8 Big Bets for Crypto’s Next Billion Users
Why I’ve Stopped Telling Friends to “Learn Crypto” First
Last month I tried (again) to onboard a non-crypto friend.
Ten minutes in, her eyes glazed over somewhere between “pick a wallet” and “now pay gas in another token.”
It hit me: we don’t have a knowledge gap, we have a design gap.
One thing that is painfully clear is that speculation brought the first wave, but it won’t bring the next billion. Real adoption starts when crypto products feel invisible, where people benefit from them without even realizing they’re using crypto.
From the rise of stablecoins and institutional staking to AI’s growing role in shaping digital economies, the foundations for mass adoption are already being laid. But to unlock that future, we must stop expecting users to learn crypto and start building products where they won’t even realize they’re using it.
Here’s my take on the 8 big narratives + projects to watch 🧵👇
(read till the end for the link to the 85 page report)
1) The Next Generation of Wallets Win by Doing One Thing Exceptionally Well
The big structural shift we are seeing is where users are crystallising around two complementary wallets: one that feels like a a “daily” your fintech app and a “vault” your banking app.
Wallet experiences are diverging. Builders who try to cram every feature into a single interface will lose to pairs that specialise in (a) friction-free onboarding and (b) high-assurance storage.
More than half of us juggle two to five wallets today, and almost 48 % say it’s because each network still lives in its own walled garden
Consolidation at the top.
54 % of users with 2-plus years’ experience concentrate on Binance, Coinbase, MetaMask or Trust, versus sub-20 % share for any one wallet among beginners.
However, self-custody still feels intimidating to most users.
Interestingly, Binance’s own self-custodial solution, the Binance Web3 Wallet, captures just 22% of users, suggesting that even when presented with an easier path to self-custody within a familiar brand ecosystem, users hesitate to make the leap.
Multiplicity by necessity.
One thing I’ve learned after months is that people don’t want to juggle multiple wallets. They’re doing it because they have no choice.
It’s clear that the “seamless multichain future” we keep talking about hasn’t actually arrived. 48% of users maintain multiple wallets primarily to access different blockchain ecosystems
44% of users now split wallets intentionally for security reasons, up from 33% last year.
This tells me two things:
The industry’s failure to deliver true interoperability is pushing operational complexity onto end users.
At the same time, those users are getting smarter—and they’re no longer blindly trusting a single wallet to handle every scenario.
@phantom - A popular wallet for Solana and Ethereum
2) Behaviour–Belief Dislocation
We’re still here for the speculation.
Sure, 54% of users actually used crypto for payments or peer-to-peer transfers in the past quarter. But when asked what their favorite activity is, only 12% picked payments.
Conversely, trading (spot, memecoins, DeFi) remains the top weekly behaviour across every persona except.
Until builders neutralise those drags, speculation will continue to cheat utility out of its future share of attention.
The gap exists because of the 3 drags:
Cost drag. High L1 gas fees remain the single largest adoption barrier at 39 %.
UX drag. Only 11 % believe current onboarding is good enough for the masses.
Network drag. Payments flow where merchants and friends already are; fragmented wallets and chains break that loop.
@humafinance - Pioneering payfi, Cross-border payment financing without pre-funding, Real yield from real-world payment flows (10.5% APY)
@tectumsocial - $TET Focus: Instant, feeless crypto payments
@AlchemyPay
@NOWPayments_io
3) Chains Are the New Infrastructure Layer But Users Shouldn’t Even Know They Exist
The multi-chain map is a division of labour:
The winning UX pattern is chain abstraction, wallet sessions that fluidly route orders, balances and identity to whatever backend offers the best latency-cost-security mix, without ever asking the user to choose.
Ethereum remains the institutional-grade settlement layer, but Solana is rapidly entrenching itself as the chain of choice for high-frequency, high-engagement retail activity.
However, from a momentum and growth perspective, Ethereum is facing its strongest competitive pressure yet.
Solana posted +3,000% YoY fee growth and +127% YoY TVL growth, the highest among all L1s.
This surge has been heavily fueled by the memecoin craze, particularly in Q4 2024, but also reflects Solana’s structural advantages in speed and transaction costs.
Users have caught on:
43 % say Ethereum is their most-used chain;
39 % say Solana.
Only 10 % primarily use an L2—proof that interoperability remains more theory than practice.
