OKX Ventures Annual Report 2024: 60+ Project Investments and 14 Major Trends to Watch

·

"The success of the blockchain industry lies not in the triumph of a single technology or platform, but in building a highly inclusive, richly innovative, and self-evolving industry ecosystem." — Dora Yue, Founder of OKX Ventures

As global financial markets underwent dramatic shifts in 2024, the cryptocurrency sector experienced both turbulence and transformation. After a six-month consolidation phase, the industry rebounded strongly—total market capitalization surged past $3.8 trillion by year-end, with Bitcoin reaching an unprecedented $100,000. This wasn't just a price milestone; it marked the emergence of a new financial architecture.

At the heart of this evolution is Bitcoin’s rise as the world’s largest dollar-denominated financial asset—a hedge against U.S. fiscal deficits and debt concerns. Anchored by spot ETFs, U.S. equities, and publicly listed corporate treasuries, a robust liquidity cycle has formed, reshaping asset valuation and accelerating blockchain adoption. OKX Ventures has been deeply embedded in this transformation, strategically investing over $100 million across more than 60 high-potential projects and funds.

We remain confident that blockchain will redefine traditional systems over the next decade—not through disruption alone, but through integration, innovation, and inclusivity.

2024 in Review: Strategic Expansion Across Key Ecosystems

OKX Ventures significantly scaled its investment activities in 2024, focusing on driving innovation across next-generation blockchains and foundational technologies. Our portfolio now spans Solana, Sui, Aptos, TON, and the rapidly expanding Bitcoin ecosystem, with particular emphasis on infrastructure, AI integration, and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Investment Focus Areas

Representative investments include cutting-edge projects in data indexing, privacy-preserving computation, and modular blockchain architectures. Beyond capital allocation, we’ve formed strategic partnerships with TON Ventures, Ankaa, and TGH to co-develop accelerators and incubation programs—empowering founders with technical resources, go-to-market strategies, and ecosystem access.

👉 Discover how next-gen blockchain ecosystems are unlocking massive growth potential.

Our approach goes beyond funding: we provide holistic support including product feedback, community building, and integration with the broader OKX ecosystem—such as OKX Wallet, NFT Marketplace, and XLayer. This multi-dimensional empowerment model ensures startups aren't just funded but are set up for sustainable success.

We believe true innovation stems not only from capital but from strategic alignment, resource sharing, and long-term vision. Each investment reflects a deep conviction in the future of decentralization—not as a speculative trend, but as a structural shift in how value is created, shared, and secured.

Looking Ahead: 14 Key Trends Shaping 2025

1. Global Blockchain Compliance Acceleration

Regulatory clarity is finally taking shape worldwide. In 2025, licensed crypto institutions will multiply, offering safer services for mainstream users. The UK plans consultations on stablecoin regulation early next year, while jurisdictions like Singapore and Europe advance comprehensive frameworks.

Notably, OKX became the first global exchange to secure a full operating license in the UAE—a milestone signaling growing institutional trust. To bridge self-custody with compliance, OKX is launching a retail wallet featuring KYC-enabled transaction monitoring—a novel solution balancing user autonomy with regulatory requirements.

Institutional adoption continues to surge: Bitcoin spot ETFs surpassed $114.97 billion in assets by late 2024, and firms like MicroStrategy hold over 439,000 BTC. As crypto finance converges with traditional finance (TradFi), we expect many blockchain firms to meet or exceed traditional financial compliance standards.

2. AI Agents Emerge as Autonomous Market Participants

Advancements in large language models (LLMs) and multimodal AI are paving the way for autonomous agents capable of independent decision-making. By 2025, AI agents will evolve from tools into active participants—managing digital wallets, creating content, issuing tokens, and executing trades.

These agents will interact peer-to-peer onchain, leveraging blockchain’s transparency and composability. Imagine AI-driven DAOs where multiple agents collaborate on research or manage investment pools. Platforms like Myshell and Eliza are already demonstrating early frameworks for agent-based economies.

Furthermore, natural language interfaces could revolutionize trading—users might simply say “buy ETH if BTC breaks $100K” and let AI execute. The concept of "wallet as a browser" may soon become reality, transforming how humans and machines engage with Web3.

3. Blockchain-Powered AI Security Solutions

As AI threats like deepfakes and impersonation grow—61% of organizations report increased attacks—blockchain offers verifiable identity solutions. Projects focused on AI security are gaining traction by using decentralized ledgers to:

With prompt injection and model drift posing real risks, immutable records can enhance accountability. OKX Ventures sees rising demand for protocols that combine zero-knowledge proofs with identity verification to secure human-AI interactions.

4. AI Integration Across Industries

By 2025, AI will deeply transform gaming, NFTs, DeFi, and social platforms.

Gaming: AI-driven content generation, smart NPCs, and personalized gameplay will redefine immersion. Global AI spending in gaming is projected to hit $1.1 billion.

Social Platforms: AI agents like Clanker ($100M+ market cap) and LUM ($70M) are already monetizing social interactions through tokenized communities on Farcaster.

DeFi: AI agents will automate yield optimization, detect vulnerabilities in smart contracts, and execute cross-chain arbitrage—boosting efficiency and security.

OKX Ventures forecasts over 1 million AI agents active onchain by 2025, contributing to a projected $4 trillion DEX volume and $200 billion Total Value Locked (TVL).

5. Blockchain Enhances AI Resource Matching

AI development faces bottlenecks in data access, compute power, and model collaboration. Blockchain improves matching efficiency across these domains:

With demand for training data outpacing supply by 2026, decentralized data markets will become critical infrastructure.

