The cryptocurrency world’s predictions for 2022

By now, 2022 is just around the corner, and the predictions for the cryptocurrency sector are multiplying. What will be the next trend, what will be the next coin destined to explode? 

The year 2021: the year of the metaverse

2021 has been a very important year for the cryptocurrency world, both for the records reached in the quotations of many cryptocurrencies, starting with the two queens Bitcoin and Ethereum, and for the explosion of DeFi, NFTs, and the consequent gaming focused on play-to-earn. 

The second part of the year then saw the technological revolution of the metaverse appear on the scene.

According to Henry Arslanian, head of PwC Global Crypto, 2022 is likely to be the year when the metaverse becomes mainstream. Cases like Decentraland and Sandbox, which grew by leaps and bounds in 2021, are set to multiply in the coming year, according to Arslanian.

“Twenty years ago, every business had to suddenly come up with their e-commerce or online strategy. Now, every Fortune 500 company will need to think about its metaverse strategy. Expect consulting firms (like ours) to be all over this.”

Crypto predictions 2022: Ethereum ready to explode?

According to a large number of analysts, 2022 will probably be the year of Ethereum’s definitive consecration, also because, in the second half of the year, the new version – ETH 2.0 – is expected to be launched. – which should guarantee a lower transaction cost, moving to the Proof-of-Stake model.

Yenwen Feng, the co-founder of decentralized derivatives trading platform Perpetual Protocol, said: 

“We believe that once Ethereum moves to [Proof-of-Stake – PoS], the drop in transaction fees on [Layer 1] will solidify Ethereum’s position as the benchmark for using DeFi applications.” 

On the other hand, fierce competition from other blockchains such as Solana, Avalanche, and Cardano, which are more scalable and cheaper, now represents a viable alternative for developers to the more expensive Ethereum.

DeFi and NFT increasingly popular in 2022

The year 2021 saw the exponential growth of decentralized finance, with TVL (total value locked) growing by 560% since the beginning of the year. 

According to many experts, the growth is expected to continue in 2022, considering both the growth of stablecoins that are the basis of DeFi and NFTs.

All this, according to some experts, will also be favored by a more precise regulation of the sector, which will favor operators, making DeFi more and more popular among investors. 

“A growth in regulatory-compliant DeFi services will also lead to a big boom in institutional credit flows in the digital economy.” 

This stated Sidney Powell, co-founder of Maple Finance.

Matthew Gould, CEO of Unstoppable Domains, a leading NFT domain name platform, on the other hand, highlighted the extraordinary performance of stablecoins in 2021:

“Stablecoins had a breakout year in 2021, reaching a market cap of over $152 billion. I predict that by 2024, the total market cap of stablecoins will reach $1 trillion.”

The new model of play-to-earn gaming

The convergence of NFT, DeFi, and metaverse is fast taking us towards Web 3.0. 

And the most natural catalyst for this new ecosystem may be the gaming industry, which is better known by the term GameFi.

Cases such as Axie Infinity, GameFi’s most popular game with more than 2 million active users, are expected to multiply. 

But the choice should reward other blockchains than Ethereum’s, such as Solana’s, which also, for this reason, is considered by many analysts to be one of the cryptocurrencies with the highest growth rates even for 2022. 

It’s no coincidence that in December, Solana Ventures announced $150 million of investment in GameFi-related projects.