@chainlink - Leading cross-chain interoperability protocol with CCIP with $LINK
@LayerZero_Core - Omnichain interoperability protocol with OFT standard with $ZRO
@axelar_network - Cross-chain communication network with $AXL
@wormhole - Cross-chain messaging protocol with $W token
@SocketDotTech - Cross-chain interoperability protocol with upcoming token
@eoracle_network - Ethereum-secured oracle platform enabling permissionless, specialized data services for smart contracts
4) A False Sense of Rising User Confidence
People say they feel safer on-chain, but their wallets tell a different story.
What explains the paradox?
Users conflate personal hardening (hardware wallets, multi-sigs) with systemic risk. Meanwhile attackers industrialise “phishing-as-a-service,” shortening malicious-contract lifetimes fourfold.
Product priority should be focused on push-down anti-phishing UX (clear-sign screens, real-time simulation, MPC transaction firewalls) must move from premium add-ons to default states, especially inside the mainstream “daily” wallet.
5) NFTs as Infrastructure of Digital Culture
The NFT market is undergoing a necessary correction, moving away from speculative PFP projects toward real digital goods and utility-driven experiences. For the first time, it’s starting to look sustainable.
Platforms like Rodeo.Club and Base’s surge in low-cost collectibles highlight a shift toward affordable, high-frequency engagement models, similar to in-app purchases in gaming .
NFTs are becoming the engagement infrastructure of the digital economy.
NFTs Will Become the Default Engagement Layer for Consumer Apps
Loyalty points, badges, membership perks—all of these will increasingly be represented on-chain as NFTs. Ownership will be portable and tradable across platforms, unlocking secondary value for users and new monetization streams for brands.
Imagine Starbucks’ loyalty program operating on-chain, where points earned in one app unlock benefits across a network of partner services.
The Rise of Cultural Capital as a Currency
NFTs are rapidly becoming a mechanism for users to signal identity and cultural affiliation in digital spaces. As social platforms integrate on-chain assets, NFT ownership will evolve into a primary layer of digital self-expression, much like wearing a brand in the physical world.
Success Will Be Defined by Retention, Not Floor Price
The era of judging NFTs by their speculative value is ending. The new metric is retention and engagement. How often are users interacting with their assets? Are those assets tied to ongoing experiences, content, or rewards?
Builders should design NFT ecosystems that encourage repeat participation through unlockable content, evolving token attributes, and real-world perks.
AI + NFTs Will Unlock the Next Wave of Personalized, Dynamic Assets
AI-generated NFTs tied to user behavior, mood, or community events are coming. These would be dynamic assets, evolving with user engagement. This unlocks deeply personalized experiences and creates emotional attachment that static assets can’t achieve.
@Treasure_DAO - NFT infrastructure with $MAGIC token
@MocaverseNFT - Infrastructure connecting Animoca brand ecosystem with $MOCA token
@RodeoClub - NFT engagement platform
@nfprompt - AI-generated NFT platform with $NFP token
@finalbosuX - Popular collection on Abstract chain
@GoodVibesssClub - Rising collection with strong community
@onchainheroes - Popular collection on Abstract
@HypioHL - Rapidly growing collection with high trading volume
@steadyteddys - Popular collection on Berachain
@pudgypenguins - One of the leading NFT brands with mainstream adoption, toys in Walmart, and the $PENGU token
@BoredApeYC - Iconic collection with strong community and ApeCoin ($APE) token
@cryptopunksnfts - The original NFT collection, considered digital artifacts with historical significance
@Azuki - Japanese anime-inspired collection with the $ANIME token and strong brand presence
@doodles - Colorful collection with recent $DOOD token launch on Solana
@MiladyMaker - Cultural phenomenon with the $CULT token and strong community
6) Bitcoin as Maro Asset Class
Bitcoin’s evolved from a speculative asset to a macro-level financial instrument.
Aparallel transformation is unfolding.
Bitcoin is quietly becoming a transactional layer for global settlements, driven by the maturation of its Layer 2 ecosystem, particularly the Lightning Network and emerging protocols like Ark and Fedimint.
Bitcoin as the invisible settlement layer powering the next generation of cross-border payments, institutional finance, and sovereign digital reserves.
Bitcoin’s Macro Relevance
From Hedge to Strategic Reserve Asset
Nations grappling with de-dollarization are quietly exploring Bitcoin as part of their sovereign reserve diversification strategies.
Institutional and even sovereign actors are viewing it as a necessary insurance policy against systemic financial risk.
Layer 2 Protocols Are Unlocking Bitcoin’s Payment Utility
The Lightning Network has matured from a technical experiment to a scalable, real-world payment layer, enabling near-instant, low-cost transactions across borders.
New solutions like Fedimint and Ark are addressing Bitcoin’s UX and privacy limitations, making it feasible for Bitcoin to become a true transactional currency in emerging markets.
