A Review of Web3 Entrepreneurs in 2024 and Outlook for 2025

As an entrepreneur deeply engaged in the Web3 field, I would like to take this opportunity to share my thoughts from the past year and my outlook for the future. Looking back at 2024 and looking forward to 2025, I believe the entire industry is undergoing four significant transformations: from niche to mainstream, from disorder to regulation, from stagnation to prosperity, and from caution to innovation. Let us delve into these changes through some representative events.

The Mainstreaming of Cryptographic Assets

In 2024, the most significant change in the cryptocurrency industry is the gradual shift from niche interest to a widely recognized asset class. This transition is mainly driven by two key events:

1. In January 2024, the Bitcoin spot ETF received regulatory approval.
2. In November 2024, the cryptocurrency-friendly policy environment will be further consolidated.

These events have had a significant impact on the price of Bitcoin, driving it from the $30,000 range at the beginning of the year all the way up to the $100,000 mark.

Compared to the bull market in 2021, this round of growth presents new characteristics:

• Influential funds and new investors have formed new interest groups, exerting greater influence at the policy level.
• The value proposition of cryptocurrencies is gaining wider recognition and support.
• More traditional elites and mainstream media are starting to pay attention to and support cryptocurrencies.
• The motivations for purchasing Bitcoin have become more diverse, including considerations for value storage and inflation resistance, in addition to speculation.

This shift from niche to mainstream has profoundly affected the mindset and behaviors of market participants. For industry professionals, we can now introduce our work to the outside world with greater confidence. This change in mentality will also attract more talent into the industry, lowering the barriers to entrepreneurship, recruitment, and cross-industry collaboration.

Looking ahead to 2025, we need to pay close attention to the following aspects:

• The attitudes and policy changes of governments and large institutions towards Bitcoin.
• Influential public figures' views on cryptocurrency
• The trend of public companies incorporating Bitcoin into their balance sheets.

Regulatory framework gradually improving

For a long time, one of the core advantages of the cryptocurrency industry has been the censorship resistance brought about by decentralization and anonymity. This has provided important support for the industry's development in its early stages, but it has also brought some negative effects, such as issues related to fraud and money laundering.

From a pragmatic perspective, the crypto industry is undergoing a transition from disorder to regulation. In 2024, the regulatory stance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will become the focal point of market attention. With the new government coming into power, a more inclusive and friendly regulatory framework is expected to be introduced.

This change will provide clearer guidance for the compliant development of Web3 businesses. In 2025, we need to pay attention to the following aspects:

• The judgment results of important legal cases
• The introduction and progress of new regulatory legislation
• Personnel changes in regulatory agencies
• Public statements and opinions of decision-makers

I am particularly focused on two areas in terms of potential innovative applications:

1. Integration of Traditional Finance and Decentralized Finance (DeFi): By connecting traditional financial instruments with blockchain technology, improve capital efficiency and reduce transaction costs.

2. The application of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) in the实体经济: With the improvement of the regulatory environment, more traditional enterprises may attempt to conduct internal governance through the DAO model to obtain more flexible financial services.

New Directions in Web3 Business Development

In 2024, the hot topics in the Web3 industry have undergone significant changes:

• In the first half of the year: Infrastructure projects represented by staked liquidity have received attention.
• Mid-year: Focus shifts to application-layer oriented project development.
• Second half of the year: Market sentiment is high, and investors are chasing short-term high-risk projects.

Looking ahead to 2025, traditional Web3 businesses may develop along the following three directions:

1. Innovative Narrative: Capital will continue to seek emerging fields with vast imaginative potential.

2. Stable Income: Some mature projects will return to rational valuation, and real income will become an important indicator.

3. Balancing Interests: In the context of challenges faced by traditional financing models, finding fairer financing methods will become a focal point.

Opportunities and Challenges Coexist

The year 2025 may be filled with changes, and the uncertainties in the political, economic, and cultural fields will bring significant fluctuations to the market. In such an environment, risk assets may face substantial adjustments, but at the same time, they also contain rare investment opportunities.

It is worth noting that the restructuring plans of some major cryptocurrency exchanges will take effect in early 2025, which may trigger a series of profound market changes.

In addition, the development of the non-fungible token (NFT) market is also worth paying attention to. Combined with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, NFTs may welcome new development opportunities.

Overall, 2025 will be a year full of challenges and opportunities for the Web3 industry. We need to remain vigilant and actively respond to changes, while also maintaining confidence in the long-term development of the industry. Through continuous innovation and improvement, Web3 technology is expected to play an important role in a wider range of fields, driving society towards a more open, transparent, and efficient direction.