AI × DeFi and the Future of Work & Investing

Sun, Sep 14, 2025

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AI is reshaping jobs and accelerating retail access to markets. DeFi and tokenized assets provide the rails; AI agents provide accessibility.

Jobs Displaced by 2030

92M

World Economic Forum

New Jobs Created

170M

World Economic Forum

DeFi TVL (2025)

$163B

DefiLlama

Stablecoins (2025)

$289B

DefiLlama

Tokenized RWAs (2025)

$29.4B

RWA.xyz

Job Displacement vs. Creation by 2030

Net positive outlook (~78M) as new AI-aligned roles outpace displaced ones. WEF 2025.

2025 U.S. Layoffs Citing AI

Reported layoffs explicitly linked to AI adoption in 2025 YTD exceed 10,000. CBS News 2025.

Roles at Risk (Example: Credit Analysts)

BLS projects -3.9% change (2023–2033) for credit analysts amid automation. BLS 2025.

Emerging Job Categories (Signals)

  • • AI/ML Specialists, Big-Data Analysts, Fintech Engineers, AI Governance.
  • • Firms investing in AI tend to increase headcount overall (technical + junior roles).

WEF 2025 · Columbia Business School 2025

Early Account Openings (US cohorts)

Share of 25-year-olds who had opened an investment account by 22: 6% (2015) → 37% (2024). JPMorgan 2024.

New Retail Investors (Europe)

+11M new investors since 2022, mostly 25–44 age range. Eurofi 2025.

Retail Private Capital Growth to 2030

US: $80B → $2.4T; EU: €924B → €3.3T (projection). Deloitte 2025.

Neo-Brokers Penetration

~20%+ of US adults have accounts - roughly double EU share. ESMA 2024.

DeFi TVL & Stablecoins (2025)

TVL ≈ $163B; Stablecoins ≈ $289B. DefiLlama.

Tokenized RWAs (2025 snapshot)

RWAs ≈ $29.4B (390k holders); Treasuries ≈ $7.5B (53k holders). RWA.xyz.

DeFi Exploits (2025 YTD)

>$2B lost to exploits this year - risk mitigation remains the differentiator. Immunefi 2025.

Institutional Adoption (Signals)

  • • Fidelity, BlackRock, BNY Mellon issuing tokenized funds on Ethereum.
  • • Focus on RWAs, cash management, and funds distribution rails.

Industry Reports 2025

Forecast: DeFi TVL to 2030

Base: $350–500B; Bull: $700B+; Bear: <$250B. DefiLlama · Deloitte · Immunefi.

Forecast: RWAs to 2030

Base: $150–250B; Bull: $300–400B; Bear: $60–100B. RWA.xyz · Deloitte.

Retail Investors Using AI Agents (>$100 AUM)

Base: 8–15M; Bull: 25–40M; Bear: <5M by 2030. JPMorgan · Eurofi · ESMA.

Implications

  • 1) Investor as a default role as employment mixes shift.
  • 2) AI democratizes sophisticated allocation & hedging.
  • 3) Risk & explainability beat raw yield in DeFi.
  • 4) Regulation is the bottleneck for scale.
  • 5) Community & transparency build trust.

Bottom Line

By 2030, tens of millions may rely on AI agents, RWAs could surpass $200B, and “investor” becomes a common job archetype. Builders who deliver transparent, secure, accessible systems will sit at the core of wealth creation.