For all the havoc that the Pandemic wrought, it forced people to stay home and developers, gamers and enthusiastic amateurs have created unprecedented progress and using their digital alchemy, have created breathtaking profits from DeFi, new sources of income from gaming and magical new worlds in the metaverse , where people can earn 6 figures for avatar fashion! Not to mention the current NFT frenzy. You can now buy Bitcoin in Walmart, opening it up to 220m weekly customers.
So in 2021, we have seen crypto market cap continue to rise, ETF listings, Coinbase went public, El Salvador declared Bitcoin legal tender, the DeFi market grew by 40 times, and stablecoins, one of the major pillars of DeFi, almost quadrupled in the first half of 2021 to $112 billion. Ethereum continues to suffer from network congestion and rising gas fees, as Polygon, Binance Smart Chain, Polkadot, Cosmos, Solana, Polygon and Avalanche nip at its heels.
In the social impact space, we have seen the new phenomenon of “play to earn games” providing new income streams for people in developing countries, a proliferation of “green” blockchain projects and growing adoption in emerging markets, with Chainalysis Adoption Index reporting Vietnam ranks first for crypto adoption worldwide, one of 19 emerging markets in the top 20, with the US as the only advanced economy ranking at number 8.
So what do I think we will see in 2022?
- NFTs – NFTs will continue to soar in popularity in art, music, gaming, and influencer fanbases, we will also start to see other ways that NFTs can be used for social impact, including charity and rewarding communities.
- Institutional Adoption- The growth in adoption will continue, and institutional investors will fuel the continued popularity of Stablecoins which are seen as less risky. We will also continue to see rapid growth and innovation in emerging economies.
- Going Green – Following COP26 Glasgow, there will be a plethora of green blockchains and tokenising carbon offsets and gamification to address climate issues.
- All Things Gaming – The adoption of DeFi and NFTs in GameFi has only just begun and we will see incredible innovation in this space with community owned economies and on-ramps to the Metaverse.
- Metaverse – all this staying at home and living virtually has given a huge kick start to the Metaverse, and we will see tremendous innovation as people begin to realize how the Metaverse can be used in so many ways to improve collaboration, education, economic opportunities and social engagement.
We will, of course, see more regulation, as regulators see the power of the industry and its impact on traditional markets and money.
For me, the most powerful thing is that spirit of decentralization, of democratizing access, rewarding artists, tackling global challenges, creating new economies – is shining through. We have seen in the Philippines #cryptoPH, and #Afghanistan #CryptoforAfghanistan, the crypto communities move fast to help in catastrophes. Some of the promising impact projects I have seen this year, include #EmerTech, #Eatosystem, #GovBlocks, #SongHero, #Genopets, #Studyum #Hiveonline and the countless others I have neglected to mention continue to inspire me.
Everyone can win in a carefully constructed decentralized community. Keep building in the spirit of decentralization!
Wishing you and your families a happy, healthy, prosperous 2022!