Crypto's Next Phase: From Trading to Infrastructure Dominance

The crypto market is undergoing a profound transformation. What was once a speculative frenzy centered on trading volume and token price volatility is now evolving into a more mature ecosystem where infrastructure-stablecoin rails, Layer-2 solutions, and high-performance blockchains-captures the lion's share of value. As the 2025–2026 bull cycle gains momentum, institutional adoption and on-chain data reveal a clear shift: crypto is no longer just a speculative asset class but a foundational layer of global finance. This article identifies the infrastructure winners-Solana-based DApps, stablecoin networks, and Ethereum's Base Layer-2-positioned to dominate this next phase.

Solana: The High-Performance Backbone of DeFi

Solana's ecosystem has emerged as a critical infrastructure layer for decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 applications. In Q4 2025, Solana-based decentralized exchanges (DEXs) reported $1.5 trillion in trading volume, a 57% year-over-year increase and a historical peak for the network. This growth was driven by innovations like Prop AMMs, which increased their share of aggregator volume from 19% to 54%, optimizing liquidity and reducing slippage for traders.

Beyond Solana's infrastructure demonstrated resilience. The network processed 33 billion non-vote transactions in 2025, a 28% increase from the prior year, with an average throughput of 1,054 transactions per second. Despite a decline in total value locked (TVL) from $13.2 billion to $9 billion by year-end-reflecting broader bearish market conditions- Solana's dApps generated $2.39 billion in revenue in 2025, a 46% annual increase.This revenue growth underscores Solana's role as a scalable, cost-effective platform for developers building the next generation of financial applications.

Stablecoins: The New Monetary Rail for Global Finance

Stablecoins have transitioned from speculative tokens to the bedrock of crypto's financial infrastructure. By 2025, daily on-chain stablecoin activity exceeded $20–30 billion, rivaling traditional payment networks. Regulatory clarity, including the U.S. GENIUS Act and Europe's MiCA framework, accelerated institutional adoption, with financial institutions leveraging stablecoins for cross-border settlements, treasury operations, and tokenized asset issuance according to industry analysis.