Crypto Assets Project Evolution Trend Analysis

To study the development trends of current crypto assets projects, we analyzed several active projects that have not yet undergone token generation events (TGE). By researching the data of 43 pre-TGE projects, we discovered some interesting trends that roughly outline the main directions and evolution paths of current crypto assets projects. Here are the 8 minor trends we summarized:

1. Artificial intelligence becomes the most crowded track

Among all projects, AI-related projects account for as much as 25.5%, totaling 11. These projects show diversified development and can be mainly divided into three categories: AI-specific blockchains, decentralized AI(DeFi Agent), and AI infrastructure. The largest financing scale and the most numerous are the "AI-specific blockchain projects."

2. Layer1 blockchain remains popular, showing high performance and verticalization trends.

Layer 1 blockchain projects account for 23.2%, second only to AI projects. These projects are mainly divided into three categories: high-performance Layer 1, AI-customized Layer 1, and dedicated data Layer 1.

3. Full-chain applications become a trend

The proportion of projects related to full-chain infrastructure and applications reaches 18.6%. These projects include Web3 operating systems that support multi-chain deployment of dApps, customized Rollup platforms, and one-stop multi-chain financial platforms.

4. General Layer 2 is fading away, vertical Layer 2s are starting to rise.

The research found that Layer 2 projects supporting EVM and SVM, Layer 2 projects focusing on the DeFi ecosystem, and high-performance Ethereum L2 projects, among other vertical Layer 2 projects, are beginning to emerge.

Five, the number of Bitcoin ecosystem projects has significantly decreased.

There are only 4 Bitcoin-related projects, including Bitcoin ZK-Rollup, multi-chain DeFi protocols, cross-chain infrastructure, and universal yield layers.

6. Zero-knowledge proof technology is still in the infrastructure and technical service stage.

Research has found 3 ZK-related projects, mainly providing ZK proof infrastructure and full-chain interoperability support.

7. Traditional track projects such as GameFi, SocialFi, DID, and Depin have significantly decreased.

The number of projects in these once-popular tracks has significantly decreased in this round of research, showing a trend of marginalization, reflecting the strong cyclicality of the Crypto Assets industry.

8. The funding amount for the highest track is Layer 1, AI, and full-chain applications.

These three tracks basically represent the main development trends of current Crypto Assets projects. The highest funding amount is for a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain project, with a financing of $224 million; followed by an AI-specific blockchain project, with a financing of $75 million; and third is a one-stop multi-chain financial platform, with a financing of $65.3 million.

Summary

Through the study of these pre-TGE projects, we see that both Layer 1 and Layer 2 are showing a vertical trend, with a large amount of financing concentrated in the vertical Layer 1 and Layer 2 fields. AI blockchain has become the hottest track, while the full chain is the mainstream trend of blockchain and applications. At the same time, many traditional tracks are gradually declining, and a new round of Crypto Assets cycles is forming. These trends reflect the main development direction and evolution path of current Crypto Assets projects.