ramps/off-ramps, exchange or bank fees, and time for transfers. Being able to move funds instantly and cheaply on-chain, then withdraw them directly at the point of sale, is just a matter of time.

I hear both global and Japanese corporations are paying serious attention to stablecoins. But can large corporations really offer the best user experience? It’s also questionable whether they can make the best decisions for users when they have to deal with existing business constraints—the classic “innovator’s dilemma.” Personally, I hope startups will bring stellar services to market.

In fact, if wallets become truly easy to use, we might not need such intermediary services at all. For instance, imagine you run an online or physical store. Credit card or other payment solutions can charge fees of 2–4% and take about a month to settle. But if you could accept stablecoins in a crypto wallet, the fees would be nearly zero, and the transfer would be instantaneous. (Note: Right now, the using wallet itself is a bit cumbersome, so we still need a solution to simplify that process.)

A New Era for Crypto Use Cases

Takeshi Ohishi

Familiar UI/UX as a Gateway to New Apps

Until recently, most of us primarily used web or mobile apps. However, the growing “Superapp” concept shows multiple services can now be accessed and completed within a single app or platform. For example, Uber adding food delivery or TikTok integrating shopping features are prime illustrations of this trend.

Looking ahead, we’ll likely see X, Telegram, Discord, and other platforms that people already use become gateways to a variety of new services, from AI agents to DeFi apps. On these platforms, even wallet functionality may be integrated so seamlessly that users won’t even notice it.

Imagine interacting directly with an AI agent in a Discord server or using Telegram bots to handle investments or payments—all through a single interface with multiple layers hidden behind it. However, concerns about security and privacy practices on these platforms will become more significant than ever.

The Evolution of DAO Governance

Traditional governance typically relies on token holders—or delegates entrusted by them—voting on proposals. But DAO structures are becoming more sophisticated, incorporating dedicated members with relevant track record and experience to tackle specialized issues. For instance, the DAO works as an LP (Limited Partner) while several community members with relevant expertise act as GPs (General Partners), investing in protocols and ecosystems on the DAO’s behalf.

On one hand, some projects use unified UI/UX solutions like Tally or Agora for proposal management and voting. On the other, solutions like Aragon’s modular governance features are gaining traction, allowing more flexible operations tailored to each DAO’s needs.

We’re also seeing DAO tools extend beyond the Ethereum ecosystem. As Tally expands its multi-chain support, emerging platforms like Realms are drawing attention. This is paving the way for smoother DAO governance across different chains.

The Rise of Non-Ethereum Development Ecosystems

Blockchain ecosystems outside Ethereum are also coming into focus—like Solana’s Sealevel, which excels in high-speed processing and works well with DePIN use cases, and Move-based VMs like Sui and Aptos, which adopt new design philosophies prioritizing resource management and security. They aim to offer speed and novel structures in areas where Ethereum’s evolution might be relatively slow, hoping to attract both developers and users.

EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine)

Proven, robust, and backed by a rich community and extensive tooling. However, it can be slow to scale and update.

Sealevel (Solana’s Virtual Machine)

Built for high-speed execution, making it ideal for heavy data throughput and real-time demands like DePIN.

Move-based VM (Sui/Aptos)

Originating from Facebook’s Libra project, Move is a Rust-based language designed for resource management and safety. It diverges from Ethereum-focused languages and aims to build its own developer community.

In the long run, Ethereum’s philosophy and design will remain extremely influential, retaining a large portion of developers, apps, and users. But just like in web development—where multiple programming languages and frameworks coexist—various blockchain ecosystems will likely continue to evolve in parallel, each leveraging its own strengths to build unique communities of developers and users.

HyperLiquid and the Potential of App-Specific Chains

Yu Kimura

For me, the standout success in 2024 was HyperLiquid. It’s an independent L1 chain powered by a fast, custom consensus engine called HyperBFT. Exchanges are one of the most proven applications of blockchain technology, and HyperLiquid isn’t just a smart contract on a general-purpose chain, but rather a success story of an app-specific chain.

We’ve seen previous examples like dYdX, so HyperLiquid isn’t the first. Nevertheless, it’s another milestone demonstrating the viability of building an app-specific chain.

App-specific chains are fundamentally different from spin-offs of EVM-based environments intended only to bypass Ethereum congestion. With app chains, you can customize the transaction signature verification mechanism itself—essentially embedding features that were once envisioned as “Account Abstraction” directly at the chain level.

We’re currently working on the hypothesis that, by leveraging the advanced modular blockchain technology developed throughout 2024, we can build a next-generation exchange system that merges the best aspects of custodial CEXs and non-custodial DEXs. In fact, we’re already deep into development.

Looking ahead, 2025 will be a pivotal year for everyone in crypto. Tané will continue our efforts to advance the core value of crypto and broaden its reach within society. As our business grows, we’re looking for new team members, so please feel free to contact us here if you’re interested.

Disclaimer: This post is for general information purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any investment. It should not be used to evaluate the merits of making any investment decision. It should not be relied upon for accounting, legal or tax advice or investment recommendations. This post reflects the current opinions of the authors. It is not made on behalf of Tané or its affiliates and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Tané, its affiliates or individuals associated with Tané. The opinions reflected herein are subject to change without being updated.

2025 Outlook