Author: 0xJeff
Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow
The year 2025 was filled with unprecedented turbulence and change. We welcomed a U.S. President who reportedly supports cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. However, the market in 2025 did not usher in the anticipated bull run; instead, it became a year of "slaughter" for the entire industry.
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Most altcoins experienced a plunge of 80%-99% in 2025
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Bitcoin's market share returned to 2019-2020 levels (over 60%), outperforming most other coins
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Ethereum (ETH) traded at prices similar to 2022
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The altcoin market was highly fragmented (with 40 to 50 million different coins in circulation)
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Despite continuous positive news within the industry (such as clearer regulatory frameworks, ETF approvals, corporate adoption of blockchain technology, institutional investments in BTC, ETH, and altcoins), the stock market's performance in 2025 completely crushed the crypto market
Despite the pain and turmoil, 2025 was still seen by many as a "year of maturation" for the industry, but it also witnessed a massive exodus of practitioners and investors.
So, for those who remain in the crypto space, here are the key points you must understand before 2026 arrives:
Let's dive in ↓
Prediction Markets: Versatile Trading Tools
Prediction markets became one of the fastest-growing verticals in 2025—weekly notional trading volume reached $3.8 billion for the first time, with Polymarket, Kalshi, and Opinion emerging as the dominant platforms in this space.
Despite ongoing debates about whether "prediction markets are equivalent to gambling," the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) treats them as event contracts or binary options based on real-world event outcomes. The CFTC's innovation-friendly stance, coupled with increased market demand for betting/prediction, drove the rapid growth of prediction market trading volume in 2025.
From a trading tool perspective, prediction markets have shown great flexibility. They can be seen as a more user-experience-optimized option tool (though still lacking in liquidity).
You can use them for leveraged trading on any market, choose "Yes/No" directional bets, use them as hedging tools (by holding spot positions elsewhere), or earn yields and potential airdrop rewards by executing delta-neutral strategies (evenly distributing "Yes/No" shares in the market).
Cash-Secured Puts and Covered Calls
These two options strategies are well-suited for investors looking to manage their investments in a more conservative manner.
Instead of directly buying altcoins during price drops or quickly selling them, you can generate cash flow by selling call or put options. If the price reaches a certain target, you can choose to buy the dip or sell your altcoins; if the price doesn't reach the target, you get your principal back.
This strategy is one of the best ways to generate high annual percentage yield (APR) for your altcoins or stablecoins.
The only caveat is that your principal will be locked up for a period (typically 3-5 weeks), but you receive the option premium immediately when selling the call or put.
Narrative Fatigue + Equity vs. Token = Return to Fundamentals
The rotation speed of market narratives has accelerated significantly. What used to last for weeks or even months now fizzles out in a matter of days at most.
The crypto community (CT) is shifting from chasing narratives to focusing on real fundamentals (e.g., user numbers, revenue, growth metrics). The market is increasingly inclined to evaluate metrics of real businesses and clarify the value transfer relationship between the business and its token.
However, this year, in the battle between equity and tokens, we've witnessed too much chaos, especially in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) space:
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Pumpfun acquired Padre (a trading tool), but completely kept Padre's token holders in the dark. After the acquisition was announced, the PADRE token plummeted 50%-80%, sparking strong backlash from the community. To appease the Padre community, Pumpfun promised to airdrop PUMP tokens in the future based on the value of PADRE holdings before the acquisition announcement.
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Circle acquired Axelar, but similarly ignored Axelar's token holders. Following the acquisition, the AXL token fell sharply. This is recent news, and what happens next remains to be seen, but the community is already justifiably furious.
The debate between equity holders and token holders is intensifying, which also leads us to a deeper issue......
Market-Governed Organizations and Ownership Tokens
MetaDAO launched a fair, transparent, and manipulation-resistant ICO launchpad characterized by high circulation, a relatively low fully diluted valuation (FDV) structure, and no venture capital (VC) or private allocation. It also introduced mechanisms such as performance-based team unlocks and potential fund recovery features.
This structure grants token holders genuine ownership, control, and aligned incentives, effectively addressing issues like project teams abandoning ship, token dumping, opaque operations, and improper acquisitions.
Colosseum (an independent accelerator for the Solana ecosystem) recently introduced "STAMP" (Simple Token Agreement with Market Protection), a new investment contract designed to merge private VC fundraising with public MetaDAO ICOs, ensuring investor rights and aligning with MetaDAO's on-chain governance.
The MetaDAO model has given rise to a new category of "ownership tokens"—projects launched via MetaDAO ICOs. Many launched projects have performed strongly—for example, Umbra, Omnipair, and Avici saw high demand during their fundraising, and their tokens significantly outperformed the market in 2025.
Through the MetaDAO model, the importance of token holders is elevated; they truly have a voice and actual ownership of the project. Project revenues and fees are no longer directed to equity holders but directly benefit token holders.
The trend of market-governed organizations and ownership tokens is likely to continue into 2026 and will intertwine with the next trend......
