From being called ’Virtual market for the Gamblers’ to seeing a sovereign nation adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender, 2021 was a year for the ages for the cryptocurrency community.
Several mainstream businesses started using blockchain technology, the crypto market went on a bull run for the majority of the year, institutions and banks showered both interest and money into crypto. It seemed like the long-due checklist of the crypto market was ticked off at a stretch in 2021. Amongst all these developments, NFTs emerged to be the gamechanger.
The Recent Boom in The NFT Market; Numbers and Logic
Billions of dollars worth of NFTs being traded in 2021 might just be the beginning. Opensea, the leading NFT marketplace is handling over a mind boggling $14 billion worth of NFT trades. The NFT-game Axie Infinity growing at an astronomical rate is another instance of how NFTs grew from being a niche trend to a global spectacle.
Coca-cola, Microsoft, Nike, Twitter are some of the well-known brands that have adopted NFTs.
Two aspects that underline the boom in the NFT market include proof of absolute ownership and Corporate interest. Courtesy of NFTs, people rejoice in the ownership of digital assets, and brands joining the bandwagon have catalyzed its growth and attracted the masses.
In 2022, the NFT and crypto bandwagon is on their new and exciting journey – Metaverse. They are revolutionizing the way people interact. They are crafting a parallel world where people can build their digital identities backed by NFT-powered assets.
Corporates and Community: Torchbearers of Metaverse
Similar to the NFT boom, the metaverse is being fuelled by people’s interest in being a part of the ‘New Internet’ and the corporates trying to have skin in the game. Social media giant Facebook’s rebranding as ‘Meta’, Adidas collaborating with BAYC, Warner Bros. rebuilding ‘The Matrix’ are giant strides towards building metaverse.
More corporations are expected to join the fray as companies like Apple and Microsoft are considering metaverse in their roadmaps. With deep pockets, brands and companies like these are a massive boost to the development of metaverse and ergo, crypto and NFT markets too.
Currently, the nascent metaverse is largely filled with NFT platforms and play-to-earn (P2E) games used by individual users. P2E games with their innovative economic models have allowed players to earn while gaming. These incentives, coupled with NFT marketplaces, have contributed to a growing and inclusive P2E gaming community.
Platforms like CoinFantasy with their NFT cards and social trading setups are building a financial hub in the metaverse. Bringing DeFi (decentralized finance) to metaverse will assist users to lend, borrow, and earn without relying on banks or other platforms. This truly substantiates the creation of a parallel world where intermediaries are no longer required.
Apart from replacing intermediaries, there exists a lot of scope for new-age features and functionalities to be built. Recently, NFT lending and staking platforms have joined the market.
Similarly, features like Smart Credit, a Coinfantasy system of issuing credit scores to users based on their on-chain financial behavior, are prime examples of how traditional financial services can be replicated in a more efficient manner using blockchain-based applications.
Also, metaverse and NFTs prioritize user ownership of their assets. NFTs’ traceability and verifiable proof of ownership allow users to protect their work, digital assets, art, and more.
Future of Metaverse: 2022 Is The Year of Sustainable Growth
Currently, bearish sentiment is prevailing in the global crypto market. The ramification is being felt by both the NFT and DeFi markets. With regulations on the way, the crypto market stands to gain credibility and hopefully, a green 2022. And this is a great sign for the growth of the NFT market.
However, as the industries mature, the possibility for NFTs and DeFi protocols to slowly decouple themselves from the crypto market increases. This entails the bleeding of the crypto market to have less impact on the NFT market. This is essential for the growth of the DeFi and the NFT market.
More users are expected to join and play blockchain and NFT games and leverage the P2E feature. Gaming in the metaverse is also a blend that is being constantly explored. With brands crafting digital experiences for their customers in the metaverse, 2022 looks bullish for metaverse on multiple fronts.
