Originally published on 2026-01-02
Original article (Japanese): Web3業界2025年総括: プロダクトとして実装された技術たち
Looking back at the Blockchain industry in 2025, the most symbolic development was that "technologies became tangible as products."
After long discussions, Account Abstraction was implemented on the mainnet as EIP-7702, fragmented Layer 2 solutions connected as Superchain, and DeFi integrated application layers through Hooks.
In this article, we will focus on the technical implementations that operated on the mainnet and transformed user experiences, rather than on "specification formulation" or "testnets," as we reflect on 2025.
January: Bitcoin Evolves into a "Payment + Asset" Layer
2025 began with Bitcoin evolving from a mere "digital gold" into an infrastructure capable of practical asset payments on the Lightning Network.
January: Full Operation of Taproot Assets on Mainnet
The Taproot Assets developed by Lightning Labs began to be supported by major wallets (such as Strike and Phoenix).
The technical highlight is that it became possible to embed asset metadata within the Taproot script tree while maintaining Bitcoin's UTXO model, allowing it to be treated as state transitions on Lightning channels. This enabled users to enjoy the experience of "paying Gas fees in BTC while instantly settling stablecoins" on Bitcoin-native security, rather than relying on L2 or sidechains.
February: The "Wall" Between Layer 2s Technically Disappears
February was the month when the fragmentation between Layer 2s began to be resolved at the protocol level, rather than through bridges or external services.
February: Implementation of Optimism Superchain Interoperability
The Optimism ecosystem (including Base, Zora, Mode, etc.) activated native interoperability features.
Unlike traditional "Lock & Mint" bridges, this was achieved through a design where all OP Stack chains share a single bridge contract on L1. As a result, users could complete cross-chain transactions with just one click, such as purchasing NFTs on Zora using USDC on Base, without even being aware of "switching chains" on their wallets.
March: DeFi Incorporates "Apps"
March was the month when DeFi protocols evolved from mere "exchanges" to "execution environments for financial logic."
March: Emergence of Uniswap v4 "Hooks" Ecosystem
A few months after the release of Uniswap v4, pools utilizing the true value of Hooks began to operate one after another.
Technically, this involves a mechanism to call external contracts at timing such as beforeSwap, afterSwap, and beforeModifyPosition during pool creation. By March 2025, the following Hooks were put into practical use:
- TWAMM Hook: Automatically time-distributes large orders to minimize price impact
- Limit Order Hook: On-chain limit orders managed by the pool itself
- Dynamic Fee Hook: Automatically adjusts swap fees based on volatility
As a result, DEXs evolved from "automated vending machines without order books" to "programmable liquidity layers" with functionalities comparable to CEXs (centralized exchanges).
April: Revolution in Wallet Experience (Pectra Upgrade)
April saw the large Ethereum upgrade "Pectra" (Prague-Electra) applied to the mainnet, fundamentally changing the nature of wallets.
April: Smart Account Transformation of EOA via EIP-7702
The highlight of Pectra was the introduction of EIP-7702.
This feature allows temporary "setting" of smart contract code only during transaction execution for existing EOAs (such as standard addresses like Metamask). As a result, users could immediately utilize the following functionalities without moving assets to a new smart contract wallet (SCW):
- Gas fee sponsorship: The application side bears the Gas
- Batch processing: Execute approval (Approve) and swap in one signature
- Session keys: Issuance of temporary keys that permit only specific operations
This moment marked the technical resolution of the biggest hurdle of "having to recreate wallets."
May: Marketization of Shared Security
May was the month when security itself began to circulate as a "product."
May: EigenLayer AVS Goes Live
Multiple AVS (Actively Validated Services) began mainnet operations on EigenLayer.
Ethereum validators reused (Restaking) their staked ETH to also secure other services. In May, not only EigenDA (data availability layer) but also decentralized sequencers, oracles, and bridge monitoring networks began operating as AVS, establishing a pattern of building "middleware with Ethereum-level security without gathering unique validator sets."
June: "Programming" of RWA
June was the month when real-world assets (RWA) were not only tokenized but also incorporated as building blocks in DeFi.
June: BlackRock BUIDL's DeFi Integration
BlackRock's tokenized fund "BUIDL" became available for atomic swaps with stablecoins like USDC and as collateral in lending protocols.
