Several executives in the sector informed Cointelegraph that the adoption of agentic artificial intelligence (AI$0.5667), real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, and DeFi in 2025 Bitcoin RWAs and AI Innovation staking will lead to a significant breakthrough in decentralized finance (DeFi) by 2025. With over $100 billion flowing into spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the price of Bitcoin soared beyond $100,000 per coin in 2024.
The whole Crypto sector should be reinvigorated in 2025, according to Dean Tribble, CEO of layer-1 network Agoric Systems, who spoke to Cointelegraph about Bitcoin’s BTC$92,091 all-time high. This will pique the interest of institutions and regulators. According to data from DefiLlama, the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols increased by $130 billion in December, getting close to the ecosystem’s all-time high of approximately $175 billion in 2021. Leaders in the field anticipate that this upward trend will persist throughout 2019.
Jacob Phillips, co-founder and head of strategy of Bitcoin staking protocol Lombard, told Cointelegraph that by 2025, blue-chip protocols like Aave, Maple, and Maker, as well as the DeFi infrastructure, will have been running at scale for more than four years.
Bitcoin DeFi A 300x Growth Opportunity
New possibilities for DeFi in 2025 Bitcoin RWAs and AI Innovation investors to profit are opening up in the form of layer-2 (L2) scaling networks and DeFi protocols, which are part of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Bitcoin DeFi is worth less than 1% of its overall asset value. According to Alexei Zamyatin, co-founder and CEO of Build on Bitcoin, who spoke with Cointelegraph, “That’s a 300x opportunity to grow DeFi on Bitcoin.”Our conversations with numerous large Bitcoin DeFi users and funds have been fruitful in identifying opportunities for their Bitcoin holdings to generate yield.
Staking allows Bitcoin L2s like CoreChain and Babylon to incentivize network security by tying up Bitcoin in collateral. Claims on staked Bitcoin are represented by liquid staking tokens (LSTs), which are already multiplying. Total value locked (TVL) for DeFi in 2025 Bitcoin RWAs and AI Innovation LSTs exceeds $2.5 billion as of December 19th, according to stakingrewards.com. According to Bitwise’s head of research, Matt Hougan, Bitcoin staking ETFs could potentially become more popular around 2025, as reported by Cointelegraph. The demand for Bitcoin’s yield is high. While Hougan couldn’t say whether it would become an ETF structure in Europe, he did say it would in the US.
Tokenized Assets A $30-Trillion Opportunity
In August, Colin Butler, Polygon’s global head of institutional finance, told Cointelegraph that there is a $30-trillion market opportunity worldwide for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). These RWAs are digital tokens that reflect claims on anything from US Treasury bonds to artworks. RWA reports that they currently command almost $14 billion in TVL. Yield-bearing, tokenized US Treasury bills are incredibly popular, with a total market value of over $3 billion.
According to Raj Brahmbhatt, CEO of web3 settlement platform Zeebu, tokenizing real-world assets such as carbon credits and real estate will allow for unprecedented liquidity, and improvements in payment systems will make international money transfers even easier. Tokenization has received praise from many corners, including the US Treasury Department, for its ability to increase liquidity and decrease “operational and settlement frictions. I am aggressively bullish on the US becoming a global leader in the space by the end of the year in the US,” Brahmbhatt remarked, referring to the upcoming presidency of Donald Trump.
Agentic AIs and Blockchain A $10B Revolution
According to CoinGecko, the market capitalization of tokens DeFi in 2025 Bitcoin RWAs and AI Innovation with agentic AIs (machines that autonomously pursue complex goals) reached approximately $10 billion in 2024. Integrating blockchain and AI is anticipated to revolutionize Web3, ushering in a future where autonomous AIs construct decentralized apps and engage in user transactions. According to J.D. Seraphine, CEO of AI protocol Raiinmaker, who spoke with Cointelegraph, agentic AI is already pivotal to the industry’s future.
FAQs
How will tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) impact decentralized finance (DeFi)?
Tokenizing RWAs such as real estate and carbon credits will enhance liquidity and improve international money transfers, opening new opportunities in DeFi.
What is Bitcoin staking and how does it benefit investors?
Bitcoin staking involves locking up Bitcoin to secure Layer-2 networks and earn rewards. This process is growing and could potentially lead to Bitcoin staking ETFs becoming more popular by 2025.
What is the market potential of Bitcoin DeFi?
Bitcoin DeFi currently represents less than 1% of Bitcoin’s total value, but experts see it as a massive growth opportunity, with the potential for 300x expansion.
What is the projected market opportunity for tokenized assets?
The global market for tokenized assets, including digital claims on real-world assets like US Treasury bonds and art, is estimated to be worth $30 trillion.
