Apps rule all: Memes and DePIN may split the spotlight in this bull market
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Apps rule all: Memes and DePIN may split the spotlight in this bull market
The integration of AI and the blockchain industry could be the next major breakthrough.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy: TechFlow Asher Zhang
Since the beginning of this bull market, apart from Bitcoin and a few major tokens showing strong performance, overall market activity has been lackluster. Although new sectors have emerged in the crypto space, none have managed to sustain significant momentum, leading many to question whether the market has truly entered a bull phase. However, with the Federal Reserve expected to enter a rate-cutting cycle, optimism is growing, and expectations for a major bull run are rising. So how does this bull market differ from previous ones? And which sectors are truly worth watching?
Meme Breaks Through, DeFi Rebuilds Higher Ground
This bull cycle has seen various hot topics emerge—AI, fully on-chain gaming, abstract chains, DePIN, Layer2, restaking, Bitcoin L2s, and more. While these sectors possess technical merit, their popularity and staying power have been limited. In contrast, the Meme sector has maintained prolonged momentum and achieved significant mainstream crossover. Notably, the current Meme boom differs from past iterations—it’s not just about meme-driven speculation.
Since the emergence of Pump.fun, the Meme craze has continued breaking boundaries, attracting numerous Web2 users and celebrities into Web3. According to data compiled by Subin Alon, a data analyst at crypto venture firm Hashed, over 1 million Meme coin projects have been created on Pump.fun since its launch in January across Solana and Blast blockchains. As a go-to platform for retail investors to create and trade Meme coins, Pump.fun's popularity has surged, generating an estimated revenue of over $50 million within just six months. This year, Pump.fun also attracted attention from celebrities such as rapper Iggy Azalea, who launched her own token, MOTHER, on the platform.
Recently, SunPump’s launch sparked considerable discussion. Similar in mechanism to Pump.fun, SunPump leverages Justin Sun’s TRON ecosystem to further integrate DEX and CEX functionalities—representing an advancement in DeFi rather than mere Meme speculation. Take SunPump as an example: its core features include one-click token creation, bonding curve mechanisms, instant market access, liquidity injection, and token burning. These capabilities signify DeFi maturing further. Though appearing superficially as just another Meme coin platform, it involves complex aspects like token issuance, circulation, and supply-demand mechanics. Thus, platforms like SunPump and Pump.fun represent not only an upgrade to DeFi but also a breakthrough application of DeFi + Meme.
Applications Rule: DePIN Poised to Ride the AI Wave
The crypto market has recently appeared weak, with only occasional explosive projects in the Meme sector while other mainstream sectors remain flat. In my view, this could be an ideal time to seek out high-quality assets. Overall, the DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) sector—especially those closely tied to AI—is particularly worth watching.
The reason DePIN projects linked to AI stand out lies in two key factors: 1) AI is a primary global development trajectory and capital investment focus, set to define long-term trends; 2) DePIN complements AI development. Many crypto projects already possess vast computing power, while others aim to provide GPU resource aggregation for AI and ML companies—from model training to inference—offering low-cost, high-efficiency cloud computing services, such as io.net. At Apple’s recent WWDC conference, the company unveiled Apple Intelligence, a new suite of AI features available across all devices. On the latest iPad Pro, OctaneX was demonstrated—a 3D design software powered by Render Network.
As a long-term trend, AI has prompted early moves by crypto giants. Grayscale’s Decentralized AI Fund is the first fund dedicated solely to native tokens of decentralized AI protocols. The fund currently includes Filecoin, Near, Render, Livepeer, and Bittensor. Grayscale highlights concerns that the future may be dominated by centralized AI, whereas crypto technology offers the potential to build a fairer, more transparent ecosystem. Although the integration of crypto and AI remains in its early stages, the outlook is promising. By harnessing crypto’s strengths, we can build a more equitable, transparent, and trustworthy AI ecosystem.
Meme and DePIN Share the Spotlight: A New Model for Crypto Development
From the perspective of blockchain development stages, the technology has now reached initial maturity and urgently needs a breakthrough to challenge Web2’s dominance. We are entering an era where applications reign supreme. Many projects may appear technically impressive, but if they fail to attract real users, investors are increasingly unwilling to support them. While Meme speculation is often looked down upon by tech purists and VCs, platforms like Pump.fun and SunPump have become among the most profitable crypto projects. Beyond Meme, as highlighted earlier with Grayscale, major crypto players are actively investing in the DePIN sector.
The current Meme wave is fundamentally different from before—it represents innovation built atop existing DeFi infrastructure, drastically lowering the barrier to entry for DeFi. In the long term, as more sectors and applications enter the crypto space, platforms like Pump.fun and SunPump will become increasingly indispensable, and more specialized platforms may continue to emerge. If Meme platforms represent incremental progress, then the convergence of DePIN and AI marks a structural, trend-level shift. Blockchain’s inherent strengths—decentralization, compute mining, decentralized storage—offer clear synergies with AI.
In essence, DePIN better represents a key direction for the future of the blockchain industry. On this foundation, the blockchain needs more real-world applications to foster a thriving on-chain economy—only then can DeFi unlock greater value.
Conclusion
Although the blockchain industry has experimented with various applications—social media, on-chain games, etc.—none have significantly challenged dominant Web2 incumbents in scale. Since this bull cycle began, sustained Meme enthusiasm has drawn in a large number of Web2 users, gradually making Meme platforms the first entry point into Web3. While Meme speculation draws criticism, it undeniably brings fresh users to the ecosystem. Currently, the industry still lacks truly innovative, breakout applications, and relying solely on DeFi remains limiting in scope. Looking ahead, the integration of AI and blockchain is undoubtedly the next critical breakthrough. As AI itself is still in the early stages of practical adoption, combining it with blockchain’s technological advantages could open up an entirely new frontier.
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