The non-fungible token (NFT) and cryptocurrency markets have become the hot topic of the town because of their rapid growth during the pandemic. In 2021, sales of NFTs reached $25 billion USD and exploded in the second half of the year. The cryptocurrency market itself reached nearly $3 trillion USD in market cap in mid-November 2021 and continues to become a more diverse and growing market.
The boom of the NFT & crypto market has contributed to the “Great Resignation” in many ways. With the introduction of Web3, an iteration of the World Wide Web based on blockchain, reactions from the market have been generally positive. (I know, I know, Elon Musk was mocking it, but Web3 has already begun!) Talents in big tech firms like Google, Apple, and Facebook are leaving in waves to seek opportunities in the NFT & decentralized finance (DeFi) markets. Although the number of scams and hacks has vastly increased along with the popularity of these markets, these scammers only account for a relatively small portion of the investors. However, people should work closely with different decentralized communities to find out standardized procedures that most people have agreed on and proceed to retrieve the lost funds and return them to investors.
Most of the DeFi/crypto markets are currently not regulated by any government organization, and 9 countries, including China, have already fully banned trading crypto. Most of these countries are run by authoritarian governments and banned cryptocurrency because of its decentralized nature. However, this still may create skepticism towards cryptocurrencies. Yet, the continued trend in the market in 2022 until now has given investors in the space a strong vote of confidence and even forced big companies to improve their salaries to retain talent from leaving to pursue Web3 development. Last but not least, I believe that 2022 will be the year that the DeFi market truly shines. People have started to realize the true potential of the DeFi market, thus creating a craze in investing coins with various utilities. However, I hope the trend of meme coin dies in 2022, since it lacks social or cultural value that benefits the market or society. Ultimately, 2022 should be an interesting year to watch as we continue into this new era of decentralization.
Note: Those interested in speaking more with Brian about this subject can reach out to him at klee206@asu.edu.