Why Application Layer Innovation Will Beyond Blockchain Infrastructure in Next Encryption Cycle

The cryptocurrency market will show a decisive shift from infrastructure to application-level dominance in 2025, with $4.9 billion in venture capital favoring DeFi and CeFi platforms in the growth phase. The total locked value of DeFi increased by 41% year-on-year to $123.6 billion, while the NFT market size reached $49 billion, driven mainly by real-world practical features such as identity recognition and gaming. Despite the $910 million increase in infrastructure interoperability, user adoption (14.2 million DeFi wallets and 2.8 million Web3 social users) suggests that application layer projects will be the engine of the next cycle.