The cryptocurrency sector is nearing its “Netscape moment” as advancements in blockchain infrastructure and the increase of regulated investment products drive a new phase of institutional adoption, according to Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang.
The crypto landscape is “experiencing its ‘Netscape’ or ‘iPhone’ moment,” Huang wrote Sunday in a post on X. “It’s working larger than ever before, exceeding our expectations. Both the institutional aspects and the cypherpunk facets.”
Netscape introduced the first user-friendly web browser for the general public in 1994 and went public with a successful initial public offering (IPO) in August 1995, marking the foundation that spurred the internet’s widespread adoption.
Yet, Microsoft seized the significant interest and leveraged it by bundling Internet Explorer as a pre-installed feature of the Windows operating system, overtaking Netscape to become the most used internet browser.
Onchain usability meets regulated access
In the crypto realm, Bitcoin’s (BTC) peer-to-peer design and decentralized finance (DeFi) have paved the way for a fresh vision of an open, programmable financial framework that eliminates intermediaries.
Simultaneously, centralized platforms and traditional investment avenues are drawing an increasing share of new capital due to their user-friendliness and compliance with known regulatory standards.
Approximately 200 crypto-focused exchange-traded products (ETPs) could debut in the upcoming year, with 155 pending approval as of Oct. 22, according to Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas.
Crypto ETPs grant easier access to altcoins for traditional investors utilizing brokerage platforms that don’t maintain accounts on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges.
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Onchain products are becoming more user-friendly, while “regulated” investment options are enhancing accessibility, indicating that the industry might be on the brink of mass adoption, Lacie Zhang, market analyst at Bitget Wallet, shared with Cointelegraph.
“ETFs and similar products validate digital assets but don’t supplant what onchain systems uniquely provide, like direct ownership, programmable settlement, and real-time transfers.”
She remarked that regulated access points tend to attract more liquidity to underlying networks by engaging institutional capital and new entrants, rather than “displacing onchain activity.”
Related: Bitcoin now settles Visa-scale volumes, but most is for wholesale, not coffee
Despite concerns surrounding centralization, the growth of centralized finance (CeFi) platforms and ETFs is viewed as an “expansion of the onchain economy,” not a fundamental threat, according to Marcin Kazmierczak, co-founder of RedStone, a blockchain oracle solutions provider.
“The Netscape moment isn’t about onchain versus CeFi. It’s about the larger crypto ecosystem finally attracting capital that remains long-term,” he told Cointelegraph, emphasizing that the two ecosystems are “not in opposition.”
Netscape moment or dot-com bubble repeat?
Nonetheless, the crypto industry might still face the possibility of a market collapse analogous to the dot-com bubble, as a significant portion of revenue is derived from speculative memecoin trading within certain blockchain networks.
On Solana, memecoin trading comprised 62% of the network’s decentralized app revenue in June, contributing to most of its $1.6 billion in revenue for the first half of 2025.
To realize its full potential, developers must prioritize enhancing the industry’s practical utility, as the chief “real risk” to the sector is a “slowdown in technological progress,” according to Edwin Mata, lawyer, co-founder, and CEO of tokenization platform Brickken.
“What’s crucial is that onchain environments continue to create functionality, automation, and new market frameworks, as this is where fundamental value is generated,” he conveyed to Cointelegraph.
Magazine: Solana vs Ethereum ETFs, Facebook’s influence on Bitwise — Hunter Horsley
