2026-01-18 08:25:02

The Evolution of Crypto Finance Over Six Years

Crypto finance has undergone dramatic transformation since 2020, with each year marking a distinct market focus:

2020 introduced the DeFi explosion—decentralized protocols unlocking financial primitives without intermediaries.

2021 pivoted to GameFi, as blockchain gaming and play-to-earn mechanics captivated retail attention.

2022 saw discussion around CrimeFi elements—a sobering look at illicit activities within crypto ecosystems.

2023 witnessed TradFi convergence—traditional finance institutions seriously exploring blockchain integration and tokenization.

2024 belonged to DeFAI—the merger of decentralized finance with artificial intelligence, powering smarter trading and risk management.

2025 emerged as the InfoFi era, where information asymmetry itself became the tradeable asset, blending data economics with blockchain.

So what's the next frontier for 2026? The crypto market never stops innovating—whether it's SocialFi, IdentityFi, EnergyFi, or something entirely unexpected. The pattern suggests each cycle builds on previous infrastructure while opening new markets. What do you think comes next?

DEFI-0,44%

GAFI-2,49%

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TestnetFreeloader

· 4h ago

Haha, another annual review... but honestly, the name InfoFi is really quite clever, selling data as a commodity—who would have thought of that?

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GasOptimizer

· 9h ago

The 2020-2025 time series is indeed interesting, but I'm more concerned with: what does the gas fee cost curve look like over these six years? How much has the per-user interaction cost on layer 1 DeFi dropped from thousands of yuan to now? Where is the data?

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BankruptcyArtist

· 01-18 23:10

Hmm, the concept of InfoFi is really amazing. I love the logic of data itself becoming an asset... But honestly, I'm a bit worried that 2026 might be another round of hype and profit-taking, like a new round of pulling the wool over investors' eyes, haha.

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bridge_anxiety

· 01-18 08:50

ngl this timeline is a bit outrageous… InfoFi by 2025? It feels like last year we were still talking about DeFAI, and now there's another wave of new concepts. I'm a bit numb to it.

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HashRateHermit

· 01-18 08:49

Haha, DeFAI back then really made me doubt life after getting caught. Now it's InfoFi... feels like just changing the concept to continue harvesting the leeks.

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DaoResearcher

· 01-18 08:45

According to the data model in the white paper, 2026 should be the breakout period for PermissionFi—governance rights themselves becoming tradable assets, thus completing the closed loop. The incentive mechanism of DeFAI actually hides a game theory trap; under information asymmetry, Token Weighted Voting will inevitably fail. I previously posted an analysis of governance proposals; if you're interested, you can take a look. --- The concept of InfoFi is a bit hard to grasp. How can the price discovery mechanism be effectively maintained in a highly decentralized environment? It’s worth noting that the problem of incentive incompatibility has re-emerged. --- 2026 speculation: RealFi. The true mapping between on-chain assets and off-chain physical assets—that’s the final mile for TradFi to adopt crypto. Everything else is just a transition. --- From the voting data of governance proposals, each cycle is indeed reconstructing the value capture layer, but the core issue remains unresolved—the essence of DAO is still a power game, no different from Web2. --- The premise of the hypothesis is sufficient liquidity, but in 2026, liquidity will be tight. Whatever new Fi you mention, I think it’s just a pile of bubbles. If you don’t believe me, show your data to argue.

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LiquidationWizard

· 01-18 08:42

NGL Infifi is a bit intimidating—the idea of information itself becoming an asset... does that mean privacy is completely compromised?

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PrivacyMaximalist

· 01-18 08:40

ngl InfoFi sounds like just moving information monopoly onto the blockchain... feels like another new way to cut the leeks again

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VitaliksTwin

· 01-18 08:35

ngl infofiFi this concept is a bit hard to hold, is information itself an asset? Then wouldn't I be selling my foolish ideas every day... But on the other hand, if socialfi really explodes in 2026, that would be crazy, and our group would have to rush in and lose everything in one round.

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