Why we’re bullish on decentralized AI, PayFi, tokenized assets and beyond

The next is a visitor put up from Forest Bai, Co-Founder at Foresight Ventures.

As we sit up for 2025, the confluence of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain expertise is reworking industries and unlocking new alternatives. At Foresight Ventures, we see this as a watershed second—one the place decentralized AI, fee finance (PayFi), and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization are rising as foundational pillars of the following wave of innovation.

These developments are usually not incremental; they’re paradigm shifts. They redefine how expertise integrates with international markets, economies, and human techniques. At Foresight Ventures, our funding philosophy goes past short-term developments. We search to catalyze structural modifications by figuring out alternatives with untapped potential, fostering techniques with long-term defensible boundaries of entry, and scaling applied sciences that ship actual worth.

Right here, I’ll define the six vital sectors we’re bullish on for 2025 and discover why they’re poised to redefine the way forward for decentralized expertise.

1. AI + Crypto: Revolutionizing Clever Programs

The fusion of AI and blockchain provides transformative potential. AI revolutionizes manufacturing processes, whereas crypto redefines manufacturing relationships. Collectively, they permit a decentralized AI ecosystem the place brokers—impartial techniques powered by machine studying—can work together autonomously on the blockchain.

One groundbreaking improvement is agent-to-agent funds, the place AI techniques use crypto for seamless worth settlement. These interactions are the muse for a brand new economic system powered by decentralized computation and information networks.

Think about the idea of on-device AI brokers, private assistants that protect privateness whereas enabling safe, token-based incentives. Decentralized networks have already diminished AI computation prices by as much as 80%, making them a scalable and cost-effective different to conventional suppliers. As international AI-related power consumption is projected to rise by 400% within the subsequent 5 years, these techniques symbolize a sustainable and environment friendly answer.

2. PayFi: Unlocking Monetary Inclusion By means of Yield-Bearing Stablecoins

Funds stay one of the vital sensible and high-frequency blockchain use instances. The arrival of interest-bearing stablecoins has added a compelling new dimension. These tokens mix worth stability with yield technology, making them engaging to each shoppers and companies.

International fee revenues are projected to achieve $3.3 trillion by 2031, however conventional techniques are hampered by excessive charges, gradual settlement occasions, and inefficiencies. PayFi options deal with these challenges, lowering cross-border charges by as much as 90% and accelerating settlement occasions to mere seconds.

For billions of underbanked people worldwide, PayFi represents a chance to entry monetary instruments which are sooner, cheaper, and extra inclusive. Yield-bearing stablecoins, specifically, unlock worth for customers by offering each utility and monetary returns, making them a cornerstone of the PayFi revolution.

3. DeFi × TradFi: Constructing Bridges for Establishments

The mixing of decentralized finance (DeFi) with conventional finance (TradFi) is now not speculative—it’s changing into important. As establishments more and more undertake blockchain for buying and selling, custody, and threat administration, the necessity for compliant, user-friendly platforms has by no means been larger.

Tasks like Agora, August, and Aptos are main the way in which by enabling establishments to conduct transactions, clearing, and even lending instantly on public blockchains. Past tokenizing real-world property, these platforms open new potentialities for institutional engagement in decentralized ecosystems.

By addressing the boundaries to institutional participation—corresponding to regulatory compliance and operational complexity—DeFi × TradFi integration is making a seamless pathway for monetary establishments to leverage blockchain expertise.

4. Tokenized Actual-World Property: Unlocking Trillions in Worth

Tokenizing historically illiquid property, corresponding to actual property, bonds, and commodities, is unlocking trillions in worth. By 2030, RWA tokenization is anticipated to symbolize 10% of worldwide GDP, or roughly $10 trillion.

Good contracts automate transactions, lowering settlement occasions from weeks to minutes. Fractional possession and elevated liquidity are democratizing entry to property that had been as soon as confined to institutional buyers.

These developments are usually not simply technological—they’re transformational. By bridging conventional finance with blockchain, tokenized RWAs are creating extra inclusive and environment friendly monetary techniques. This integration is greater than a development; it’s a basic shift in how worth is created and exchanged globally.

5. Migrating Excessive-Site visitors Conventional Apps On-Chain

Some of the promising alternatives lies in bringing high-traffic conventional purposes onto the blockchain. Many of those purposes have established person bases and confirmed enterprise fashions however lack a dominant trade chief.

Blockchain permits these companies to optimize their business loops, introduce modern revenue-sharing fashions, and scale globally. Tasks like Story Protocol, Sleepless.ai, and TON are pioneering this transition, bridging Web2 customers to Web3 ecosystems.

These purposes display how blockchain can unlock new development alternatives by enhancing person engagement and creating decentralized worth ecosystems. The migration of conventional apps onto the blockchain is not only a technical evolution—it’s a reimagining of how companies function within the digital age.

6. Web3 Identification: The Key to Decentralization

As Web3 grows, the necessity for a safe, non-public, and permissionless identification layer turns into paramount. With out it, decentralized purposes can’t absolutely combine on-chain and off-chain situations.

Tasks like SpaceID, Signal, and Mocaverse are constructing common identification techniques that permit customers to entry multi-chain companies with a single non-public key or ID. These options guarantee belief, interoperability, and privateness—key pillars for mass adoption.

By enabling seamless person experiences throughout platforms, Web3 identification techniques are laying the groundwork for a decentralized web the place customers retain management of their information and interactions.

Remodeling Industries With Structural Innovation

The six sectors outlined above are greater than funding alternatives—they symbolize the constructing blocks of a bigger transformation. At Foresight Ventures, we prioritize long-term worth creation by investing in techniques which are scalable, defensible, and structurally transformative.

Tasks that lack important market potential, scalability, or financial moats are usually not a part of our thesis. As a substitute, we give attention to improvements that deal with real-world inefficiencies and construct self-reinforcing ecosystems.

For instance, decentralized AI techniques provide transparency and neutrality, whereas compliance ensures scalability inside regulatory frameworks. Ecosystem loops—the place networks reinforce adoption and utility—drive sustainable development and create lasting worth.

Trying Forward: A New Period of Innovation

As we enter 2025, the convergence of AI, PayFi, and tokenization marks the start of a brand new period. Decentralized AI will make techniques smarter and safer. PayFi will reshape international funds, offering monetary instruments to billions of underserved customers. Tokenized RWAs will join blockchain with conventional finance, unlocking trillions in worth.

At Foresight Ventures, we’re not simply buyers—we’re builders. We again creators, innovators, and visionaries who’re laying the foundations for this new economic system. By anticipating structural shifts and investing in techniques that create enduring worth, we intention to form the way forward for decentralized expertise.

The alternatives forward are immense, however they require focus, readability, and self-discipline. Whereas it’s straightforward to get enthusiastic about innovation, the actual problem lies in constructing issues that final. As we transfer into 2025, the time to construct is now.