From Meta’s collaboration with China to Ethereum’s falling value and AI agents, Web3 industry executives had plenty on their minds this week.
How AI agents can help Web3
“DefAI-related tokens are some of the worst performers year-to-date with a 91% drop, while tokens in the AI agents category have dropped 81% over the last three months, according to recent data. However, even though memecoins branded as AI agent tokens took a nosedive as users are tiring of speculating on valueless assets, the AI narrative in crypto is far from dead – we’re simply seeing a recalibration of this segment, filtering out the projects that had jumped on the AI hype train and clearing the way for those focused on real utility.
“Autonomous agents gained huge popularity last year, but the current crypto downturn has put tremendous pressure on this sector due to the highly speculative nature of these assets. But this doesn’t in any way reflect just how integral AI agents will become to our everyday lives. Indeed, VanEck predicts there will be over one million AI agents actively operating in the blockchain space by the end of this year. So whether the tokens are tanking or not, every crypto protocol needs to consider how this new technology will fit into their operations, regardless of whether their agents will need or utilize a native token.
“The truth is that, if we look beyond the hype, AI agents present a huge opportunity for Web3-native projects to level up, and we think digital identity will play a key role here. Verifiable on-chain identities will simplify AI-to-human and AI-to-AI interactions, making them safer by giving AI agents a humanly recognizable name, thereby cleaning out bots and bad actors from mis-presenting themselves. Trust is an incredibly important factor for AI integrations – especially when it comes to financial applications – so establishing this trust through verifiable identities is a key next step in the evolution of AI on the blockchain.”
– Harrison Seletsky, director of business development at digital identity platform SPACE ID
Ethereum: Buy the dip while you can
“Just a few months ago, ETH below $1,500 seemed impossible. Rather, we had analysts predicting it would soon surpass $4,000. Today, though, that is where the token of ‘the world’s computer’ is – its lowest level since January 2023. Rather than signalling ETH’s demise, though, this represents a generational opportunity to buy into a token and ecosystem with rock-solid fundamentals.
“Ethereum remains the leading blockchain for future decentralized applications and institutional adoption. In 2025, daily new addresses doubled from 2024, hitting 200,000. And with gas fees now down significantly compared to the bull run of 2020/21, Ethereum has become more user-friendly and reasserted its dominance in the blockchain space.
“For experienced builders in the crypto space, this current market volatility is business as usual – crypto goes up, crypto goes down, and work goes on.
“That is not to say that crypto’s volatility and lack of stability are positive, though. On the contrary, it needs to be urgently addressed through the proliferation of tokenized RWAs like treasuries, real estate, and gold that can help investors weather these storms.
“Thankfully, we are increasingly seeing this, with total value locked (TVL) in RWA protocols recently surpassing $4 billion, led by MakerDAO RWA and BlackRock’s BUIDL fund.
“And it is DeFi on Ethereum that the lion’s share of this RWA liquidity is flowing to, with the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, aiming to bring many more billions of dollars of tokenized RWAs into the ecosystem. And so, when we consider the obvious bright future of Ethereum, some may see not buying ETH at $1,500 as a huge missed opportunity.”
– Kevin Rusher, founder of RWA lending and borrowing platform RAAC
Solana is solidifying its fundamentals
“Markets are in capitulation mode as fears over Trump’s tariffs take hold, with Solana briefly dropping below $100 for the first time since February 2024. SOL also saw $200 million in staking unlocks last week, which were already weighing on the price. However, none of this changes the fundamentals around Solana, which points to continued strong confidence in the chain.
“Indeed, last week, only 420,000 SOL of the 1.79 million unlocked were unstaked, which shows long-term sentiment remains intact. If investors were truly bearish on the outlook for Solana, we would have seen far more widespread unstaking.
“Instead, we’re increasingly seeing major TradFi and fintech players embracing Solana. BlackRock recently expanded its $1.7bn BUIDL fund to Solana, while PayPal and Venmo announced last week they would be adding SOL to the very select list of crypto assets available on their platform. Solana is clearly well and truly established as one of the blue-chip cryptocurrencies, increasingly trusted outside the crypto ecosystem and sought after by investors for a variety of purposes.
“The market rally may have faltered for the time being, but Solana is quietly growing into the real-world use case it was originally designed for – the main financial rail for crypto. And it’s this any long-term investor should be focusing on, rather than the short-term price drops – after all, Solana has weathered much worse in the past.”
– Chris Chung, founder and CEO of Solana swap platform Titan
Tether’s upcoming US stablecoin is good news
“The news that Tether is planning to launch an institutional-grade stablecoin for the US market is fantastic for the crypto industry. Tether pioneered stablecoins with its first launch over a decade ago in 2014, and its flagship product – USDT – is now the third-largest cryptocurrency in the world.
“Unlike its rival, USDC, USDT has never been formally audited, leading to frequent questions over its balance sheet. Nonetheless, it remains the industry’s favored stablecoin, shown by its market cap of over $144 billion, which is well over double the size of USDC’s $60 billion.
“As such, this move, combined with other recent news that Tether is seeking a full audit from a Big Four accounting firm, shows that the company is not only willing to be compliant but also be a leader in institutional adoption.
“While USDT sadly did not pass the EU’s directive on stablecoins under MiCA, this new product will likely be designed to pass new legislation coming from the US. Two key bills — the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act and the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) are currently advancing through Congress and will likely find a much faster pathway to adoption under the more crypto-friendly Trump administration.
“As such, there is little doubt that USDT will work hard to launch its new product in good time. As we see huge institutions like BlackRock further entering the market with another $66 million purchase of Bitcoin last week, along with the rapid growth of its RWA BUIDL fund, institutional adoption is now taking off rapidly. This can only be positive as it brings much-needed liquidity and stability to a still far too volatile crypto market.”
– Charles Wayn, co-founder of decentralized Web3 super-app Galxe
Facebook/China collab highlights importance of decentralization
“A former employee is accusing Meta of helping the Chinese government develop AI technology while allegedly misleading the US. The story is a perfect example of how centralized, traditional systems are subject to political and private interests that quietly shape the development of an entire industry.
“More than a failure of governance, the accusation highlights the cracks in the entire system from relying on tech giants for our cloud needs and the unhealthy monopoly that such reliance has created. When global cloud infrastructure and data storage are controlled by just a handful of very powerful organizations, corruption is just one of many risks.
“Situations like this one only highlight the urgent need for an open and censorship-resistant decentralized cloud infrastructure that ensures accountability at the protocol level, preventing hidden back channels and manipulation. This shift is essential to guaranteeing the future growth of cloud services and the Internet. Without it, we will continue to be hamstrung by the issues that the Big Tech monopoly brings.”
– Kai Wawrzinek, co-founder of Impossible Cloud Network