Predicting the future of crypto assets is no child’s play. For a technology that itself keeps evolving and sees dozens of micro trends every year, having an overarching prediction for the entire year might be a tall ask.

It’s not impossible to see a few things happening in the crypto space this year though. 2021 proved to be a significant one for the crypto sector overall with global crypto market capitalisation rising to a record $3 trillion (roughly INR 2,15,66,720 crore), the highest it has even been so far, in October 2021.

What should stakeholders expect in 2022? Here are five big crypto predictions that you need to watch out for.

1 – Investing In Alt Coins Will Grow

When 2021 started, Bitcoin owned more than 70% market share of all cryptocurrencies. But with more and more coins starting to show their true prowess, the share of Bitcoin is somewhere in the 40% range in January 2022. What changed? Well, alt coins (cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin) such as Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL) and even Ethereum (ETH) has seen more widespread acceptance and buying, thanks to the increasing number of projects being built on these alternative platforms.

From the booming NFT market to DeFi projects and the upcoming metaverse, Bitcoin is no longer the dominating currency of the cryptocurrency market. In fact, depending on the type of blockchain project that interests you, we suggest you buy cryptocurrency accordingly. For example, if you’re bullish about NFTs, then it makes a lot of sense to pick up Ether.

We also encourage you to open an account with a leading cryptocurrency exchange like WazirX that allows you to buy the most popular as well as alt cryptocurrencies and provides a robust and secure platform to manage all of your crypto assets.

2 - Rise of NFTs

NFTs are everywhere on the internet today. If 2021 was about education, 2022 is all about adoption – and with celebrities and cricketers like Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Kamal Hassan Sunny Leone and Rishabh Pant among others joining the bandwagon, NFTs are bound to reach Tier 2 and 3 cities this year. This means as a creator or as a collector, 2022 could well be a breakout year for you. Whether its collecting well-known NFTs such as Bored Apes or picking up exclusive memorabilia by filmstars or cricketers or even picking an unknown artist to promote, this is the best year to set yourself up as a NFT collector before it gets too mainstream.

3 – Some Regulation is Inevitable

The Indian government is already trying to figure out a way to bring cryptocurrency under the regulatory framework with the proposed Cryptocurrency Bill – just as many other countries around the world. From billionaire Mark Cuban to crypto exchange heads in India, everyone agrees that some form of regulation is indeed necessary when it comes to crypto assets. What form and shape this will take in India and around the world will be keenly watched all through 2022.

4 – Metaverse will gain Acceptance

In 2021, Facebook rebranded itself to Meta in a nod to the metaverse that is coming in the very near future. While most people are still confused or not convinced about the metaverse, this year will see a growing acceptance of the metaverse where anything and everything is possible. Imagine living the best life you can think of in a parallel universe, all paid for by cryptocurrency and lived with your near and dear ones by simply entering the metaverse. It’s closer than you think and it’s coming for you now, whether you’re ready or not.

5 – Web 3.0 will have More Applications

Web 3.0 refers to the next stage of web evolution that would make the Internet more intelligent through the power of AI systems. This also has implications for blockchain-based technology, metaverses and crypto assets that will align even more with Web 3.0 applications as it seeks to make our lives easier and give back control of data to individual users.

2022 will see the confluence of Web 3.0, whose main focus is decentralisation, and the crypto industry, that thrives on decentralised power to bring in even more seamless technology in our daily lives going forward.

As you would imagine, 2022 is a great year for crypto assets with many different technologies and crypto assets coming together along with some kind of regulation that should help to keep scammers away. Like past years, it’s a good idea to be bullish about being in the crypto space and keep ahead of the trends by reading articles like this one. Of course, if you haven’t already, don’t forget to start your cryptocurrency journey with WazirX, India’s one of the most trusted Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange, to get started on your own exciting crypto journey here.

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First Published:Feb 11, 2022 11:33 AM IST