6 Cryptocurrency Trends To Look Out For In 2022

2021 has been a great year for cryptocurrency and the technologies that it’s helping to create. With that in mind, we do not doubt that 2022 is going to be yet another exciting year.

6 Cryptocurrency Trends To Look Out For In 2022
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Here we have gathered six cryptocurrency trends that are going to grow from strength to strength over time. Predicting the future can be tough, especially with such a volatile market, but these seem to be undeniable trends that have already started.

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1. Continued Crypto Broker Success

First, let’s follow up on the most obvious consequence from over the past year or so. Many smaller-scale crypto projects that aren’t Bitcoin, Ethereum, or stablecoins have exploded in value recently. Some of them have great use cases, others don’t, but all of them introduced new people to crypto through the frenzy that they caused.

The crypto exchanges saw an increase in traders that were trying their hand at cryptocurrency trading. The same can also be said for stock brokerages who have added a crypto section to their apps.

Newfound popularity combined with it becoming easier to buy and sell crypto guarantees that the crypto brokers will continue being successful into 2022. As their potential consumer base grows, crypto exchanges will compete to offer the fastest, most convenient service with fewer transaction fees.

Even offline, initiatives that install Bitcoin ATMs in cities across the world will demonstrate how crypto can work to both individual and institutional doubters. While decentralized finance has a bright future ahead of it, we can expect the crypto exchanges to reap most of the benefits for now.

2. Institutional Crypto Integration

With that first point in mind, we might also start to see the integration of cryptocurrency into the pre-existing institutions of finance and government. While many crypto projects may pursue decentralized finance, governmental and financial powers will make attempts to adopt crypto to create centralized or semi-decentralized currencies.

So far, we have seen El Salvador become the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender. They won’t be the last but, what’s also a possibility, is that certain crypto projects are banned while governments make and offer their own cryptocurrency. Places like China, India, and Turkey have already banned cryptocurrency and may create their own in the future due to political/economic pressures.

As for the financial sector, many large brokerages and banks have already started allowing users to buy, trade, and hold cryptocurrency. Apps like Robinhood and eToro offer both stock and cryptocurrency to customers while banks like Morgan Stanley started offering Bitcoin funds to their wealth management clientele. Expect that trend to continue into 2022.

3. Regulations Are Coming

Lastly, to finish off these first three related trends, we’re also going to see more regulation.  As more institutions adopt crypto, they’ll have more incentive to protect their clients’ investments and the ability to advocate and lobby for further regulation. While there’s more money to be made than ever in cryptocurrency, there are also more opportunities to lose, and so we are already seeing attempts to regulate crypto markets.

Regulation has been difficult in the past due to cryptocurrency being traded seamlessly across the globe’s borders. Also, there is some resistance to regulation from those who believe in decentralized finance, who think that the agreements coded into smart contracts that are housed on a transparent blockchain are enough to keep markets honest.

As the crypto sphere grows, it’s becoming easier for institutions to come together and figure out how regulations should be placed. This means we could see more effective, or disruptive, regulations being placed on this emerging industry in 2022 and beyond.

Europe is already getting a head start with MiCA, or Markets in Crypto-Assets, which is creating a framework for defining and identifying crypto and similar digital assets that use blockchain technology. From there, they can apply regulation to those defined entities with less confusion.

4. Sustainable Interests In Crypto

Throughout 2021, there have been concerns that the processes involved with mining and trading cryptocurrencies can be harmful to the environment. While the issue is still being hotly debated, a generalized focus on sustainability means it’ll become a trend in 2022 and beyond.

As everything aims to go green, it makes sense that digital currencies will also look for ways to become more sustainable by using less electrical power and causing less carbon dioxide emissions to be released into the environment.

People like Elon Musk have already advocated for a greener cryptocurrency industry. As the space grows, there’s little doubt that we won’t see more proof-of-stake projects instead of proof-of-work to avoid the complications involved with mining crypto.

5. More Use Cases

Many crypto projects have thrived on being digital investment assets or even just the recipient of speculative hype, but crypto projects have many further-reaching applications. Many cryptocurrencies are part of a larger project, complete with developers and a mission. The most notable is probably Ethereum, where Ether is one of the most popular currencies but Ethereum itself is a blockchain that hosts a lot of information, including other cryptocurrencies. These are use cases and, as more crypto projects get mainstreamed, we are going to see more of them. They typically revolve around interesting uses of blockchain technology.

The best example from 2021 would be the mainstreaming of NFTs. A bustling digital art market may have propped up around NFTs as proof-of-concept investing took place, but the tech itself has many more interesting use cases that are going to be explored in 2022. If blockchains become mainstream, we can use NFTs to create trust in digital economies since they represent unique data. In general, the widespread adoption of blockchain tech will also make our data storage safer and more anonymized.

While there’s a lot of digital art right now, anything can be minted into an NFT and there will always be a spot on the blockchain saying you own a digital asset. NFTs might also revolutionize freelance industries too. NFTs can have royalties programmed into them so, if you made a song, minted it as an NFT, sold it to a fan, and then that fan sells it to somebody else, the smart contract will send you a percentage from that second sale.

6. The Metaverse Grows

Recently, many fresh eyes were brought to metaverse technology after Mark Zuckerberg changed his company name to Meta. This is part of their exploration of what has been called the metaverse, virtual reality simulations where users can engage in activities. Along with having fun, it also has social and financial functions that are heavily tied to crypto, like trading assets in-game or playing games to earn some crypto.

The metaverse has been around for a while. Perhaps the best example would be Decentraland, which has already been around for over a year. The terms of the Decentraland metaverse are controlled by a DAO that manages how the world’s assets and smart contracts are used. Players can then buy LAND in-game, which are NFTs where the digital real estate is tied to its ownership. Then you can build up those spaces and sell them on.

Moving into 2022, we’re going to see more exploration of existing and potential metaverse projects and the opportunities they offer. Naturally, there are other pressing questions to be answered about the mainstreaming of the metaverse, which could redefine interaction and social media for many young people going forward.