It’s 2022, and Here’s What We Expect to See
How does one predict what will happen in a space that changes as quickly as the digital asset space? The market runs 24/7, influencers and developers are shaping and changing things at any given time of the day. The progression of change in this space cannot be ranked on a normal scale, but the trends at the moment are still incredibly important in evaluating the potential vision.
So what are some key topics we see floating in the space and trends that will likely be the key areas of focus for 2022?
1. Evolving NFTS
Let’s be real– for most, NFTs over the last year have been a largely speculative market. Not to say that they haven’t played a HUGE role in the market and taken the industry by a storm. But for many, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, and there’s been a raised eyebrow or two at the pieces sold and the prices they’ve garnered.
Source: Twitter
But we’ve only scratched the surface on the potential of NFTs and we can expect to see it taking a much stronger foothold in the market in future.
Just as digital assets have had to go through many years of development to find utility, the same can be said for NFTs. While some front leader brands have been jumping on the NFT bandwagon, we expect more and more examples of NFTs being offered with proper utility in everyday scenarios. Whether its NFT utility in gaming, or NFTs tied to additional (online or offline) perks and benefits, there’s still a lot of space for this side of the industry to develop.
2. Web 3.0
How many of our community members remember what Web 1.0 looked like? Before the Web 2.0 of user created content and social media, we had largely one-way push information portals (and 56k modems). The advancement between Web 1.0 to 2.0 didn’t happen overnight, and as we step into the new age, the roll-out will be subtle and gradual as well. In fact as we discuss this and start defining the parameters of what Web 3.0 will be, it becomes clear that we’re well on our way.
Discussions of Web 3.0 have been picking up steam: topics such as the data that ought to belong to the consumer and user; to artificial intelligence systems that will be integrating with all the smart homes and devices that have been adopted by consumers around the world. Others will look at Web 3.0 as how it integrates with other topics in this list with the mainstream day-to-day life integration: metaverse and virtual land, wallet addresses, websites and data stored on the blockchain. And in certain ways it will be ensuring that it becomes more user friendly for mass adoption (i.e simplified wallet addresses for transactions). The migration into Web 3.0 will definitely take more time, but the market is already well on its way with certain components.
3. Metaverse Virtual Land
While this topic can fit within the Web 3.0 discussion, we feel it needs to be extracted and focused on its own. Land purchased on these metaverse platforms such as Sandbox or Decentraland or on gaming focused Axie Infinity have hit millions with major companies anticipating their future flagship HQs in these spaces, or community members looking forward to owning property next to a celebrity.
As discussed in our previous Metaverse article, the implications of this are huge. From platform centric debates; centralized or decentralized, user experience, to regulatory considerations and jurisdiction, there’s no clear answer to any of the above variables. But huge sums are going into buying land and assets based on prospective value.
We can also expect to see changing job industries to take into account the Metaverse world; with developers focused on building architectural wonders within this space (calling from expertise from architects, gamers and developers alike), to Metaverse real estate agents (it’s only a matter of time before Netflix launches a reality TV show)!
The potential of this space is immense and we expect fierce debates to happen with the many resources going into expanding the Metaverse. Will it become a form of escape or will it tie so closely to reality that the two become intertwined. However, not only should questions about the development of the digital space be foremost in discussion, but consideration for the offline divide that it will create as the Metaverse may require equipment and strong internet capabilities not found in many places. How will those in the industry rise and address such challenges remain to be seen.
4. DeFi 2.0
Another conversation that we’ve touched on has focused on the evolving traits of DeFi. The DeFi conversation is no longer the new kid on the block, and with governments around the world looking to include it into regulatory conversations, the development may have lost some steam. Yet while the initial luster may have worn off, there remains a lot of work to be done to morph the solutions in the market today to something that will connect.
Refer to our previous post as we explore the definition of DeFi 2.0, the implications and what we can look to see in the future.
5. Widening Gap between Crypto Regulation
Regulation will be difficult to align across countries. Yet as 2021 has shown, the divide between the world’s regulators towards digital assets has become increasingly polarized. With some countries actively embracing digital payments, while others have taken strict measures to shut it down or proactively seek to impose laws that may result in limiting the growth of the industry. Furthermore, the short-to-medium term shift of individuals in the space moving to crypto friendly jurisdictions may also result in changing tech hotspots around the world.
As the recent conversations on Capital Hill with key crypto influencers demonstrated, regulation is expected by all parties, and before extreme measures are taken by either side, we can only hope that discussions will allow for compromise in spaces that can be regulated but not stifling to the development of this space.
We’re only beginning 2022, and in an industry that changes so dramatically in such a short period of time, we all know that this is still just scratching the surface. What trends do you see coming in the next year, and where else will we be looking for inspiration? Drop us a line, find us on our social media; we want to hear from you too!
But as always remember, as these changes and trends come and excite everyone in the industry, we urge our community to remain vigilant: DYOR! In a world where possibilities are abound, there’s just as many pitfalls and security risks, so stay safe and be smart, and pay attention to the details!
