Why Real-World Utility, Not Meme Coin Mania, Will Drive Crypto’s Next Wave

For years, crypto has resembled a casino, with flashy trends, wild price spikes and meme coins stealing the spotlight. But beneath the noise, something very different is taking shape in the middle of this so-called bear market. The next major leap in digital assets is unlikely to be fueled by the latest meme coin or a fleeting trading frenzy. Instead, it will be powered by real-world applications and the development of durable, institutional-grade infrastructure.

As the industry evolves, a substantial shift in investment and engineering resources is underway. The focus is moving away from speculative”casino” behavior and toward more functional, enduring applications: everyday global payments, banking services built on stablecoins and the seamless integration of tokenization into traditional financial systems. This transition will mark the true maturation of the parallel financial system.

Meme speculation is yesterday’s narrative

A recent TRM Labs adoption report revealed that India, the United States, Pakistan, the Philippines and Brazil are now leading global digital asset usage. South Asia is also the fastest-growing crypto market in 2025. The next significant advancement in digital assets probably won’t be driven by a new meme coin or a temporary surge in trading activity.

Crucially, the research shows that stablecoins accounted for approximately 30 percent of all on-chain activity, with total transaction volume rising above $4 trillion between January and July 2025, marking an 83 percent year-over-year increase. That isn’t the profile of a market anticipating the next viral trend. It’s the profile of a parallel payments and settlement layer taking shape.

The last big boom was fueled by meme coins and quick-hit trading crazes. That era brought millions of newcomers into crypto, but it also cemented the perception of the industry as a digital gambling hall. Today’s landscape looks markedly different. 

Significant liquidity is now flowing through crypto spot ETFs. Stablecoin activity is at an all-time high. Tokenization markets are expanding. Serious capital is staying in the system, not just passing through for a quick bet. At the same time, hype-driven projects with no real utility beyond speculation are being flushed out. What’s emerging instead is infrastructure and applications designed for populations regularly excluded from traditional banking systems. 

The rise of digital banking

One of the strongest indicators of this adoption-driven future lies in the emergence of a new class of financial institutions. For over a decade, neobanks were heralded as the future of finance, despite most remaining deeply tied to legacy rails, from know-your-customer (KYC) procedures and custody models to payment networks and physical card issuance. They did little for the 1.4 billion people who remain unbanked, and they still left users exposed to arbitrary account freezes and the same opaque systems that defined traditional banking.

A new category, known as decentralized on-chain baking platforms, or deobanks, is taking the opposite approach. Instead of layering a sleek interface over incumbents, these platforms are building upward from blockchain infrastructure itself. Here, self-custodial accounts are connected through smart contracts, giving users real control over their assets, unlike the temporary permissions granted on a centralized bank ledger. These accounts also operate on stablecoin-native infrastructure, enabling cross-border transfers to settle in minutes and eliminating SWIFT fees and correspondent banking delays. Moreover, loyalty and governance are directly linked to network participation, rather than being obscured by unclear “points” programs.

Critics point to new risks from key management challenges to smart contract exploits to uneven regulatory oversight. And while those concerns are valid, they also overlook that these systems offer meaningful benefits to millions who lack reliable access to savings, credit or affordable international payments. And this is where stablecoins change the story.  

This new infrastructure is paving the way for mainstream crypto adoption, where digital assets are used for everyday payments, not just speculative bets. 

Stablecoins are becoming the new dollar rail

As noted, stablecoin use has shot up considerably, with TRM Labs reporting that they now account for nearly one-third of all on-chain activity. Meanwhile, the regulatory landscape around them is shifting in ways that legitimize these assets. The U.S. recently enacted its first comprehensive legislation for fiat-backed tokens known as the GENIUS Act. The E.U.’s MiCA regulations are now in effect, and Hong Kong, along with other major financial hubs, has introduced dedicated frameworks for these assets. 

These developments are now making it possible for banks, payment processors and fintech companies to integrate with crypto infrastructure without the regulatory paralysis of prior years. They are also reshaping real-world incentives, making remittances from workers in the Gulf, Europe or North America to relatives in South Asia, Africa and Latin America, not only cheaper, but almost instant.

With trillions of dollars flowing through stablecoins each year—and clear legal recognition emerging in major markets—they are becoming far more than payment novelties. Given that 90 percent of them are pegged to the U.S. dollar, these assets are now functioning as an alternative settlement layer for the dollar itself. As money increasingly flows through this system, a tipping point will arrive: an infrastructure strong enough to shape the next chapter of global finance.

Next boom cycle will be shaped by payments, tokenization and invisible crypto rails

It’s become very difficult to believe that the next bull run will still be driven by the old question: Which coin will be 100x? Instead, it is far more likely to be driven by the networks processing the next trillion dollars in real-world payments. And because crypto is shedding its identity as a discrete asset class and becoming part of the invisible infrastructure behind everyday payment transactions, that shift may arrive sooner than expected. 

Two trends are powering this transition: the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) and the emergence of decentralized banks. Today, roughly $35.6 billion in RWAs is tokenized, with market-maker Keyrock projecting the figure will reach $50 billion by the end of 2025. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has also outlined a plan to unlock up to $4 trillion in digital wallet-held assets around the world through the digitization of traditional financial products—a signal of how large this market may grow.

Deobanks, meanwhile, bring stablecoin payments and self-custody to the mainstream while layering in credit, savings and rewards. They allow users to bypass legacy intermediaries and plug directly into blockchain settlement rails. 

In such an ecosystem, liquidity can no longer depend on speculative waves. It will come from continuous flows: remittances, payroll, supplier payments, trade finance and tokenized fixed-income products. At that point, market cycles will sit on top of a growing base of structural demand, not narrative-driven inflows. Ultimately, it is this structural foundation that will determine how far any future bull market can run.