Cryptocurrency no longer competes solely with other digital assets for speculative capital but now faces direct competition from artificial intelligence and robotics ventures.
Private generative AI investment reached $33.9 billion in 2024, up 8.5 times from 2022 levels according to Stanford's AI Index Report.
Research firm Delphi Digital outlined Tuesday how cryptocurrency markets have fundamentally shifted since previous cycles.
The firm identified stablecoin infrastructure and application-layer protocols as primary value capture mechanisms while infrastructure protocols face commoditization pressure.
Crypto equities including Coinbase and Robinhood have outperformed the majority of altcoins over 24 months. Institutional capital has concentrated in spot ETFs and publicly traded stocks rather than tokens themselves.
Stablecoins Emerge as Dominant Use Case
Dollar-pegged stablecoins have reached supply exceeding $300 billion with 33% growth year-over-year. Monthly stablecoin transaction volume now surpasses both PayPal and Visa according to multiple payment infrastructure analyses.
Stablecoin issuers collectively hold approximately $133 billion in US Treasury securities. This positions the sector as the 19th largest holder of American government debt surpassing several sovereign nations.
Tether (USDT) alone maintains $135 billion in Treasury holdings, ranking 17th globally above South Korea.
The GENIUS Act passed July 2025 requires stablecoin reserves held in cash, Treasury securities, or qualifying repurchase agreements with 93-day maximum maturities.
Read also: Bitcoin Holds $88K Range As Traders Brace For Fed Decision Wednesday
Infrastructure Protocols Face Commoditization Pressure
Blockchain infrastructure layer pricing power has eroded as data availability costs approach zero and execution fragments across rollups. The "fat protocol thesis" suggesting infrastructure captures more value than applications no longer holds according to Delphi's analysis.
Real Economic Value measured as actual fees paid by users that flow to token holders without dilution has become the critical metric. Applications controlling user relationships now capture disproportionate value versus underlying protocols.
Platforms including Hyperliquid (HYPE), Robinhood, and Stripe are building proprietary blockchains rather than renting capacity from existing networks. Stripe launched Tempo earlier this year with native stablecoin gas fees optimized for payment velocity.
Tokenized equity volume has grown from $15 million to over $500 million in January 2025. Equity perpetual futures on decentralized exchanges now offer leveraged exposure to stocks, commodities, and foreign exchange without traditional brokerage accounts.
Read next: Standard Chartered: Regional Banks Most Vulnerable To Stablecoin Disruption