What’s next for DeFi in 2025?
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is projected to reach a pivotal moment in 2025, driven by Bitcoin staking, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, and agentic artificial intelligence (AI). Bitcoin surpassed $100,000 in 2024, attracting over $100 billion into spot BTC ETFs, which is expected to renew institutional and regulatory interest in crypto. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols reached $130 billion, nearing its all-time high. Bitcoin's DeFi ecosystem currently represents only 0.1% of its total asset value, indicating significant growth potential. Liquid staking tokens (LSTs) for Bitcoin have a TVL of over $2.5 billion. Tokenized RWAs represent a $30-trillion market opportunity, with $14 billion in TVL. The US Treasury has recognized tokenization's benefits for liquidity. The integration of AI with blockchain is anticipated to reshape Web3, with AI agents expected to play a larger role in decentralized communities by 2025.
