Crypto Trends for 2024: Consumer Crypto Trends
Decentralized social media platforms (DeSoc) are gaining momentum, driven by the need to eliminate social media censorship. Lens and Farcaster are leading the charge, but there are other platforms available as well. It’s important to diversify your interactions beyond a single platform and have a backup option. One key aspect of DeSoc platforms is that creators are rewarded for their work, as seen with Drip Haus. Friend.tech was a major platform in 2023, generating $50 million in fees and paving the way for more refined DeSoc platforms.
The NFT space faced some challenges in 2023, with OpenSea experiencing a decline. However, NFT projects with utility and innovation are thriving. Solana has even outperformed Ethereum at times, offering compressed NFTs (cNFTs) that reduce storage costs and make minting more affordable. The next big thing in NFTs seems to be Ordinals, not only on Bitcoin but also on other chains.
BRC20 and Ordinals
Ordinals emerged as a surprising NFT sector, allowing users to turn satoshis into NFTs using the Taproot upgrade. This led to unexpected growth and price surges in Ordinals, sparking debates among Bitcoin enthusiasts about whether Bitcoin should solely be used for transactions or if it can also be used for inscribing satoshis.
Blockchain Gaming
Blockchain gaming is highly anticipated in 2024, with several long-awaited games set to launch. Illuvium, Star Atlas, and Shrapnel could revolutionize the gaming space. Vulcan Forged’s PYR token is also gaining attention. The gaming industry generated around $184 billion in revenue last year, making it an attractive market for blockchain gaming. The challenge lies in attracting more gamers to join and achieve a high number of daily active users. Polygon and Immutable are currently leading the market.
Peer-to-Peer Infrastructure
Crypto Wallets
The crypto wallet space is fragmented, with different wallets designed for specific chains. Mass adoption requires a universal wallet that works across all chains and simplifies asset management for users. Onboarding wallets is another hurdle to overcome, but Lukso’s Universal Profile offers a potential solution by leveraging Web2 methods for Web3 functionality. Account abstraction is also gaining attention, allowing users to have control over their funds while smart contracts manage them.
DePin Storage
DePin has two legs: Physical Resource Networks (PRNs) and Digital Resource Networks (DRNs). PRNs cover location-dependent resources like energy and connectivity, while DRNs focus on cloud-oriented resources such as storage and bandwidth. Decentralized storage options only represent a small fraction of the $80 billion cold storage market, even though they can be significantly cheaper than centralized providers like Amazon. Key players in decentralized storage include Arweave, Filecoin, Storj, and SIA.
Conclusion
This concludes our series on Crypto Trends for 2024. We covered consumer crypto trends and peer-to-peer infrastructure. Stay informed about the latest developments in the crypto space to make informed investment decisions. Remember that cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments, so always do your due diligence before investing.
Hot Take: The Wallet War Will Transform Crypto
The wallet war is an often overlooked but crucial aspect of the crypto industry. It has the potential to level up crypto from a speculative asset to a safer and more accessible mainstream consumer technology by 2024. As different wallets compete to offer the best features and user experience, consumers will benefit from enhanced security and ease of use. This ongoing arms race in the wallet space is a key trend to watch in the coming years as it shapes the future of crypto adoption.
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