The report uses a retrospective view of 2021 to discern trends in the crypto, financial, tech, NFT and governance sectors.
2021 was a memorable year for the blockchain industry, bearing witness to the Coinbase listing, the approval of the first Bitcoin futures ETF, the recognition of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador, among others landmark events.
For 2022, one annual report Huobi Research Institute, in collaboration with the Blockchain Association Singapore, has made some observations involving the blockchain, finance, crypto, technology and governance sectors in 2021, and how trends will pan out in the future.
Here are some of the projections:
- From a financial perspective, bitcoin assets are being increasingly accepted and adopted by listed companies and central banks as a digital asset that can replace gold. Traditional financial institutions are also actively stepping into this market, and compliance has become an important trend in the virtual asset industry.
- In the past year, Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has maintained rapid development in both scale and type, and DeFi2.0 innovations have evolved to provide better liquidity solutions.
- Stablecoin’s market value increased rapidly and received attention from regulators around the world.
- Crypto compliance businesses continue to grow, and demand for such services will remain strong for the foreseeable future.
- NFTs showed explosive growth, but behind the bubble, illiquidity and volatile prices still pose problems.
- The popularity of meme coins has skyrocketed, with followers forming their own subculture and trends. But behind the sudden price jumps, the question of what greater utility these coins provide is still unanswered.
- In 2021, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO), GameFi and Metaverse became buzzwords. Driving these trends are innovations in organizational forms, improvements in operating models, and further exploration of the boundaries of virtual reality.
- The fierce competition between old and new public chains constantly challenges Bitcoin’s dominance.
- As cross-chain bridges became important infrastructure, blockchain security is also likely to face more challenges.
The report also analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of Layer2 technology led by Rollups and possible solutions in the future.
According to the authors of the yearly report, DAO will become mainstream, DeFi will enter the 2.0 era, and Central Bank Digital Currencies will gradually be introduced to the public.
