The New Year is approaching and there is a lot for crypto traders to look forward to in 2023. The market has seen considerable expansion in terms of features and services. Additionally, intigration is on the rise in multiple markets. Here’s what to expect from the crypto market in 2023.
It’s Been a Wild Ride for 2022
No journey can start without a quick recap of this year’s greatest moments. This year saw crypto hit both highs and lows. There was a massive expansion in the NFT market that helped fuel new levels of adoption in both the art and gaming sectors. It also helped drive metaverse expansion.
The metaverse is a 3D virtual world that enables users to create and exchange everything from products to ideas. The metaverse operates 24 hours a day and is seen by many as a future tech with infinite potential. As such, there have been billions poured into these networks in 2022.
DeFi was another technology that saw a considerable expansion in 2022. These networks seek to eliminate centralized financial Systems and replace them with more open and transparent alternatives. There are now more DeFi options available than ever with more slated for integration in the coming months.
Not All Sunshine in 2022
This year saw some monumental failures and frauds in the market as well. The FTX implosion is going to go down as the biggest thing to occur this year in the market. The multi-billion dollar exchange went from being the fourth largest platform in the space to bankruptcy in months. Sadly, it dragged many of its users into the muck.
Now, Sam Bankman-fried and his team are facing criminal charges stemming from over $2 billion in missing funds. Additionally, the revelation that he had used a coding backdoor to funnel billions from the FTX exchange into his private hedge fund, Alameda’s research, has only fueled demand for justice from regulators and traders alike.
Stablecoin Problems and Whales Continue to Trouble Traders
Another major downturn for the market was the LUNA/UST crash. Algorithmic stablecoins leverage crypto reserves to remain stable. However, this strategy can result in issues if the reserve asset is also volatile as is often the case. This scenario played out again earlier in the year when UST lost its peg.
LUNA traders lost their cool and began flash-selling their holdings. This led to a major whale following suit and tanking the LUNA token. It only took 24 hours for the project to lose 94% of its value. These losses kicked off months-long losses for the entire market which culminated in the FTX fiasco further damaging consumer confidence in the sector.
On to the Good News in 2023
The coming year holds some interesting prospects for the crypto market. Thanks to the tireless efforts of innovative developers, there are more types of blockchain assets than ever. This diversity is helping to drive adoption across multiple industries at once. Here’s what you can expect to see from the crypto market in 2023.
More DeFi Adoption
Prepare for DeFi everything. DeFi developers continue to think of new and innovative ways to drive yield. What started as simple staking protocols has now evolved into yield aggregators, farming protocols, and p2p lending systems. All of these features function well when the yield is kept within sustainable amounts.
However, when development promises the world to traders, problems arise. The rule of thumb is to stick to DeFi protocols that offer 12% APYs or less. While this approach may seem counterintuitive, it’s a smart safety measure. The last thing you want is to get FOMO (fear of missing out) and go all in on a project that has no longevity.
More Ply to Earn
Another development that will most certainly occur is the introduction of more play to earn titles. Play to earn was a huge hit in 2022. The integration of blockchain assets made it simple for developers to provide gamers with in-game items that hold real world value. There is now a plethora of blockchain-based markets that enable players to trade in-game assets for other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or META 1 Coins.
Play to earn titles have become more immersive and the prizes are becoming larger. A lot of this growth can be credited to the introduction of more advanced gaming studios into the market. In 2023, triple AAA-level blockchain-based games will hit the market.
These titles will revolutionize the gaming sector and turn nearly all gamers into crypto aficionados. It will be hard for non p2e games to compete when other titles provide rewards for your time and effort. You may also see some of your favorite titles integrate crypto into their existing platforms to drive demand.
More Move to Earn
Analysts have noted an uptick in the move to earn segment of the market. Move to earn is like play to earn with the main difference being that move to earn is a fitness-based system. In a move to earn dapp, you receive rewards in the form of cryptocurrencies for your actions.
Protocols like STEP APP enable users to secure rewards for their steps. The app allows you to compete against friends, team up, or hit some solo laps. You earn KCAL tokens based on the number of steps you take. You can even join a marathon with friends and compete in the fitness verse.
The move to earn segment has seen more activity with the addition of new competitors in the last 2 months. These dapps are promising to keep you healthy and reward your efforts with tokens. This technology has the potential for serious adoption, especially when you consider other techs that could enhance its usability further such as AR.
AR Crypto Integration
Augmented Reality is another technology that is seeing growing integration across the market. This tech enables developers to place interactive overlays in the real world. Imagine going to the mall and looking at a pair of shoes.
All of a sudden a window pops up on your glasses notifying you of their price, any available discounts, and their technology. You could also scroll through reviews and other vital data to make your purchase more informed.
