Blockchain in 2025: Rapid Growth, Real-World Adoption, and Ongoing Technical Hurdles

Blockchain: Promise, Progress, and Persistent Challenges

Blockchain technology, first conceptualized in 2008 by the enigmatic Satoshi Nakamoto, was designed as a secure, decentralized digital ledger. Its initial application, Bitcoin, aimed to disrupt traditional banking and financial systems by enabling trustless transactions. By May 31, 2025, the vision remains bold but faces significant hurdles, as detailed in The Friday Times.

The blockchain market has seen substantial growth, with GlobalData estimating its value at $12.4 billion in 2023 and $20.1 billion in 2024. Projections suggest a leap to $248.9 billion by 2029. Despite this, the market remains small compared to the $7.5 trillion traded daily in global money markets. Decentralized finance (DeFi) has surpassed $100 billion in 2025, but not all investments yield tangible results.

Major financial institutions have adopted blockchain for efficiency and transparency. JPMorgan Chase, once a skeptic, launched Onyx in 2020, facilitating fast payments and connecting over 400 banks. Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon have also integrated blockchain into their operations. Governments are exploring central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), with over 100 countries, including China and those in Europe, testing blockchain-based digital money.

A notable case is Singapore’s DBS Bank, which uses a private blockchain for instant, secure transactions and grant disbursements. Since 2020, DBS’s Digital Exchange has managed digital assets and crypto storage, emphasizing compliance and transparency.

However, blockchain faces significant challenges. Bitcoin processes only 7 transactions per second, Ethereum 30, while Visa handles 1,700. Bitcoin’s annual energy consumption is 150 terawatt-hours. Security remains a concern, with $449.1 million lost to ransomware in 2023 and high-profile hacks such as Mt. Gox ($450 million in 2014) and Poly Network ($610 million in 2021).

• Blockchain market: $12.4B (2023), $20.1B (2024), $248.9B (2029 projected)
• DeFi market: $100B+ (2025)
• Bitcoin energy use: 150 TWh/year
• Crypto crime losses: $449.1M (2023)

“Blockchain’s promise is real, but it’s often a mess,” said Ray Dalio in 2022.

In summary, blockchain’s potential is evident in areas like DeFi, supply chain, and digital identity, but issues of speed, energy, and security persist. As The Friday Times concludes, blockchain is a tool—powerful, but not a panacea.

Source: The Friday Times

TON Blockchain: Outages and Resilience

The Open Network (TON), closely linked to the Telegram platform, experienced a brief outage on June 1, 2025, due to an error in the masterchain dispatch queue. According to Cointelegraph, the issue was identified at 12:51:00 UTC and resolved within approximately 40 minutes. The development team assured users that no funds were lost and all transactions during the downtime were secure.

TON has faced several outages in 2024, notably in August, when high demand for the DOGS memecoin caused network congestion and halted block production. On August 27, block production stopped at workchain block 45,341,899, with downtime lasting several hours. After a brief restoration, the network crashed again due to continued high traffic. Another outage occurred on August 28, halting block production at block 45,350,522 for roughly six hours.

Despite these technical challenges, TON remains attractive to both retail and institutional investors. In March 2025, TON raised $400 million from prominent venture capital firms, including Sequoia Capital, Draper Associates, CoinFund, and SkyBridge.

• June 1, 2025: 40-minute outage, no loss of funds
• August 27-28, 2024: Multiple outages due to DOGS memecoin, up to six hours downtime
• March 2025: $400 million raised from major VCs

As blockchain networks grow in complexity, brief outages may become more common, potentially impacting user confidence. TON’s continued investment and user interest suggest resilience despite these setbacks.

Source: Cointelegraph

Layer-1 Blockchain Projects: COLD, ADA, and Render

Three Layer-1 blockchain projects—Coldware ($COLD), Cardano (ADA), and Render (RNDR)—are taking distinct approaches to blockchain utility, as reported by FinanceFeeds.

Cardano is recognized for its academic, research-driven development and its energy-efficient proof-of-stake protocol, Ouroboros. The network recently processed over 50,000 daily transactions. There is growing speculation about an ADA ETF, with analysts assigning a 71% chance of approval. ADA is trading at approximately $0.79, up 27% over the past month, with 2025 price targets ranging from $1.30 to $2.60.

Render Network addresses the need for affordable, high-performance computing for 3D rendering and AI. It connects users needing GPU power with those who have idle GPUs. Render is expanding into AI compute, broadening its use cases. RNDR is currently trading at about $4.38, with a market cap of $2.29 billion, still below its March 2024 high of $13.61.

Coldware ($COLD) focuses on real-world usability, offering devices like the Larna 2400 smartphone and ColdBook laptop that are integrated into the blockchain network. Its Proof-of-Stake model supports lite nodes on mobile and IoT devices, enabling staking and dApp usage directly from user devices. Coldware’s presale has raised over $4 million, with 67% of tokens sold.

• Cardano: 71% chance of ETF approval, 27% price increase in past month
• Render: Market cap $2.29B, price well below March 2024 high
• Coldware: $4M+ raised, 67% tokens sold in presale

Each project targets different needs: Cardano for research and sustainability, Render for computing power, and Coldware for practical, everyday blockchain use.

Source: FinanceFeeds

Blockchain-Based Identity: The Next Step for Digital Assets

A joint report by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) and Chainlink, highlighted by Markets Media, underscores the importance of blockchain-based identity systems for the future of digital assets. As digital assets proliferate, the need for efficient, scalable, and secure identity verification becomes critical.

Traditional financial institutions dedicate about one-third of their compliance budgets to Know-Your-Customer (KYC) activities. Globally, financial firms employ an average of 1,566 staff for AML and KYC, with onboarding costs averaging $2,598 per customer. These inefficiencies have led to client attrition for 67% of banks and 74% of asset managers.

The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI), a 20-character code, is required in over 250 jurisdictions and has been issued to more than 2.7 million entities. The verifiable LEI (vLEI), developed by GLEIF, brings organizational identity onchain, allowing for cryptographic proof of identity and credentials in real time. Chainlink’s infrastructure enables vLEIs to be used across multiple blockchains, enhancing interoperability and security.

• Average KYC onboarding cost: $2,598 per customer
• Average AML/KYC staff per firm: 1,566
• Client attrition: 67% (banks), 74% (asset managers)
• LEIs issued: 2.7 million+
• LEI required in 250+ jurisdictions

“One day, I expect tokenized funds will become as familiar to investors as ETFs — provided we crack one critical problem: identity verification.” — Larry Fink, BlackRock CEO, 2025

The vLEI system addresses trust, security, efficiency, and interoperability, making it a foundational element for the next phase of digital asset innovation. Regulatory initiatives like the EU’s European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) are already exploring decentralized identity as a trust layer for digital ecosystems.

Source: Markets Media

Sources:

• Blockchain: Bold Vision, Overhyped Dream
• TON blockchain network back online after brief outage
• NBA star Tristan Thompson explains how he's blending blockchain and sports
• CryptoCity Is Coming: Kazakhstan to Fuse Blockchain With Daily Life
• 3 Projects COLD, ADA, And Render Using Layer1 Blockchain - Whose Use Of This Decentralised System Is Best?
• Why Blockchain-Based Identity Is Critical to the Future of Digital Assets