# 2025: A Defining Year for Web3 + AI

> What better way to kick off 2026 than by recapping the most impactful Web3 + AI moments of the past year?

**Published by:** [The Web3 + AI Newsletter](https://web3plusai.xyz/)
**Published on:** 2026-01-15
**Categories:** web3plusai, decentralizedai, web3ai
**URL:** https://web3plusai.xyz/2025-recap

## Content

Happy New Year! Dear community, Happy New Year 🥳 I'm grateful to have welcomed another new year in your company. May 2026 bring you peace, joy, prosperity, and a bunch of exciting adventures! The Web3 + AI Newsletter has officially migrated from Ghost to Paragraph, and you can now find the publication at its new (old) address web3plusai.xyz. Key Web3 + AI Events of 2025Ethereum Foundation's dAI Team and "Trustless Agents"In October 2025, the Ethereum Foundation doubled down on decentralized AI by launching a dedicated dAI team, led by Davide Crapis and aimed at making Ethereum the primary settlement and coordination layer for the emerging AI agent economy. Central to this effort is ERC-8004, a “Trustless Agents” standard that enables AI agents to discover, verify, build reputation, and transact with one another without pre-existing trust. Developed as a cross-industry collaboration involving Ethereum, Google, MetaMask, and others, ERC-8004 complements Google’s Agent-to-Agent (A2A) and Agent Payments (A2P) protocols while addressing their trust limitations. The initiative positions Ethereum as uniquely suited to power agentic commerce by providing native payment rails, identity, and trust infrastructure - capabilities missing from existing AI frameworks.Could Ethereum Become the Preferred Settlement and Coordination Layer for AI Agents?A new Ethereum Foundation team will focus on payments, trust and standards for AI agents, linking protocol upgrades with decentralized infrastructure development.https://www.coindesk.comCoinbase's x402 Payment Protocol2025 was a spectacular year for agentic payments, with Coinbase introducing x402, a new open protocol that makes stablecoin micropayments a native part of web interactions.This lets apps, services, and AI agents automatically execute on-chain payments for access to APIs, data, or services without accounts, subscriptions, or middlemen, unlocking true machine-to-machine commerce and pay-per-use monetization.The initiative quickly gained industry support from partners like Circle, NEAR Protocol, Anthropic, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Cloudflare , which helped establish the x402 Foundation to govern and advance the standard. Adoption surged as the protocol expanded beyond Coinbase’s Base Chain to multiple EVM networks and Solana, driving rapid transaction growth and ecosystem interest. However, challenges remain before it can fully power a mature machine economy, and further infrastructure (like trust, discovery, and quality services) is still developing.The Stellar Leap of Coinbase's x402The Web3 + AI NewsletterOct 29, 2025The Web3 + AI Inquiry digs into the burning questions steering dAI and the open machine economy. Today, we're asking: what's all the buzz about x402?0 supportersSupportBittensor's dTAO Upgrade and HalvingIn 2025, the open-source AI network Bittensor performed not one, but two pivotal economic overhauls. First, the Dynamic TAO upgrade was enacted, followed by the first-ever $TAO halving event. dTAO, or dynamic TAO, marks a major change in Bittensor's tokenomics by giving each of the network's specialized subnets its own token, paired with TAO in a dedicated liquidity pool. Instead of subnets competing for a shared TAO reward and relying on a single group of validators to rank them, each subnet’s value now rises or falls based on genuine demand via the users, stakers, and validators who adopt it.Bittensor's Huge Upgrade on BanklessdTAO is here, and it's set to be a game changer for the Bittensor ecosystem.https://www.bankless.comIn mid-December, Bittensor’s first token halving reduced daily $TAO emissions from 7,200 to 3,600, and aligned the protocol with Bitcoin-style scarcity mechanics. The halving shook up the network’s subnet ecosystem: with fewer emissions available, capital and rewards now flow toward higher-performing subnets, while weaker or “zombie” subnets struggle for liquidity or become inactive. Additionally, mining and validator rewards tightened, potentially leading to consolidation among the most efficient participants. Supporters argue this will strengthen the network’s economic health over time, even if short-term volatility persists.Bittensor's first halving seen to boost TAO price and starve 'zombie subnets'Bittensor's first halving is set to take place on December 14. Investors hope it will boost the TAO token's price. The reduced rewards will also impact the network's subnets and miners.https://www.dlnews.comCrypto Treasuries On The RiseIn 2025, digital asset treasuries (DATs), where public companies hold cryptocurrencies as core balance-sheet assets, shifted from niche experiments to a mainstream corporate finance trend. Major firms expanded beyond Bitcoin to include Ethereum and even dAI coins in their treasuries, generating billions in net inflows and signaling widespread institutional adoption. Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) remained the largest holder, with over $62B in BTC, while new players like BitMine Immersion Technologies, SharpLink (SBET), Ether Machine (ETHM), and Forward Industries (Nasdaq: FWDI) amassed significant crypto holdings. Meanwhile, in the dAI vertical, TAO Synergies Inc. and Synaptogenix bet on Bittensor's $TAO token, and Predictive Oncology launched a $344M Aethir DAT. This evolution was supported by clearer regulations, easier capital access, and confidence in digital assets as stores of value. However, heavy concentration of DATs among a few firms and associated risks, such as volatility and investor scrutiny, highlight ongoing challenges. The next stage for DATs is to generate yield and integrate digital assets into real operational use cases like staking, settlement, and liquidity management, rather than merely stockpiling tokens. Learn more here.BTC Mining vs. AI / HPC Data CentersOver the past year, I've covered the same piece of news over and over again - the only thing that changed was the protagonists. With BTC mining rewards declining and demand for AI computing resources growing incessantly, miners were gradually shifting to AI and HPC (high-performance computing) operations, seeking higher profits and less uncertainty. What's more, those who made the switch performed better financially: IREN emerged as the top performer with roughly +300% year-to-date gains, driven by major GPU cloud deals and support from Microsoft. Other AI-focused miners like Cipher Mining and Hut 8 also posted strong returns, buoyed by AI hosting partnerships and large data-center projects. By contrast, traditional Bitcoin-heavy miners lagged: Bitdeer (NASDAQ: BTDR) saw its stock fall about 50%, affected by a larger-than-expected Q3 loss and delays in ASIC chip development, while peers like Marathon Digital experienced declines without significant AI diversification. The trend highlights how miners leveraging AI/HPC demand have outperformed pure-play crypto mining operations in 2025.Bitcoin (BTC) mining in 2025: Winners and laggards emerge as IREN leads and BTDR falls behindDiversification into AI and HPC infrastructure drove sharp outperformance for miners, while pure-play bitcoin miners lagged.https://www.coindesk.comNow, with its 2026 energy forecast, BlackRock warns of a looming energy clash between AI data centers and Bitcoin miners. The company highlights that AI-driven infrastructure could consume a very large share of U.S. electricity in the coming years, potentially reshaping how power is allocated across industries. Bitcoin mining has traditionally competed for cheap, flexible energy by absorbing surplus generation and curtailing during peak demand, but AI workloads require constant, reliable baseload power, which could squeeze miners’ access to favorable grid capacity and elevate energy costs. As grid constraints tighten, miners may have to adapt by integrating more closely with utility planning or pivoting toward AI/HPC hosting services, changing the competitive landscape for energy-intensive tech sectors.The question remains: what will happen with Bitcoin when all of its major miners pivot to AI?BlackRock warns crypto's love affair with AI is over as an energy war with Bitcoin miners beginsBlackRock warns AI data centers could use up to 25% of US electricity by 2030. What it means for miners, grid flexibility, and cheap power.https://cryptoslate.comThank you for reading! If you haven't done so yet, I invite you to subscribe to stay in the loop on the hottest dAI developments.SubscribeI'm looking forward to connecting with fellow Crypto x AI enthusiasts, so don't hesitate to reach out on social media.XLinkedInFarcasterDisclaimer: None of this should or could be considered financial advice. You should not take my words for granted; rather, do your own research (DYOR) and share your thoughts to encourage a fruitful discussion.

## Publication Information

- [The Web3 + AI Newsletter](https://web3plusai.xyz/): Publication homepage
- [All Posts](https://web3plusai.xyz/): More posts from this publication
- [RSS Feed](https://api.paragraph.com/blogs/rss/@web3plusai): Subscribe to updates
- [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Albena_Kostova): Follow on Twitter