It’s been a tough year for the world of cryptocurrencies. A prolonged crypto winter and a series of high profile scandals have rocked the industry and damaged its reputation. However, alongside the depressing headlines and variable rogue players, there’s been a steady increase in the number of brilliant Web3 projects that have focused on the advantages of blockchain technology, and talented builders from around the world have leveraged its power to build purpose-driven applications that spread joy to humanity and solve real-world problems.
Some of these stories managed to capture the media spotlight – and we expect many more to rise above the noise and chaos of the crypto industry to shine a light on what is possible from Web3.
As the CEO of NEAR Foundation, Marieke Flament is a French-born computer engineer who has worked for companies such as Boston Consulting Group and Expedia’s Hotels.com. She was also Managing Director of Europe and Global CMO for Circle, one of the world’s largest crypto companies. She believes that “despite the difficulties we face in today’s economic climate, we are bullish about the future of Web3.” Consequently, she shares with TFN her top predictions for the future of crypto in 2023:
Greater focus on the user
The start of the 2020s has seen a fixation on tokenomics – token price and TVL (total value of funds locked in smart contracts) have been king. However, investors are beginning to see that the projects which will be successful in the long-term focus on the users, not hunting price milestones. Speculative trading is winding down and projects must now rely on user-driven growth to hit milestones. A key element of succeeding with this approach is choosing a blockchain and ecosystem which enable high user growth – this normally means a blockchain with a high transaction capacity at a low cost.
Rise in real life use cases
Competition in all areas of Web3 is increasing, with the efficiency and governance advantages becoming obvious to both institutional and consumer investors. The most successful projects are providing users with utility in real life, either making a process more efficient or creating a whole new genre. A great example of this is Sweat, a blockchain-based health tracking app. It rewards users with sweatcoins, which can in turn be converted into Sweat Token, a tradeable token on NEAR. With over 120 million users and multiple NHS trials, Sweat shows that providing a real world use case is the best driver for adoption.
A project looking to capitalise on the governance gains brought by blockchains is the Helium network. Taking an innovative approach to token allocation, miners are rewarded for the performance of their antennas. This means that coverage reaches areas which are not profitable for traditional cellular providers, whilst also democratising the cellular industry. Helium provides real life utility to its users in expanding the cellular network, which should spell strong growth for 2023. Another governance-focused project making waves in the blockchain industry is the truly impressive SailGP DAO programme. Currently, fans can own exclusive digital collectibles featuring teams and unique destinations, but the plans for 2023 and beyond go much further. SailGP will integrate real-time data streams with the NEAR blockchain so spectators can take full control of their viewing experience. There are also plans to launch a community owned and DAO-governed SailGP team – a first in the sports industry. An opportunity to own a slice of a sailing team is a monumental step for blockchain, and shows how blockchains can add real life value in any industry.
Reinventing social on the blockchain
The potential applications of blockchain when integrated with or used to build social networks are not always immediately obvious. Blockchains allow users to realise decentralisation of networks and a degree of ownership of the apps which they engage with. A desire for a higher degree of transparency and decentralisation of social media platforms has emerged following a high degree of coverage of the digital economy – and the high fees and subsequent astronomical profits taken by the platforms. A particularly popular offering, Mastodon, provides decentralisation in spades. A twitter-like microblogging platform, each Mastodon server is run by separate, independent companies. If that wasn’t enough, the code base is open-source and the company has committed to never sell user’s data! Mastodon are filling a gaping hole in the social media industry – providing a real life use case to millions.
Crypto may also bring consumers a whole host of new categories in 2023. Falling under the social media banner, gaming is setting alight the blockchain industry. Since its inception, the gaming industry has been a one way street; developers release games and in-game items and once we make a purchase, the game/item is locked to one account. In the blockchain gaming industry, the community has true ownership of these assets – with the ability to trade the in-game items. The best example so far of this model is the extremely successful Axie Infinity. Averaging over half a million live players at any one time, the pioneer shows that adding real life utility to a stagnant concept leads to serious growth – a trend set to continue in 2023.
Greater focus on the user
The start of the 2020s has seen a fixation on tokenomics – token price and TVL (total value of funds locked in smart contracts) have been king. However, investors are beginning to see that the projects which will be successful in the long-term focus on the users, not hunting price milestones. Speculative trading is winding down and projects must now rely on user-driven growth to hit milestones. A key element of succeeding with this approach is choosing a blockchain and ecosystem which enable high user growth – this normally means a blockchain with a high transaction capacity at a low cost.
Bullish for 2023
The crypto industry has been changing since its creation 10 years ago. 2023 will be no different, with the industry shifting from a focus on tokenomics to real life use cases. Focusing on genuine utility whilst developing projects and ensuring that the subsequent rapid increase in usage is adequately supported by the blockchain is the key for success in the new year.