The next article is an op-ed by Debra Nita, Affiliate Director, Head of Progress
The following crypto breakthrough received’t come from a whitepaper or guarantees to “revolutionize finance.” It’ll emerge from one thing less complicated, extra human. Like NFTs, gaming and decentralized finance (DeFi) took off in retail reputation 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 major instance of a killer crypto app, and so they reveal a blueprint ignored by “severe” crypto initiatives. This was evident in not too long ago fashionable 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 advanced issues. As a substitute, they faucet into common human feelings and habits. These must be guiding ideas for initiatives that goal to turn out to be the subsequent killer crypto app.
Neglect Utility, Suppose Social Phenomenon
The preferred crypto use instances at all times 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 rebel towards conventional programs.
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 belongings. 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 reputation.
The trade has promising killer apps on its horizon. The TON and Telegram combo present indicators of promise as a result of their social relatability. Leveraging their mobile-first, social ecosystem to rework 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) provides 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 mission may make it a family title, and excite each consumer to share it with their pals?”
So Simple Grandma Would Perceive
A killer use case is intuitive and straightforward to make use of. Shopping for $TRUMP doesn’t require understanding sensible 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 guess on real-world occasions, like guessing who will win an election – exploded in reputation. Practically 1 million new customers may simply be part of because the steps to take part had been simple – obtain the app, join with Google, deposit USDC by way of an alternate, and guess on a query (e.g., “Will Candidate X win?”).
This simplicity displays a rising pattern in crypto: beginning with the end-user expertise slightly than letting infrastructure dictate the expertise.
We’re seeing this shift towards simplicity by way of initiatives 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 thousands and thousands. Equally, Hyperliquid’s perpetual decentralized alternate (DEX) noticed large traction by simulating the buying and selling expertise of main centralized exchanges (CEX) like Binance – user-friendly and cost-efficient whereas making certain asset possession.
Whereas CEXes had been an important onboarding car within the final bull run because of the ease of changing fiat into crypto, DEXes may see an explosion in reputation 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 as a result of 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 alternate 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 invaluable, attracting extra contributors – creating a robust suggestions loop of development and cultural relevance.
Trying forward, stablecoins are altering the funds trade by providing cheaper, quicker, and extra accessible options to conventional centralized fee programs. 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 govt order by the Trump administration prohibits the event of a central financial institution digital forex (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 as a result of 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, initiatives ought to concentrate on the human factor – 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 initiatives that succeed on this bull run would be the ones that perceive and implement this blueprint.
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