The Rise of Security Tokenization
With on-chain liquidity constrained, market participants' focus is gradually shifting to fundamentals, revenue, buybacks, and other tangible values. Meanwhile, businesses are adopting stablecoins, more institutions are deploying capital into crypto, and recently, security tokenization has become simpler and more feasible than ever, especially for regulated institutions.
On December 11, 2025, the security tokenization space achieved a significant regulatory breakthrough. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a "No-Action Letter," clearly stating it would not take enforcement action against DTCC's (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation) subsidiary DTC's pilot security tokenization program. The pilot includes the tokenization of Russell 1000 index constituents, U.S. Treasuries, and major ETFs.
This mechanism, during the pilot period (starting in the second half of 2026, lasting three years), enables compliant, centralized tokenization operations via DTC, directing activities towards regulated infrastructure rather than fully decentralized alternatives.
This means that from 2026 onwards, we will see more security tokenization projects, implying increased demand for tokenized stocks and accelerating the convergence of traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi).
Consumer Crypto Products and Perpetuals Become Crypto Core
In 2025, consumer crypto products and perpetual futures (Perps) became core hotspots in the crypto industry:
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Pumpfun peaked in 2024-2025
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Virtuals adopted a similar model but infused it with a new AI smart agent narrative
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Zora also attempted something similar in the content token space, with support from Jesse
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Collectibles, fantasy football, and prediction markets gained massive popularity in 2025
These are consumer-oriented products that allow both crypto-natives to have fun and attract non-crypto users (like prediction market participants) to earn while having fun.
Crypto itself is like a game, and trading is a form of entertainment. Therefore, novel consumer products that combine the two well tend to stand out more.
Perpetual futures (Perps) have a similar appeal because they allow users to make precise bets on the rise and fall of asset prices.
If you look at the key metrics for prediction markets and perps, both reached all-time highs (ATH) in 2025. This data seems to "shout" that product-market fit (PMF) has been found in crypto: prediction markets reached a weekly notional volume of $3.8 billion, while perps hit a weekly volume of $340 billion (monthly volume $1.3 trillion, an all-time high).
This is why people are so keen to participate in platforms like Hyperliquid, Lighter, Aster, Polymarket, and Opinion. Huge activity, massive demand, and significant capital flows directly translate into higher valuations and more airdrop rewards.
Consumer crypto products also hold potential, but in 2025, we haven't yet seen truly sustainable consumer crypto products. Sportsdotfun (SDF) showed good early growth momentum and is currently undergoing community fundraising on Legion and Kraken. While the future of this space is still unknown, the prospects are exciting for now.
From this, we can learn that if you want to find your edge in this market, either invest in the platforms (like prediction markets, perps, consumer crypto products) or actively participate in these categories:
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Learn how to trade perpetual futures
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Make predictions in prediction markets
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Use consumer crypto products
Through these practices, you can better understand the market and find your competitive advantage. Otherwise......
You Can Become a "Storyteller"
That's right, now The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Silicon Valley, and tech professionals are all enthusiastic about the role of the "Storyteller." Many startups have opened job postings for "Storyteller" positions.
In crypto, this has actually been a common phenomenon for a long time. We have "Yappers," key opinion leaders (KOLs), and storytellers who have been discussing projects and helping build crypto communities for years (even before Kaito coined the term "Yapper").
But now, it seems the whole world is starting to realize the importance of having the right narrative and conveying the brand, product, and positioning in the right way.
However, the role of a storyteller goes far beyond being a "Yapper." Currently in crypto, many "Yappers" simply copy and paste content to "farm attention" rather than trying to truly learn and understand what they are discussing.
This creates an opportunity for those who genuinely understand the industry, possess expertise, or are curious about learning to stand out—whether within the crypto community (CT) or broader fields.
Those skilled in storytelling can, by expanding their personal brand influence, ultimately gain the freedom to choose: they can choose to go independent or be "acqui-hired" by startups and projects that fit their brand.
In 2025, we've already seen successful examples of this dynamic. For instance, Kalshi recruited well-known figures from the crypto community, and some crypto projects successfully shaped their brand image and attracted more users through close partnerships and ambassador programs (like sharing badges, etc.).
If you are good at telling stories, this era is your stage!
Core Summary
The crypto market in 2024-2025 was like playing a game of "Monopoly";
While 2026 will be more like the domain of corporations, startups, and suit-wearing finance professionals—less "Monopoly"-style gameplay, fewer easy money opportunities, and fewer narratives driven purely by "number go up."
The future will focus more on fundamentals, aligned interests, value accumulation, and compound leverage. If you cannot develop a real competitive advantage, even if you are an OG (Original Gangster/old-timer), you might ultimately become someone else's "exit liquidity."
Your competitive advantage can be any of the following:
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Having a clear mind, not clouded by delusion;
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Being skilled at telling good stories;
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Building quality products that people genuinely need;
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Spotting trends;
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Trading rationally, not swayed by emotions.
Persist, find your edge, and you will be rewarded.
Thank you very much for reading! If you want to know my thoughts on some projects and more straightforward opinions, you can check out my column The After Hour on Substack.
