Is Blockchain Still Relevant, or Just a Bubble?

There was a time when simply whispering the word blockchain in a pitch deck would unlock millions in venture capital. Between 2016 and 2021, it seemed like everything from real estate to music rights to loyalty points had to be on the blockchain. But then came the downturn. Crypto winters froze over dreams, and scandals like the FTX collapse exposed how many of these "revolutionary" ideas were just rebranded Ponzi schemes hiding behind buzzwords.

Now, in 2025, people are asking: Is blockchain dead? Or did it just finally shed its hype skin and start maturing?

I’ll get straight to the point. I’m not a crypto shill or a cynic. I’m just someone who has witnessed that technology is ready to change the world. 

Spoiler: blockchain’s best days aren’t behind it. They’re ahead of it. But only if we stop obsessing over tokens and start focusing on infrastructure.

Blockchain Was Never About Crypto. It Was About Trust Without Permission.

Let’s get one thing straight: blockchain isn’t Bitcoin. It’s not Ethereum. It’s not some cartoon JPEG of an ape selling for six figures. Those are applications, and flawed ones at that. The underlying idea of blockchain is this:

How can we remove the need for centralized trust in systems that affect billions of people?

That question is still unanswered. And that’s exactly why blockchain isn’t going anywhere.

The Big Misunderstanding

Critics are fond of saying that "no one uses blockchain," but they mean that no one uses it the way they thought it would be used.

They believed blockchain would revolutionize banks by now. Replace social media. Upend everything.

That is not how actual revolutions occur. The Internet did not substitute physical stores in 1998. It took decades. And blockchain? It is still building its game.

Crypto Crashed

I’ve always believed: if something only survives because of hype, it probably shouldn’t survive at all.

The collapse of the hyperinflated crypto exchanges was bound to happen. So many projects were being launched without even a valid demand or foundation. They were trying to solve problems that did not exist and oversimplifying problems. Tokens were made just to raise quick cash. What did it lead to? A mess, scams, confusion, and people losing trust.

But now that all the hype is gone, we’re starting to see what matters.

• Layer 2 solutions like Arbitrum and Optimism are finally fixing the problems Ethereum couldn’t, like making it faster and cheaper to use.
• DAOs, groups that run projects together without a central boss, are being redesigned to make decision-making more open and fair.
• Governments and regulators are stepping in, which is helping separate the real, useful projects from the scams.

It’s kind of like what happened after the dot-com crash in 2000. Most internet startups failed, but the ones that survived became giants, like Amazon, Google, and Facebook. The same thing is happening with blockchain. This is a reset. And honestly, I’d rather have clear direction than empty buzz.

Is Blockchain Winning Quietly?

If you don't look carefully, you may miss where blockchain is quietly building real-world momentum. Let's examine just a few examples:

1. Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)

You notice what's ironic? The same governments that once mocked crypto are now creating their blockchain-backed currencies.

China's digital yuan already has implementations in several cities.

The European Central Bank is launching a digital euro.

Even the U.S. Federal Reserve is pilot-testing digital dollar programs.

It's not speculation. Its implementation. They're not doing it because blockchain is hip; they're doing it because the current financial plumbing is prehistoric. CBDCs are programmable, traceable, and transparent. And blockchain makes them possible.

2. Supply Chain Transparency

Blockchain is designed for provenance, in a world where consumers want ethical sourcing, which becomes more important than ever.

IBM's Food Trust is tracking food from farm to fork using blockchain.

De Beers traces diamonds with blockchain so that they know they're conflict-free.

Pharma firms are tracing drugs to avoid counterfeiting.

This isn't some science fiction fantasy. It's already deployed. And once companies see the savings and trust it brings, adoption won't be a question.

3. Secure Digital Voting

Still believe blockchain has no practical application? Ask the Estonian government, whose citizens cast secure online votes, with blockchain identity authentication.

Envision a future where voter fraud is numerically impossible. Where each vote is authenticated and cannot be altered. That future isn't merely probable. It's inevitable because the existing system is vulnerable and easily manipulated. Blockchain can rectify that.

The Energy Argument: Outdated and Overblown

One of the loudest criticisms against blockchain is its environmental impact. To be fair, Proof of Work (PoW) systems like Bitcoin are energy-intensive. But let’s not confuse how something works with what it’s capable of.

Today, we have Proof of Stake (PoS), Delegated Proof of Stake, Zero-Knowledge Proofs, and a host of next-gen consensus mechanisms that slash energy consumption by over 99%.

Ethereum’s shift to PoS cut its energy use by an estimated 99.95%. That’s not a small improvement, it’s a paradigm shift. So if you’re still using the “Bitcoin kills the planet” argument, you’re stuck in 2018.

The tech has moved on. Maybe it’s time the narrative did too.

Regulation is Killing Blockchain

Let’s talk about regulation. Most people think rules will kill blockchain. I disagree, rules will save it.

Why? Because regulation equals clarity. Entrepreneurs and investors can’t build when the rules are vague. But once guardrails are in place, innovation flourishes. Just like the internet needed data privacy laws and ecommerce standards, blockchain needs legal frameworks to thrive.

We’re already seeing this happen:

• The EU’s MiCA regulation is bringing a legal structure to digital assets.
• U.S. agencies are defining which tokens are securities vs. commodities.
• Countries like Singapore and Switzerland are becoming safe havens for blockchain startups by offering clear compliance pathways.

This is how technologies mature. Not by avoiding regulation, but by working with it.

So, Is Blockchain a Bubble? Yes. And No.

Look, let’s be honest: There was a bubble. Prices soared beyond logic. Hype overtook substance. And yes, people got burned.

But the same was true of railroads, the internet, electric cars, you name it.

Bubbles don’t mean the underlying tech is useless. They just mean humans are bad at predicting timelines. If anything, bubbles are a sign of potential, they only happen when people believe something big might be coming.

So yes, blockchain went through a bubble. But what’s emerging now is not inflated dreams. It’s real, painful, slow progress.

Final Thoughts 

If you told someone in 1995 that someday we'd have small computers in our pockets, order sushi using apps, or video call relatives around the globe, they'd likely laugh at you.

But here we are.

Blockchain isn't dead. It's just getting started. The noise is over, and now the real work has started. That's how every great technology develops: first, it's just sparks, then it takes flight, and finally, it transforms the way the world works.

So no, blockchain itself wasn't the bubble. The hype around it was. What's being built now? That's the real future, one block, one chain at a time.

And if you’re still asking, “Does blockchain even matter?”, maybe that’s not the right question.

The more accurate version is: Will you be prepared when blockchain drives everything you do?