AR will become more prevalent in the workplace and communities this year. It will undoubtedly merge with more crypto protocols as part of its expansion. You may soon find yourself hunting for Bitcoins rather than Pokémon in the next AR hit. AR has seen this boost for many reasons. One of the main reasons is the expansion of metaverse technologies.
More Metaverse Crypto Integration
The metaverse is a term that loosely describes the current 3D virtual worlds in the market. These networks took a turn for the better when they integrated blockchain assets like NFTs. The most popular metaverse in operation today all leverage NFT tech for items such as property and avatars.
You will see the metaverse use case scenarios expand as the technology improves. There is a growing number of analysts that predict the metaverse will revolutionize education and manufacturing across the globe. It has already changed the way many people communicate. Some even predict that the office jobs of the future will all exist in the metaverse.
Cryptocurrencies provide the perfect way to transfer assets in the digital realm. Additionally, NFT tech has proven to be a priceless upgrade for these networks. It enables the user to ensure the scarcity of their digital assets and easily prove their authenticity using a blockchain explorer.
Blockchain Smartphones
The next big thing in Smartphones will be the integration of blockchain wallets. There are already a few phones that offer this service or that come preloaded with crypto wallets. However, it will become more common to see hardware cold wallets on these devices.
This development will help to improve usability and safety for crypto traders. It will also make it more common to see crypto transactions used daily. When combined with advanced crypto debit cards, blockchain Smartphones will prove to be a seamless upgrade for users globally.
A Strong Push for Non-Custodial Wallets and Exchanges
People are already seeing a strong push for more non-custodial options in the area. There’s no good reason that a firm needs to hold your crypto to enable you to access features and services. It’s much easier to keep our crypto in your possession until your transactions are complete.
The entire FTX fiasco could have been avoided had traders held on to their crypto and not trusted the exchange to be their custodian. The same goes for a variety of hacks that occurred over the last few years. Every time another hack or fraud occurs, crypto pros go back to social media to remind people, “not your keys, not your crypto“. This saying simply means that you need to have custody of your coins to be safe.
Safehaven Assets to Rise
You should prepare for a rise in safehaven assets. Following the success of projects like the META 1 Coin, there is now more demand for this style of stable asset. Safehaven assets are the evolution of stablecoins. They integrate reserve assets to decouple from the volatility of the market like their predecessors.
However, they also integrate advanced safety protocols to protect values and prevent centralization. META 1 Coin can be used as the perfect example of a safehaven token that has stood the test of time. The token was recently put under fire during the latest market correction.
While most crypto projects lost 60%, META 1 Coin managed to secure a steady 1.35% increase in value. This value growth can be credited to a variety of factors including the network’s decentralized nature, wealth generation features, and asset protection systems.
Protect Asset Value
META 1 Coin is the first to introduce an asset protection system. This mechanism monitors all META 1 Coin trades in real time. Its cross reference the trades against the token’s asset value at the time. The goal of the system is to prevent all trades below asset value. This strategy ensures the token never loses its peg-like UST.
Prevent Whales from Tanking the Market
The next major step that developers took to make META 1 Coin successful was to ban all whales from the ecosystem. Corporations and trading firms are unable to hold META 1 Coins. This maneuver was done to ensure the token remains a community-led ecosystem moving forward.
The project’s Founder, Robert P Dunlap, took extra steps to protect the community from the most common risks found in the market. Another vital change was the introduction of a $5M token limit. The token limit prevents a single trader from becoming a detriment to the market. Additionally, it ensures corporations can t lie and sneak into the market.
The Bad
Not everything is looking good for the crypto market in 2023. Many analysts are pointing to growing signs of recession. This scenario could lead to rising interest rates and less accessible funding for traders entering the market.
Volatility
You should expect more volatility from the core projects in the market. There is still more fallout expected from the FTX collapse. This fallout could result in other major ecosystems failing. These failures could cause more chaos for cryptocurrencies.
More Hacks
Not everyone is going to follow the advice given by experts and stick to non-custodial exchanges. There is always a fraction of traders who are too new to understand the difference between custodial and non-custodial options. As such, they will open their holdings to risk exposure unknowingly.
One troubling trend that could extend into 2023 is a targeting of traders’ data rather than crypto. Hackers are now looking for identities rather than crypto when attacking networks. From there, they can pull off more elaborate schemes like SIM hacks and identity thefts.
Regulatory Scrutiny
You should also expect to see more regulatory scrutiny toward crypto projects. The FTX fiasco has lit a fire under regulators and they want to burn some crypto sacrifices. Don’t expect FTX to be the only platform to catch heat for their digressions. You could even see some countries look to villainize digital assets to dismay users.
It’s a New Year with New Prospects
Don’t let 2022’s rough landing turn your attitude toward blockchain assets sour. These advanced networks are changing the way the world interacts, communicates, and grows. This year will see blockchain adoption hit new peaks as major industries are being upended by these systems currently. As such, you’re still in the right place at the right time to catch the wave.