Technically, it is a permissioned token that allows interaction with whitelisted smart contracts (DEX pools and lending pools). This enabled a workflow for institutional investors to "earn yields from U.S. Treasury bonds while being able to instantly liquidate and redirect to crypto investments as needed," all on-chain.
July: "In-App Apps" in Decentralized Social Networks
July was the month when social media transformed from "a place to view posts" to "a place to use apps."
July: Adoption of Farcaster Frames v2
The Frames v2 extension of the decentralized SNS protocol Farcaster became widespread.
This standard (an extension of OpenGraph tags) allows interactive mini-apps to be embedded within posts on feeds. By July, users could complete actions like "minting NFTs," "playing games," "voting in polls," and "making small payments" within the feed, enabling Web3 actions without switching apps. The wallet signing process was also integrated within the Frame, significantly reducing UX friction.
August: Establishing Reliability in Off-Chain Computation
August marked the practical stage of technologies that verify computations done outside the blockchain.
August: Expansion of ZK Coprocessor Adoption
ZK Coprocessors (zero-knowledge coprocessors) such as Axiom and Brevis were adopted by major DeFi protocols.
These coprocessors perform aggregations of all past transaction histories and complex calculations off-chain, submitting only the ZK proof that the results are correct on-chain. This made it possible to implement logic that was previously gas-prohibitive for traditional smart contracts, such as "applying VIP rates based on transaction volume over the past year" and "calculating complex derivative prices."
September: Proof of Parallel Processing EVM's Capabilities
September saw the emergence of implementations that broke through the performance limits of the EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine).
September: Monad's Mainnet Launch
The L1 chain Monad, characterized by parallel execution EVM, was launched.
Monad achieved 10,000 TPS while maintaining compatibility with existing Ethereum tools through optimistic parallel execution and asynchronous I/O access. This proved that use cases such as high-frequency trading (HFT) and on-chain games, which were previously only possible on non-EVM chains like Solana, could now be realized within the EVM ecosystem.
October: Establishment of Intent-Centric Architecture
October was the month when users were liberated from "creating transactions."
October: Standardization of UniswapX / CowSwap
Formats represented by UniswapX and CowSwap emerged, where users only sign their intent (e.g., "I want to swap token A for B") and delegate the actual route exploration and gas payment to a third party known as a solver.
Technically, the adoption of standard specifications like ERC-7683 (Cross Chain Intents) progressed, creating an environment where solvers could find and execute optimal routes even across different chains. Users no longer needed to worry about "which chain has gas."
November: Starknet's Quantum Resistance and Throughput
November was the month when Starknet, a leader in ZK-Rollups, implemented significant performance improvements.
November: Starknet v0.14 "Quantum Leap"
Starknet conducted a major upgrade, implementing parallel processing for sequencers and optimizing proof generation. As a result, transaction costs dropped even further from when EIP-4844 was introduced, making micro-payments and on-chain games (Autonomous Worlds) feasible at realistic costs.
December: Towards the Next Phase of Ethereum (Glamsterdam)
December was the month when specifications for the upcoming "Glamsterdam" upgrade, scheduled for 2026, were solidified. (For a detailed preview article, click here)
December: Agreement on Implementation of ePBS (EIP-7732)
The implementation details of ePBS (Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation / EIP-7732), which will be central to the next upgrade, were agreed upon.
This will incorporate the separation of block construction, which currently relies on external software like MEV-Boost, at the protocol level (Enshrine). This will enhance censorship resistance and simplify the role of validators. By the end of 2025, development of client implementations based on this specification began in earnest.
Conclusion: UX is "Concealed," and Infrastructure is "Integrated"
Reflecting on Web3 technologies in 2025, it was a year where technical implementations aimed at "concealing complexity from users" came together. Notably, the establishment of L2s and the proliferation of Intents significantly reduced the opportunities for users to be concerned about gas fees.
- EIP-7702: Abstraction of private key management and gas fee payments (easing the burden on applications)
- Superchain / AggLayer: Concealing boundaries between chains
- Intents: Concealing transaction failure risks and gas management
- Hooks: Encapsulating the complexity of financial products behind the scenes
In 2026, consumer-facing applications (Consumer Crypto) offering experiences comparable to Web2 apps will flourish on top of these "invisible infrastructures."
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