Complex applications such as decentralized derivatives, options trading, and the latest AI tools and yield farming protocols have many advantages, such as greater user control over assets and participation in governance, but they require a certain standard of the underlying infrastructure. NFTs' application beyond digital art and collectibles has grown, as has the popularity of tokenizing physical assets such as real estate and art.
Blockchains feature exciting new applications like tokenized uranium. The integration between blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT) has given rise to smart apps, improving data reliability in smart cities, logistics, and industrial automation. 2025's growth cycle may witness wider adoption of Web3 powered by consumer apps developed in highly scalable environments and distributed to more users. The main catalysts of these developments are crypto-friendlier regulations and, to a greater extent, advanced blockchain infrastructure.
Blockchain speed is a key consideration in terms of supporting the latest apps. Factors like block size, network congestion, fees, and block time all play a role in transaction speed. Cronos is emerging as one of the fastest blockchains after the launch of its EVM v1.4.0 Pallene upgrade, which supports up to 60,000 transactions per second (TPS) and boosts transaction execution by up to 600x via Block-STM technology. This milestone positions Cronos as a very suitable host of next-gen applications, including Web3 gaming, DeFi, and AI-driven tools. The chain has almost caught up with Solana, which theoretically supports 65,000 TPS.
Sonic, formerly Fantom, is one of the 20 fastest blockchains, achieving over 1,400 TPS in real-time. Comparatively, Solana achieves 1,220 TPS. Sonic is an L1, EVM-compatible blockchain with attractive incentives for developers and robust infrastructure. Its maximum speed is reported as 10,000 TPS at one-second finality. The cutting-edge consensus mechanism and emphasis on developer experience have made it a popular choice for dApps, particularly DeFi protocols. Sonic's low latency, coupled with its ability to handle a high transaction volume, makes it ideal for tokenizing real-world assets. To this end, the chain recently facilitated a key partnership with Backed, Chainlink, and Fortlake Asset Management to tokenize Fortlake's Sigma Opportunities Fund, bringing traditional assets on-chain. Sigma Fund is the first to adopt a Tokenization-as-a-Service platform.