December 2022 Community Update - Year in Summary
So we know we say this at the end of every year, but what a year it’s been!
Of course we wish that we were saying that in a ‘good’ way but it’s probably safe to say that it’s been a tough year for the entire industry (even if you weren’t one of the headliners). But with the cool down in the market, the initial hype surrounding many of the topics that we highlight below have also cooled down, but perhaps to its advantage.
During the bull market, the hype and FOMO swirled around many of these trends, and most of us in the industry got caught up in the whirlwind. But with the downturn in the market, and through the natural course of development, after mass testing we reach the ‘bug and troubleshooting’ portion of the development cycle.
What happened to some of these key trends during the course of the year?
NFT
The cool down towards NFTs was swift with prices and volume taking quite the spill over the last few months. But it’s also a good demonstration of how time spent on development and identifying issues surrounding new technology comes to light only after real-life testing.
Source: https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker?days=365
The bear market inevitably affected the perception of NFTs and has made us look deeper into how NFTs will be used, how to share content but also determining security, utility, ownership, copyright and proceeds. We explored some of the issues regarding the IP discussion in a blog post earlier this year, and it is promising to know that as the initial hype around NFTs cools down, many in the industry are still working to strengthen how NFTs will be able to support artists and creative content.
GameFi
Games like Axie Infinity and other play-to-earn platforms generated a fantastic story especially during the Covid period, with success stories particularly in areas of Southeast Asia like the Philippines.
But it is clearly another trend that has been steadily declining, at least on paper. Yet its decline may have less to do with the overall bear market, but rather the result of their own making. And once again it may not be a bad thing for the industry either– despite a declining number of active projects, many of the first generation GameFi projects were of poor play quality. When considering the range of games in the market today that have done well, GameFi hasn’t yet managed to hit either end of the spectrum: from those that are highly strategic and interactive, with well designed graphics to simpler mass market games.
Source: https://www.footprint.network/@Footprint/GameFi
Metaverse
Nearly “Oxford’s Word of the Year”, Metaverse was another trend this year that has quieted down significantly after the hype and promise it showed only a year ago. From lagging user experience, to questionable gameplay, the forefront leaders of Metaverses have been facing media scrutiny.
That being said, the number of companies that have invested in securing space in these virtual lands may be a potential driving force in the longer run for these platforms. Development within the space surely continues behind the scenes, and we get glimpses of it on occasion. Perhaps with the longer turnaround time of development for larger companies, we can expect a pick up in user experience propelling the future of these platforms soon, but as with many other ‘metaverse’ experiences that we’ve seen so far, the social interconnectivity experience is one area that requires a lot more resources to improve.
Source: HSBC Winterverse
2022 was filled with notable moments throughout the year, we’ve done a quick summary below of some of the key moments that we’ll look back on as shaping the future of digital assets. What else would you add to this timeline?
Regulatory Updates
We did quite a big roundup in November, but we’re watching what happens in this space with the recent happenings from FTX.
While we’re expecting regulators around the world to expedite their plans for stricter regulations, we hope that many will stop to truly consider how the regulations can help make the industry safer without stifling the development progress. We believe that Hong Kong has set the right tone in their announcement during HK Fintech Week to relax certain measures allowing access for retail investors rather than limiting it to only institutional investors.
OAX Update
On the OAX front, unfortunately we’ve had to pivot a few times internally as well based on changing market conditions. Luckily, some of the initial changes we’ve made to our business plan erring on the side of caution has also proven to be wise in retrospect.
We understand the frustrations of being part of such a volatile industry and over the course of the year have held two staking campaigns to reward our community members both on Binance as well as on OpenSwap (for those of you that have BEP-20 tokens). Furthermore, as part of the Christmas end-of-year festivities, we wanted to reward our community with a little giveaway! Thanks to all our many participants, and congratulations to our winners!
But to close off the year, we’re happy to announce that we do have a little project in the pipeline and we’re looking forward to launching an app for our community in the coming weeks. Based on what we’ve seen in the industry over the last few months, and based on our own struggles with managing the flow of information during such a dynamic period, we wanted to create something that would be useful for those sticking around in the field. Still very much a work in progress, but you won’t have to wait for long before we share it with you!
Before we sign off for the year, please remember that we want you to stay SAFU! Don’t fall victim to the many scams that may be going around during the holiday season – let’s all stay jolly and happy!
We’ll see you in the new year! Thanks to our community for staying with us during 2022, and we look forward to bigger and better things to come!