6. Bitcoin DeFi Summer Driven by Layer-2 Innovations

Bitcoin’s DeFi ecosystem is poised for explosive growth. Babylon has already secured over 57,288 BTC ($6B), bridging Bitcoin with PoS chains. Projects like Bitlayer, Merlin, and Arch Network are building scalable L2s.

Smart contract enhancements via UTXO Stack and CTV (Check Template Verify) will unlock complex financial applications. By 2025, Bitcoin-based DEXs could process over $4 trillion in volume—20% of centralized exchange spot volume.

Wallets like Unisat are simplifying user experience, while cross-chain solutions improve interoperability.

7. Native Bitcoin Innovation Deepens

Beyond DeFi, Bitcoin is evolving technically:

Applications now span decentralized social networks, gaming, and open science—proving Bitcoin's role as foundational digital infrastructure.

8. Ethereum Tech & Ecosystem Breakthroughs

Ethereum aims for 200x scaling by 2025 with over 2,000 L2/L3 networks. Post-Pectra upgrades will reduce rollup costs via increased blob space.

Account Abstraction (EIP-3074/7702) enables gas payments in any token—improving UX for mainstream users. Staking improvements (EIP-7251) allow >32 ETH deposits, pushing total staked ETH beyond 30 million.

Zero-Knowledge VMs (zkVMs) will generate block proofs in seconds, enabling "privacy-as-a-service." The Beam Chain upgrade targets 4-second blocks and a 1 ETH staking minimum—boosting decentralization.

9. RWA Growth Fuels Ethereum Dominance

Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) have surpassed $14B onchain—80% on Ethereum. Government bonds alone account for $3B+, providing low-risk collateral for DeFi.

Stablecoins exceed $200B in market cap; synthetic dollars grow at 60% monthly. Institutions like BlackRock and UBS are launching tokenized funds on Ethereum.

Regulatory progress in the U.S., EU, and Singapore will attract further institutional capital—potentially generating $100B+ annually in transaction fees for Ethereum.

10. Solana Maintains High-Performance Leadership

Solana’s TPS could exceed 100,000 by 2025 thanks to Gulf Stream upgrades. State compression reduces node costs by 30%.

Daily transactions near $200M; active wallets exceed 250M. Jito contributes over 55% of fee revenue via MEV optimization.

With strong developer retention (50%+) and protocols like Jupiter targeting $20B+ TVL, Solana remains a top ecosystem for DeFi and AI-integrated applications.

11. Move-Based Chains Surge: Sui & Aptos

Sui’s parallel execution engine powers rapid growth—TVL up 2,700% YoY to $2B+. zkLogin lowers Web3 entry barriers using Google/Facebook logins.

Aptos sees 19x TVL growth to $2B; hosts BlackRock’s BUIDL fund. Developer count up 96%, with 3,000+ contracts deployed.

Both chains are on track to enter top 10 by market cap.

12. Emerging L1s: Monad & Berachain Bring Innovation

Monad: Next-gen parallel EVM achieving >10K TPS with single-slot finality. Optimistic execution and MonadDB boost performance.
Berachain: Uses Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL), driving TVL growth through staked liquidity incentives.

Both ecosystems show strong early traction—with hundreds of protocols preparing for mainnet launch.

13. TON & Kaia Attract Web2 Giants

TON leverages Telegram’s 900M users via mini-programs—driving 36M+ wallets and $300M daily volume. Kaia taps Kakao/Line ecosystems in Asia with 7M active users.

Their "Web2.5" model—blending familiar UX with onchain finance—is attracting internet companies seeking scalable Web3 entry points.

14. Decentralized Science (DeSci) Reshapes Research

DeSci uses blockchain to democratize scientific funding and IP management:

Transparent funding models via DAOs (e.g., VitaDAO) reduce waste and accelerate innovation.

👉 See how decentralized ecosystems are fueling breakthrough innovations across industries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What types of projects does OKX Ventures prioritize?
A: We focus on infrastructure, AI integration, DeFi, Bitcoin ecosystem innovations, and emerging public chains like Sui, Aptos, TON, Solana, Monad, and Berachain.

Q: How does OKX Ventures support portfolio companies beyond funding?
A: We offer technical guidance, marketing support, ecosystem integration (e.g., OKX Wallet), strategic partnerships, and access to global liquidity channels.

Q: Is compliance becoming more important for blockchain projects?
A: Yes—regulatory clarity in the UAE, UK, EU, and Singapore is driving institutional adoption. Projects balancing innovation with compliance will lead the next cycle.

Q: Will AI agents replace human traders?
A: Not replace—but augment. AI agents will handle routine tasks like arbitrage and risk monitoring, allowing humans to focus on strategy and creativity.

Q: Can Bitcoin support complex DeFi applications?
A: Yes—through L2s like Babylon and upcoming opcode upgrades (e.g., CTV), Bitcoin is evolving into a full-fledged financial platform.

Q: What role does Ethereum play in the RWA boom?
A: Ethereum dominates with ~80% market share due to its security, developer base, and smart contract maturity—making it the preferred choice for tokenizing real-world assets.

OKX Ventures remains committed to advancing decentralization—not for short-term gains but to build a fairer, more open digital future. We invest in visionaries who challenge norms and create lasting impact.

As blockchain converges with AI, finance, science, and social systems, we stand at the edge of a new technological era—one where trust is coded, value is shared openly, and innovation thrives without permission.

👉 Join the movement shaping the future of decentralized technology today.