The next article is an op-ed by Debra Nita, Affiliate Director, Head of Development
The subsequent crypto breakthrough gained’t come from a whitepaper or guarantees to “revolutionize finance.” It would emerge from one thing easier, extra human. Like NFTs, gaming and decentralized finance (DeFi) took off in retail recognition in 2021-22, the present bull market is ready for brand new killer apps to emerge.
Regardless of being seen as frivolous, memecoins are a primary instance of a killer crypto app, they usually reveal a blueprint ignored by “critical” crypto initiatives. This was evident in not too long ago standard tokens like $TRUMP and $MELANIA. A survey discovered that 14% of Individuals – one in seven – invested in $TRUMP. This isn’t simply hypothesis – it’s mass onboarding.
The killer use instances that drive retail adoption aren’t about fixing probably the most advanced issues. As an alternative, they faucet into common human feelings and habits. These ought to be guiding rules for tasks that goal to grow to be the following killer crypto app.
Neglect Utility, Suppose Social Phenomenon
The most well-liked crypto use instances at all times transcended their technical origins to grow to be cultural phenomena. Bitcoin began as a peer-to-peer digital money system however later grew within the public’s creativeness as a logo of monetary sovereignty and rise up in opposition to conventional methods.
The $TRUMP and $MELANIA crypto tokens present how Donald and Melania Trump grow to be cultural icons past politics. Chainalysis revealed that fifty% of $TRUMP and/ or $MELANIA token holders had by no means purchased a Solana altcoin earlier than, and 83% of customers held lower than $1,000 in Solana belongings. These tokens primarily attracted a big group of retail customers into the world of crypto for the primary time, on the again of Trump and Melania’s recognition.
The business has promising killer apps on its horizon. The TON and Telegram combo present indicators of promise resulting from their social relatability. Leveraging their mobile-first, social ecosystem to rework mini-apps (notably GameFi ones), they’ve garnered some success in mixing Web2 usability with Web3 utility. Whereas the present TON gaming apps could also be critiqued for simplicity, Telegram’s distribution (950M+ customers) affords a viral launchpad if builders prioritize emotional engagement alongside token rewards.
If TON and Telegram can faucet into the emotional structure that makes gold-standard video games like Grand Theft Auto a social phenomenon, they may simply grow to be crypto’s subsequent killer use case.
Likewise, founders constructing retail apps ought to ask themselves “Can what we’re constructing impress a big group of customers to rally behind it?” and “What about our venture might make it a family identify, and excite each person to share it with their pals?”
So Straightforward Grandma Would Perceive
A killer use case is intuitive and simple to make use of. Shopping for $TRUMP doesn’t require understanding good contracts, liquidity swimming pools, or consensus mechanisms. It’s so simple as downloading a pockets, swapping some SOL, and becoming a member of within the enjoyable. This low barrier to entry is essential for retail adoption.
Through the 2024 U.S. presidential race, Polymarket – a prediction market the place individuals guess on real-world occasions, like guessing who will win an election – exploded in recognition. Practically 1 million new customers might simply be part of because the steps to take part had been easy – obtain the app, enroll with Google, deposit USDC via an change, and guess on a query (e.g., “Will Candidate X win?”).
This simplicity displays a rising development in crypto: beginning with the end-user expertise reasonably than letting infrastructure dictate the expertise.
We’re seeing this shift towards simplicity via tasks like Base and Hyperliquid. Messari’s Annual Crypto Theses 2025 report confirmed that Base (constructed by Coinbase) simplified transferring funds from exchanges to blockchains with one-click performance, onboarding thousands and thousands. Equally, Hyperliquid’s perpetual decentralized change (DEX) noticed large traction by simulating the buying and selling expertise of main centralized exchanges (CEX) like Binance – user-friendly and cost-efficient whereas making certain asset possession.
Whereas CEXes had been an important onboarding car within the final bull run because of the ease of changing fiat into crypto, DEXes might see an explosion in recognition this cycle. With seamless on-ramping bettering in 2025, decentralization via onchain buying and selling might grow to be much more mainstream resulting from its rising ease of use.
The Greater, the Higher
Community results drive exponential worth in platforms the place utility will increase with every new participant. Bitcoin’s energy as a retailer of worth and medium of change grows with every new adopter.
The memecoin sector’s explosive progress from $20 billion to $120 billion in 2024 validates this thesis. As extra customers be part of ($TRUMP had 11 billion at its highest, changing into the 14th-largest by market capitalization throughout the crypto sector), the community turns into extra useful, attracting extra members – creating a robust suggestions loop of progress and cultural relevance.
Wanting forward, stablecoins are altering the funds business by providing cheaper, quicker, and extra accessible options to conventional centralized cost methods. In 2024 alone, over 28.5 million customers accomplished 600 million stablecoin transactions, displaying their international adoption.
A key driver of this adoption might be US curiosity in sustaining Greenback dominance via USD-denominated stablecoins. A current government order by the Trump administration prohibits the event of a central financial institution digital foreign money (CBDC) within the U.S., positioning Greenback-backed stablecoins as the first digital illustration of the U.S. greenback.
Stablecoins might be the following killer crypto app resulting from their community efforts. The extra they’re used for funds, the extra they are going to be used. Stablecoins might grow to be the first selection for the digital Greenback, remodeling the monetary panorama whereas anchoring US financial affect.
The Blueprint for Retail Adoption
Challenges stay together with regulatory uncertainty and lack of implementation of insurance policies, technological complexities in scaling, and an present hole within the social legitimacy of crypto.
Regardless of these challenges, tasks ought to concentrate on the human component – designing experiences that make customers really feel like part of a cultural phenomenon, have simplicity at their core, and emphasize the creation of community results. Retail tasks that succeed on this bull run would be the ones that perceive and implement this blueprint.
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