2021-12-24 20:17:35
The Christmas holidays are around the corner meaning it is time to look back and balance all the craziness that took place in 2021. First thing first, hardly anyone can disagree with the fact that it was the year of NFTs — according to the DappRadar Industry Report, over the past 12 months non-fungible token trading volume surpassed $23 billion.
Decentralized finance also didn’t disappoint — the total value locked in DeFi protocols grew by more than 700% from 2020, surpassing $200 billion this year. It is worth mentioning that even though Ethereum remains the leading DeFi blockchain, new alternatives continue to emerge. Who knows, maybe one day it will become intertwined with traditional financial system. The good news is that a DeFi world in which counterparties interact directly via smart contracts would be more efficient and fair.
In terms of traditional cryptocurrencies, eight years after the first application for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund was filed by the Winklevoss brothers, the first Bitcoin ETF in the United States began trading at the New York Stock Exchange. The new product allows trading through regular investment accounts, bypassing the hassle and security concerns of cryptocurrency exchanges.
Finally, yet importantly, the digital industry has been disrupted by the Metaverse space. David Palmer, blockchain lead at Vodafone Business, mentioned that in his opinion the Metaverse is much more than a virtual world where digital experiences via games or social media networks can take place. Overall, we are pleased to see that an increasing number of companies are beginning to develop and leverage business models in the recently born space, meaning the technology could hamper fast adoption.
In summary, it looks like the crypto industry continues to gain momentum. Of course, none of that would be possible without loyal communities like ours! We wish you very happy holidays and most importantly even greater year ahead!
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