Among all the growth years of cryptocurrency, 2021 was the breakthrough. With about a thousand new cryptocurrencies every month for the entire year, developers also developed several new technologies revolving around crypto.
In addition to technological developments, 2021 was the NFTs marketplace’s beginning. NFTs or non-fungible-tokens gave rise to an entirely new form of investments and trade, something the world had never seen before.
The crypto world will keep evolving. Not only are the experts coming up with new technological upgrades, but they are also trying to work on making the process of mining more sustainable.
Although the volatile nature of crypto makes it almost impossible to predict much about the future, experts have still noticed some trends that the market is expected to follow in the upcoming months of 2022.
NFTs and the metaverse
Non-fungible tokens or NFTs represent the ownership of a unique asset. NFTs function on cryptographic principles, like cryptocurrencies. However, unlike cryptocurrencies, these tokens cannot be exchanged or traded.
The unique assets may be art, music, or access to museums and restaurants. In addition, NFTs have allowed artists to monetize their art. Recently, celebrities have been seen purchasing NFT characters.
NFTs are getting more popular over time, especially after the Metaverse. Metaverse includes both virtual and augmented reality. It combines the internet and recent technological trends like NFTs. Metaverse took the world by storm after Facebook, the leading social media platform, changed its name to Meta.
Where NFTs previously allowed property ownership in the real world, Metaverse will also allow it in the virtual world. For instance, NFTs will represent the ownership of purchased land in the Metaverse. This will initiate trade and lead to economic development.
NFTs are expected to have more applications in the Metaverse. Some of them include building virtual buildings on the land purchased through NFTs and attending virtual live concerts by owning an NFT-based ticket.
Global adoption of cryptocurrencies
The increasing popularity of cryptocurrency in 2021 compelled global brands and governments worldwide to give crypto a second thought. Consequently, many major brands like PayPal announced accepting bitcoin as payment.
Although many cryptocurrencies are blooming in the market now, bitcoin is prioritized due to its reputation. However, despite the excellent performance of bitcoin over the years, it is expected to be surpassed by Ethereum very soon.
The reason for the growing popularity and value of Ethereum is mainly because of its latest technological updates. However, despite all the new upgrades, bitcoin remains on top and is expected to become the first-ever cryptocurrency to step into the mainstream.
Recently, El Salvador legalized bitcoin, followed by the Central African Republic. It became the first in its continent to do so.
Experts expect that more countries will sooner or later announce the legality of cryptocurrency. The gradually increasing adoption rate of cryptocurrency worldwide will prove to be the steppingstone for crypto towards the mainstream.
The global adoption of cryptocurrencies has also paved the way for developers. Previously only a few software existed that enabled users to trade cryptocurrencies easily. However, with the growth of the crypto market, lots of new software are also being developed.
It lets the traders swap currencies with each other without any hassle. Moreover, it is a reliable software that keeps you updated with the trends and the latest news regarding cryptocurrencies.
Regulations
According to financial analysts, delayed regulations regarding cryptocurrencies constitute a significant obstacle in their growth journey. It is because delayed or no regulations posed as much of a threat to crypto investors as strict regulations in other countries do.
However, with time governments and lawmakers all over the globe have started to give crypto a second thought. Most states are currently working on the legality of crypto.
Experts suggest that having uniform regulations all over the globe will help the crypto market excel. For instance, currently, there are no such uniform regulations. While some countries have no taxes on crypto, others have posed high taxes. On the other hand, most countries still have not legalized crypto.