Builders should focus on payment solutions and cross-border financial products leveraging these Layer 2s, particularly targeting remittance corridors and regions plagued by currency devaluation.
Bitcoin as Collateral—The Rise of Institutional Lending and Treasury Strategies
Major institutions are beginning to deploy Bitcoin not just as a passive investment but as productive collateral in structured financial products.
Expect a rise in Bitcoin-backed credit facilities, treasury management solutions, and derivative products that integrate seamlessly with traditional financial markets.
A Global Settlement Network in the Making
As geopolitical frictions intensify, the demand for neutral, censorship-resistant settlement rails will grow. Bitcoin is uniquely positioned to act as a global clearing layer for trade settlements, complementing, rather than competing with, fiat currencies.
Infrastructure that abstracts the complexity of Bitcoin transactions for end users, enabling seamless settlement while leveraging Bitcoin under the hood, will drive adoption beyond crypto-native circles.
@SolvProtocol - First onchain bitcoin financialization and bitcoin banking $SOLV
@Stacks - Leading Bitcoin Layer-2 for smart contracts with $STX token
@AlpenLabs - Layer 2 on Bitcoin
@babylonlabs_io - Bitcoin bridging solution with $BABY token
@ZeusNetworkHQ - Cross-chain communication platform with $ZEUS token
@use_corn - Ethereum Layer 2 for Bitcoin with $CORN token
@RunesChain_ai - Layer 2 solution on Bitcoin with $RUNIX token
7) Institutional Staking as a Strategic Treasury Allocation Model
As Bitcoin solidifies its position as a macro asset class and a core component of modern treasury strategies, institutions are naturally asking the next question: How can we make these assets productive?
While retail investors continue to chase speculative gains through memecoins and high-risk trading, institutional capital is flowing quietly and steadily into structured, yield-generating crypto assets, particularly through Ethereum and Solana staking ecosystems.
Bitcoin may lead as the macro hedge, but staking is fast becoming the institutional bridge to productive on-chain capital.
A New Institutional Playbook
Bitcoin becoming Store of Value to Productive Capital
With the emergence of Bitcoin-native staking-like mechanisms (e.g., via protocols such as Babylon and upcoming BTC Layer 2 solutions), even Bitcoin is starting to find its place in yield-generating strategies, without compromising its core monetary properties.
The Real Opportunity: Infrastructure, Not Validators
The next billion dollars of institutional inflows will come from platforms offering institutional-grade custody, compliance reporting, and risk-managed staking products.
Yield Diversification in an Uncertain Macroeconomic Environment
As interest rates peak and traditional fixed-income products lose their appeal, staking yields present a new category of risk-adjusted returns. These are particularly attractive for corporate treasuries looking to diversify away from cash holdings and low-yield bonds, without exposing themselves to the volatility of speculative crypto assets.
@Coredao_Org - Self-custodial BTC staking solution with $CORE token
@bounce_bit - Institutional staking platform with $BB token
@TruFinProtocol - Institutional-grade liquid staking
@ArchaxEx - Regulated institutional-grade exchange with HBAR staking
8) Regulation, Stablecoins & AI: The Next On-Ramps
Compliance unlocks stablecoin rails → cheap, instant global payments create real daily touch-points → verifiable on-chain provenance becomes the trust layer for AI-generated value. Payments are simply the beach-head.
Regulation optimism. 86 % think clearer rules will accelerate adoption; only 14 % think it hampers innovation.
Stablecoin traction. Ownership nearly doubled YoY to 37 % and is already the default payment rail in 30-plus Stripe markets.
AI synergy. 64 % believe AI will at least accelerate crypto; a further 29 % expect a two-way flywheel.
@worldlibertyfi - USD1 stablecoin with $WLFI token
@Ripple - RLUSD stablecoin with $XRP as gas token
@ethena_labs - USDe stablecoin with upcoming TradFi-focused token
@OpenEden_X - Yield-generating USDO stablecoin
@syrupfi - SyrupUSDC - Institutional Yield, Unlocked for 10% APY on stablecoin
@capmoney_ - Stablecoin protocol with credible financial guarantees
Conclusion: UX 2.0 or Bust
Users are no longer dazzled by “web3.” They expect Web-2-grade simplicity, Web-3-grade ownership and AI-grade intelligence, all together.
Teams that abstract chain choice, collapse fee pain, and embed predictive safety nets will transform crypto from a speculative playground into the connective tissue of an on-chain internet. The next billion users won’t even know they are using web3 products and that invisibility will be the ultimate UX win.
If you like to read more refer to this report here: https://x.com/reown_/status/1917564892514492628