Applications - Blockchain 101

Financial Services

Stablecoins: Digital tokens designed to maintain stable value relative to real-world assets like the U.S. dollar. They solve the volatility problem, you get the benefits of digital, borderless money without the wild price swings of Bitcoin or Ethereum. Stablecoins enable everything from international remittances to everyday payments, acting as the stable “base currency” for much of the crypto ecosystem.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi): Financial services built using smart contracts that operate automatically without traditional financial institutions. As of July 2025, there’s about $130 billion worth of crypto locked in DeFi protocols, that’s real money being used for real financial services.

• Lending & Borrowing: Earn interest on your crypto or borrow against it

• Trading: Swap between different cryptocurrencies

• Liquidity Provision: Earn fees by providing capital for others to trade against

• Insurance: Protect against smart contract failures or other risks

Trading and Markets

Exchange Traded Products (ETPs): Allow investors to gain exposure to digital assets without directly holding them. The SEC’s approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs in early 2024 marked a significant milestone after years of rejections.

Market Activity: Monthly transactions on public blockchains reached highs of 3.8 billion in early 2025, a 96% year-over-year increase. DEX trading volumes have grown from less than 1% of centralized exchange volume in 2020 to nearly 30% by June 2025.

Tokenization and Digital Assets

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): Unique digital assets used by institutions ranging from sports clubs to video game developers for loyalty programs and in-game assets.

Asset Tokenization: Using blockchain technology to represent ownership rights in various assets, expanding beyond cryptocurrencies to traditional financial instruments.

Beyond Finance

Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DePIN): Emerging applications that use blockchain technology to coordinate physical infrastructure and resources.

Digital Identity and Authentication: Blockchain-based systems for user verification and identity management in decentralized applications.