Crypto took over headlines in 2021. From NFTs to the metaverse, there was no slow news day. Cryptocurrencies’ rapid growth presents an investment opportunity, not only for average individuals, but also for large corporations. Digital assets are on the rise as a result of technical advancements. More countries around the world are attempting to implement decentralized technology as payment options. You must know which cryptocurrency trends will be relevant in 2022 in order to achieve profitable investments in this market. Crypto Trends To Watch 1. NFT are not going anywhere: In the year 2021, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) were the hottest topic in the blockchain world. Artwork such as Beeple’s The First 5000 Days fetched astronomical prices, bringing the concept of unique digital tokens stored on blockchains firmly into the public mind. It’s also well established in the music industry, with bands like as Kings of Leon, Shawn Mendes, and Grimes all releasing NFTs The metaverse rocketed into public consciousness in Q4 2021 with Facebook, Microsoft, Baidu, Huawei buying into the hype. The metaverse is based on NFTs and ownership tokenization, which can link the physical and digital worlds. NFT Sales by category. Source: CryptoSlam NFT platforms such as OpenSea, games such as Axie Infinity, and artworks such as CryptoPunks now have their own team of traders, creators, and service providers. In 2021, the number of unique NFT wallets increased by over 1000 percent, a trend that is expected to continue into the new year. 2. Play-to-earn games are in great demand: Axie Infinity, Splinterlands, Decentralands and The Sandbox are examples of play-to-earn games that are steadily introducing crypto into the public and increasing access to DeFi and NFT. According to the findings from a Coinlist’s poll, the interface between DeFi and gaming will continue to gain momentum in 2022, and game-oriented platforms like as Flow and Immutable X will become more important. A new generation of gamers will be able to own in-game assets and exchange them on secondary marketplaces thanks to the blockchain. As a result, these ecosystems are projected to witness significant advancements in the coming year and to be widely appreciated. Play-to-earn users and transaction volume growth over the last few months. Source: DappRadar We may see gaming businesses enter the crypto industry via mergers and acquisitions next year. Ubisoft, a AAA gaming business, has officially revealed that in-game products would be tokenized as NFTs on the Tezos network. Related article | Metaverse versus GameFi: A New Blockchain War? 3. Smart Contract adoption expected to explode: From NFT ownership to smart-contracts, the Ethereum network is used for a wide range of applications. Due to the rapid proliferation and adoption of Ethereum-based projects, Ethereum network transactions grew dramatically in 2021. (like NFTs). We expect smart contract networks like Ethereum and Solana to continue to grow in transaction size and value in the future, as the network of players and use cases expand. Source: Messari, VanEck. 4. Bitcoin and altcoins to realize huge potential prices: Price forecasting is notoriously tough, especially when it comes to Bitcoin and other digital assets. In the current debate, targets in excess of $100,000 are rather frequent, but they are usually estimated to be at least several years away. Given recent price volatility, such a target may appear to be a stretch, but the trend toward wider use and integration supports this prediction. BTC/USD rallying close to $50k. Source: TradingView Given the strong macro tailwinds and growing inflation, it’s impossible to see a future where bitcoin falls out of favor while the rest of crypto rises. Despite the fact that bitcoin’s market share has dropped from 70% to 41% this year, Ethereum remains the sole true competitor. However, given the rising competition Ethereum faces from other L1s, it’s unlikely to see a flippening happening in 2022. El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021. It’s expected that has more countries adopt Bitcoin, the value will stabilize into a rally. 5. Crypto Regulation on steroids: If 2021 was the year of talking about cryptocurrency regulation, then 2022 is likely to be the year of action. Because, if nothing else, 2021 has demonstrated that cryptocurrency isn’t going away anytime soon, which has made a number of regulators sit up and take note. While some nations may maintain a restrictive stance on cryptocurrency, commentators believe that the overall trend will be toward greater acceptance of cryptocurrency, even if it means implementing some precautions. As regulators have a better understanding of the space, more crypto bans are less likely. National cryptocurrencies, in which central banks develop their own currency that they can control rather than adopting existing decentralized ones, will also expand in 2022. Stablecoins will be regulated in various parts of the world, with the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom in particular working on stablecoin regulation. The Regulation on Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) in the EU will follow the same path as the UK. Related article | Looking Ahead: What Should EU Regulations for Cryptocurrency Sector Look Like? Featured image from Pixabay, charts from DappRadar, Messari, and TradingView
