If 2024 was the year of “survival,” then 2025 became the year of “punishment for weak security and tokenomics.” According to Chainalysis estimates, more than $3.4 billion was stolen in 2025, with one incident — the Bybit compromise in February — accounting for about $1.5 billion. Industry security reviews also recorded losses of “more than $4 billion” for the year and an increase in the share of incidents due to operational failures.
1) Altcoins with failed TGEs: “token graveyard”
At the end of the year, estimates emerged that about 85% of tokens launched in 2025 are trading below their initial prices — meaning that most launches failed to maintain demand and liquidity.
2) Memecoin scandals: the $LIBRA case in Argentina
A high-profile counterexample is the story of $LIBRA: after a public mention by the president of Argentina, the token skyrocketed and then collapsed, leading to investigations and allegations of fraud.
3) Closure of NFT platforms as a signal that “the market has not returned”
NFT infrastructure continued to shrink. X2Y2 announced the closure of its marketplace in the spring of 2025. LG closed Art Lab, an NFT platform for TV, in the summer of 2025, directly citing a change in focus due to the market.
4) Social engineering and hacks instead of “pure” DeFi exploits: the Venus case
A notable episode of the year was attacks through the human factor. In the Venus Protocol case, attackers used Zoom compromise/social engineering to gain control over user actions and put approximately $13 million at risk.
5) Centralized services as “points of failure”
Even with the growing maturity of DeFi, the biggest losses are increasingly occurring in centralized services due to the compromise of keys and transaction signing processes — and this concentrates risk in single events.
Fixygen’s main conclusion
In 2025, the “worst” were not those with less marketing, but those with:
1) weak operational security and access control,
2) toxic tokenomics and inflated issuance,
3) a product with no real utility (especially in NFT/GameFi),
4) a focus on short-term pumping instead of infrastructure and partnerships.
2025 turned out to be the year of “infrastructure instead of hype.” The fastest-growing projects were those that simplified payments and onboarding, built rails for stablecoins and tokenization, and closed security gaps. Against this backdrop, the capitalization of stablecoins, according to industry reviews, grew significantly and reached about $306 billion by December. At the same time, Artemis analysts estimate the annual on-chain settlement of stablecoins at around $26 trillion (after clearing out the “noise”) — this explains why a new “startup boom” has emerged around stablecoins.
1) Privy (onboarding and wallets as a service)
One of the most notable successes of the year is the infrastructure for embedded wallets and web3 login. Privy raised additional funding in the spring and was acquired by Stripe in June — a rare case of a web2 giant “taking over” web3 infrastructure.
2) Plasma (blockchain “under stablecoins”)
While “universal” L1/L2s were arguing about TPS, individual teams began to create networks with a focus on one key use case — stablecoins and payments. Plasma raised a round to develop a stablecoin-oriented chain and payment infrastructure.
3) Coinflow (stablecoin payments for businesses)
Focused on the simple integration of stablecoins into payments for goods and services. In 2025, Coinflow raised a significant round of funding for the development of its payment platform and B2B partnerships.
4) Speed (Lightning payments: BTC + stablecoins)
Alongside the “stablecoin highway,” Lightning has also gained momentum as a fast payment layer. Speed raised $8 million from Tether and Ego Death Capital to scale payment solutions on Lightning.
5) Stable Sea (stablecoin treasuries and cross-border)
A new wave of services that make stablecoins a “treasury” for companies: liquidity management, international transfers, and fintech integrations. Stable Sea raised a seed round and is directly positioned as infrastructure for institutional treasury operations.
6) Block Street (tokenization of shares: execution layer)
In 2025, the tokenization of public assets became a topic again — but with an emphasis on “how to execute transactions and settlements” rather than marketing. Block Street raised $11.5 million for an execution infrastructure for onchain shares.
7) EigenCloud (development platform around the restaking idea)
The trend of the year is the transformation of “crypto security as a resource” into a product for developers. Eigen Labs promotes EigenCloud as a platform layer where cryptoeconomics and security become part of the dev infrastructure.
8) Hexagate / security-as-a-service (signals, monitoring, prevention)
Against the backdrop of increasing attacks, those who sell not “annual audits” but continuous monitoring and response are winning. In 2025, Chainalysis actively promoted Hexagate Security as a separate direction for funds and ecosystems.
9) Crown (regional stablecoins and local currencies)
Another sign of maturity is the growth of stablecoins pegged to local currencies. Crown (BRLV, Brazilian real) raised $13.5 million in Series A funding in December with a declared valuation of approximately $90 million.
What Fixygen considers to be the main trend for the “near future”
In 2026, it is logical to expect acceleration in areas where crypto already competes with traditional rakes: stablecoin payments, “painless wallets,” tokenization of simple instruments (primarily money and short-term bonds), as well as security and compliance as a mandatory part of the product.
