The Next Crypto Bull Run Won’t Be About Coins or Viral Hype

by

Crypto bull cycles over the past five years have been mostly about token speculation and, more recently, institutional adoption. But the next cycle? Well, apparently it’s going to be all about real-world applications, according to Clem Chambers – founder of ADVFN, Europe’s leading stocks and markets website. Yes, you heard that right.

Chambers was speaking at BeInCrypto’s Markets Intelligence Council, where he made the audacious claim that the industry is slowly but surely moving past its previous “let’s all get rich trading crypto” phase.

“That era has probably ended and certainly is coming to an end. And then that will be replaced by use cases,” he said, pointing to a structural change in how value is created in crypto. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

The Trade Is Crowded, The Utility Isn’t

Now, don’t get too excited. Chambers’ words come as the current cycle shows a glaring mismatch between price action and actual crypto activity. Bitcoin and Ethereum still attract institutional money, especially post-ETF. But here’s the kicker: while capital is stacking up at the top, mid-tier tokens are left in the dust, struggling to maintain any semblance of liquidity or relevance.

Meanwhile, there’s a whole new world out there. Tokenized real-world assets, stablecoin-based payment systems, and blockchain infrastructure connected to AI and data are slowly creeping up, like a tortoise lapping the crypto hares.

These sectors are generating actual usage, collecting fees, and – wait for it – making some real revenue. Yes, revenue. The kind most speculative tokens failed to deliver in past cycles. Imagine that.

Raoul Pal Declares Bitcoin’s Traditional 4-Year Cycle Over – Parabolic Surge Incoming!

In a bold shift from conventional crypto wisdom, Real Vision founder and macro strategist Raoul Pal has proclaimed the end of Bitcoin’s predictable 4-year halving-driven cycle.

– Austin Hilton (@austinahilton) November 27, 2025

Forget Tokens, Think Products

Chambers is pretty blunt about this shift.

“Forget Fi and look for apps, not Fi, apps, applications of tokens and blockchains,” he said. Apparently, this is the new gospel. Forget all those fancy financial instruments we used to care about. It’s all about the apps now. (Because who needs decentralized finance when you can have decentralized everything?)

Earlier cycles were all about financial primitives – DeFi protocols, yield farming, token trading, the usual suspects. But the emerging trend? It’s applications. Real, tangible applications that users interact with directly, often without giving a second thought to the underlying token. Shocking, right?

This is not just idle talk. 2026 is already showing signs that tokenized funds from companies like BlackRock and growing stablecoin usage in payments are embedding blockchain into traditional financial systems. Fancy that. Blockchain doing its job.

At the same time, sectors like decentralized physical networks and AI-driven protocols are suddenly in vogue, attracting developers and even venture funding. Yeah, it’s not all hype. Some of it is actually going somewhere.

AI AGENTS CAN NOW USE CRYPTO FULLY AUTONOMOUS

PAY, TRADE, BUILD APPS, ALL IN 1 PROMPT

– 0xMarioNawfal (@RoundtableSpace) February 27, 2026

Of course, this transition is a bit bumpy. Speculative trading still drives those wild price swings, and retail traders? Well, they’re still riding the momentum train. The difference? It’s getting harder to ignore that actual utility might just be the future of crypto.

Yet, the road ahead is not without its hurdles. Many projects still struggle with user retention and monetization. But here’s the thing: the writing’s on the wall. If previous cycles were all about tokens and buzzwords, the next phase might just hinge on whether blockchain-based applications can actually deliver real-world utility. Imagine that.

Chambers’ argument is part of a bigger shift: the market is finally starting to reward actual usage over all the hype. But whether that truly defines the next cycle will depend on how quickly these applications can scale beyond the crypto-native crowd. Stay tuned.

Read More

2026-04-02 02:35