Grayscale Adds AI Launchpads and Solana DeFi Apps to Q1 2025 Token Watchlist

Grayscale, a prominent asset manager, has announced the inclusion of several new tokens in its top 20 list of tokens to watch for the first quarter of 2025. Among the newly added tokens are those from emerging artificial intelligence (AI) platforms and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, marking a shift toward new industry trends.

In a research note released on December 30, Grayscale highlighted the addition of the following tokens to its Q1 2025 watchlist: Hyperliquid (HYPE), Ethena (ENA), Virtuals (VIRTUAL), Jupiter (JUP), Jito (JTO), and Grass (GRASS). These tokens are seen as benefiting from three major industry trends: a more favorable regulatory environment in the United States, breakthroughs in decentralized AI technologies, and the continued growth of the Solana ecosystem.

Key Tokens and Industry Trends

• Virtuals and Grass represent AI platforms, signaling the growing intersection of artificial intelligence and decentralized networks.

• Hyperliquid is a high-performance layer-1 (L1) blockchain network, while Ethena, Jupiter, and Jito are decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Notably, Jupiter and Jito are native to the Solana blockchain.

Grayscale pointed out that these additions align with broader industry trends, particularly the expansion of decentralized AI, which is expected to play a more prominent role in decentralized communities, and the growth of DeFi, especially within the Solana ecosystem.

Grayscale also expressed excitement about themes from previous quarters that continue to shape the market. These include Ethereum scaling solutions, tokenization, and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN). As part of its ongoing interest in these sectors, Grayscale continues to monitor and include tokens like Optimism (OP), Chainlink (LINK), and Helium (HNT), which represent these respective themes.

Competitive Landscape and Market Insights

The asset manager also highlighted that smart contract platforms, such as Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX), and Sui (SUI), are likely to be among the most competitive market segments in the digital asset industry. The proliferation of alternative layer-1 blockchain networks has contributed to Ethereum's underperformance relative to some of its peers in 2024.

Grayscale noted that the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi on Solana saw impressive growth, from approximately $1.5 billion in January to nearly $8.5 billion by December. This surge reflects the increasing popularity and adoption of DeFi applications on Solana, with platforms like Jito, a Solana staking pool, generating over $100 million in revenue from priority fees and tips in both November and December.

The US Regulatory Landscape and Future Outlook

Grayscale also noted the potential impact of a friendlier regulatory environment in the United States on the broader crypto and DeFi markets. With the possibility of industry-friendly leaders being appointed to key regulatory positions under a new administration, many experts are optimistic about the US becoming a global leader in crypto space by the end of 2025. This shift is expected to fuel further growth in DeFi, staking, and the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), which will, in turn, catalyze broader adoption of blockchain technologies.

As the industry evolves, Grayscale's Q1 2025 token watchlist reflects an exciting blend of emerging technologies in AI and DeFi, particularly those tied to Solana's ecosystem. The continued expansion of decentralized applications, AI-driven platforms, and innovative blockchain solutions positions these tokens as key players to watch in the coming year.