The next article is an op-ed by Debra Nita, Affiliate Director, Head of Progress
The subsequent crypto breakthrough gained’t come from a whitepaper or guarantees to “revolutionize finance.” It would emerge from one thing less complicated, 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 first-rate instance of a killer crypto app, and so they reveal a blueprint ignored by “critical” crypto initiatives. This was evident in just lately well-liked 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 complicated issues. As an alternative, they faucet into common human feelings and habits. These needs to be guiding ideas for tasks that intention to turn out to be the subsequent killer crypto app.
Overlook Utility, Suppose Social Phenomenon
The most well-liked crypto use instances all the time transcended their technical origins to turn out to be cultural phenomena. Bitcoin began as a peer-to-peer digital money system however later grew within the public’s creativeness as an emblem of economic sovereignty and rise up towards conventional methods.
The $TRUMP and $MELANIA crypto tokens present how Donald and Melania Trump turn out 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 property. 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 remodel mini-apps (significantly 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) gives 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 turn out to be crypto’s subsequent killer use case.
Likewise, founders constructing retail apps ought to ask themselves “Can what we’re constructing provoke a big group of customers to rally behind it?” and “What about our venture may make it a family identify, and excite each person to share it with their mates?”
So Straightforward Grandma Would Perceive
A killer use case is intuitive and straightforward 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.
Throughout the 2024 U.S. presidential race, Polymarket – a prediction market the place folks wager on real-world occasions, like guessing who will win an election – exploded in recognition. Practically 1 million new customers may simply be part of because the steps to take part had been easy – obtain the app, join with Google, deposit USDC by way of an trade, and wager on a query (e.g., “Will Candidate X win?”).
This simplicity displays a rising pattern in crypto: beginning with the end-user expertise relatively than letting infrastructure dictate the expertise.
We’re seeing this shift towards simplicity by way of 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 tens of millions. Equally, Hyperliquid’s perpetual decentralized trade (DEX) noticed huge traction by simulating the buying and selling expertise of main centralized exchanges (CEX) like Binance – user-friendly and cost-efficient whereas guaranteeing asset possession.
Whereas CEXes had been an important onboarding automobile within the final bull run because of the ease of changing fiat into crypto, DEXes may see an explosion in recognition this cycle. With seamless on-ramping enhancing in 2025, decentralization by way of onchain buying and selling may turn out to be much more mainstream resulting from its growing ease of use.
The Larger, the Higher
Community results drive exponential worth in platforms the place utility will increase with every new participant. Bitcoin’s power as a retailer of worth and medium of trade grows with every new adopter.
The memecoin sector’s explosive development from $20 billion to $120 billion in 2024 validates this thesis. As extra customers be part of ($TRUMP had 11 billion at its highest, turning into the 14th-largest by market capitalization throughout the crypto sector), the community turns into extra helpful, attracting extra contributors – creating a strong suggestions loop of development and cultural relevance.
Trying forward, stablecoins are altering the funds business by providing cheaper, sooner, and extra accessible options to conventional centralized cost methods. In 2024 alone, over 28.5 million customers accomplished 600 million stablecoin transactions, displaying their world adoption.
A key driver of this adoption might be US curiosity in sustaining Greenback dominance by way of 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 subsequent killer crypto app resulting from their community efforts. The extra they’re used for funds, the extra they are going to be used. Stablecoins may turn out 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 give attention to 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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