The 2-Z of 2025 predictions: L & M

L is for (machine) learning

Pure Storage said in a list of 2025 predictions that enterprises will unlock more value from machine learning, allowing them to analyse complex datasets, identify patterns, and act with velocity. However, seamless and rapid access to the right decision-making data will become increasingly critical.

"Streamlining laborious and manual tasks such as data modelling will allow enterprises to solve more challenges with greater speed, while scaling and enabling faster iteration and product evolution. Use cases will be more internally-focused than generative AI, with interest coming from large IT organisations in companies such as banks and telcos with complex infrastructure environments," the company stated.

M is for digital money and cryptocurrency

Central bank digital currencies

"While overall discussions around central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) reduced somewhat in 2024, interest has not gone away. Emerging economies will continue to watch developments in CBDCs so that they can be ready to respond. Part of the challenge, however, remains a lack of common standards around CBDC implementation with many areas remaining open to interpretation," said Igor Kozintsev, VP at CMA.

"We expect discussions and pilot projects to continue but think it unlikely we’ll see significant growth in the volume of real CBDC transactions in the year ahead."

Cryptocurrency

"In cryptocurrency, challenges like price volatility and regulatory hurdles persist. However, stablecoins offer potential for compliant global transactions. As a highly regulated player, Airwallex is thinking about how we can compete in this space by not only facilitating transactions but more importantly addressing global AML standards, enhancing trust and utility in the sector," said Jack Zhang, Co-founder & CEO, Airwallex.

Source: UKISS Technology.
Chan.

According to Ben Chan, Director and co-founder, UKISS Technology, AI-agent theme coins and meme-coins will likely take over as the main meta of this cycle, outrunning most of the traditional altcoins.  

"AI may achieve AGI breakthrough earlier than what most people thought possible, and this will create a big pump for all AI-related stocks and cryptos. Quantum computers will still not be able to break the encryption algorithms that crypto relies on, so we are safe for now," he predicted.

"Many old altcoins from the last two or three cycles may not see new all-time highs (ATH) and may fade into obscurity during this cycle."

Chan added: "Real-world adoption of cryptos may reach a breakthrough that will bring in millions into Web3. This will likely happen in a few fields, mainly real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation, decentralised physical infrastructure network (DEPIN) and consumer-oriented projects. Overall, this cycle may see crypto's total valuations reaching the peak towards the end of 2025, unless it is a supercycle in which Bitcoin joins the rest of major stocks and financial assets and becomes a more stable and less volatile asset class.

"Again, anything can happen, including a black swan event. War, economic crisis, pandemic, etc could create a black swan event in 2025 and tank all stocks and economies. In this event, gold and Bitcoin would also suffer a massive deep dive but will quickly recover and became the safe haven as money seeks refuge, just like what happened in 2020 (the Covid-19 pandemic)." 

"The maturation of Blockchain and digital assets in recent years has proved that the technology has transformative potential to enhance global finance and commerce systems. Cryptocurrencies, stable coins and tokenised assets have moved from concept to commercialisation, particularly as relates to their applicability to real-world assets," summarised Mastercard in a list of predictions. 

"In 2025, bet on Blockchain technology to enhance speed, security and efficiency, especially when it comes to B2B and commercial payments. Its ability to do so will continue to require strategic partnership with crypto natives and financial institutions alike to create more efficient and secure payment solutions."

B2B refers to 'business-to-business'. 

AML stands for anti-money laundering. AI agent coins are associated with AI agents which can act autonomously; examples include Near Protocol (NEAR) and Bittensor (TAO). Altcoins refer to cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. Meme-coins originated from Internet memes. Stable coins are designed to have price stability, for example by pegging their value to a traditional currency. Digital tokens are used to represent ownership of physical or digital assets on distributed ledger infrastructure, guaranteeing a degree of anonymity while increasing the security of ownership. A cycle is a recurring pattern of price fluctuations, while a supercycle is a period of sustained growth.  

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Read the full set of 2025 predictions from 2-Z at https://www.techtradeasia.com/2025/01/the-techtrade-asia-2024-roundup-2025.html

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