Author: Yuqian Lim
Compiled by: TechFlow
How widespread will crypto AI applications be in 2025?
In a survey conducted this year, 59.3% of crypto industry participants (nearly three-fifths) considered themselves to be the "first adopters" of crypto AI. Another 34.7% of participants classified themselves as "mainstream users" of crypto AI applications, while the remaining 6.1% were "skeptics" with the lowest willingness to adopt crypto AI.
Compared to the bell-shaped curve distribution that technology applications usually follow, the proportion of "pioneer adopters" in crypto AI is abnormally high. This phenomenon may be related to the self-selection bias of participants who are already interested in crypto AI, but it also reflects that the application of crypto AI is still mainly technology enthusiasts and has not yet been truly mainstreamed in the crypto industry.
Among these “pioneer adopters,” 26.6% of participants define themselves as “innovators” (i.e., technology enthusiasts who are keen on chasing new technology narratives), while 32.7% identify themselves as “early adopters” who are sensitive to trends. The larger proportion of “early adopters” may reflect the latest changes in industry perception, that is, the crypto industry gradually regards crypto AI as a key area with potential, rather than just a hot spot for hype.
Meanwhile, 22.8% of crypto industry participants classified themselves as being in the “early majority” for crypto AI applications, nearly double the 11.9% who defined themselves as being in the “late majority.”
This shows that the main challenge of crypto AI is how to promote the application of mainstream people who are pragmatic and more risk-averse. In order to attract the "early majority" user group, crypto AI projects may need to clearly demonstrate their ability to solve practical problems or create value for users.
Finally, only 6.1% of participants classified themselves as "laggards" who are skeptical and resistant to change, a proportion consistent with the tail end of a typical bell curve distribution. These "laggards" may include realists who are only interested in profiting from crypto AI, AI critics, and cautious users who are waiting for the technology to mature.
More crypto newbies have polarized attitudes toward crypto AI applications
Notably, among participants experiencing a market cycle for the first time, 31.5% defined themselves as “innovators” in crypto AI applications, while 7.4% considered themselves “laggards.”
Both proportions are higher than those of participants who are experiencing the market cycle for the second time (19.9% are "innovators" and 4.3% are "laggards") and senior users (participants in the third market cycle and above, 24.4% are "innovators" and 5.3% are "laggards").
This suggests that crypto newcomers may hold stronger and more polarized views on the crypto AI narrative, especially since some new users may have been drawn into the crypto space by the recent crypto AI craze.
On the other hand, participants who experienced the second market cycle have a similar distribution to senior users in terms of their attitudes towards crypto AI applications. The only difference is that participants who experienced the second market cycle account for a slightly higher proportion of the “early majority” group, while senior users account for a higher proportion of the “innovators” group.
Crypto AI application curve in 2025
The crypto market's interest or application attitude towards crypto AI is distributed as follows:
Methodology
This research is based on the anonymous Coingecko Crypto x AI Survey, which was conducted from February 20 to March 10, 2025, and collected responses from 2,632 crypto industry participants. The survey results are for reference only.
Of the respondents, 51% defined themselves as crypto investors who primarily hold long-term assets, 26% as traders who primarily hold short-term assets, 10% as developers who work on building, and 13% as onlookers. In terms of participants' seniority in the crypto space, 53% are newcomers who are experiencing a market cycle for the first time (0 to 3 years), 34% are users who are experiencing a market cycle for the second time (4 to 7 years), and the rest are senior users with 8 years or more of experience. In terms of geographical distribution, 93% of the respondents are from Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa, and the rest are located in Oceania or South America.
This research is for illustrative and informational purposes only and does not constitute any financial advice. Please always do your own research and exercise caution when investing in any crypto asset or financial asset.
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