As we approach the end of 2022, it’s safe to say that anyone who has been involved in crypto lately will not miss the departing year, but may be quietly optimistic that 2023 can, at least, not recreate the catastrophes of the twelve months just gone.
We can expect, perhaps, a bump in positive thinking as the new year rolls around, and predict that there are several developments and trends likely to emerge or continue throughout 2023.
Token-Gated Verticals
The rise of token-gated communities within new verticals should continue. The web has always been a hub in which niche communities evolve, and with the influence of crypto, richer more visibly demarcated ecosystems and communities can develop.
This is already happening around NFT communities, in which holding an asset is requisite to membership, and pseudo-staking mechanisms encourage loyalty. (True crypto staking is core to the functioning of proof-of-stake blockchains, while NFT staking is usually just a mechanism of locking in your NFT, and your membership of the community, in exchange for rewards).
Token-gated ecosystems can create their own currencies, deliver airdrops, arrange real-life meet-ups, events and creative collaborations, and, on the whole, build out their own unique online networks.
Add in virtual playgrounds and dedicated marketplaces, such as the Otherside metaverse being constructed by Yuga Labs, or Nike’s .Swoosh web3 platform, and the possibilities become more substantial.
One caveat here is that establishing walled gardens may appear contrary to the idea of accessibility for everyone (which crypto was supposed to facilitate), but the reality is that this kind of application is viable.
The Rebranding Continues
Over the past couple of years, we have already seen a rise in references to the concept of web3, which usefully cuts out explicit mention of crypto or altcoins, and this shift in terminology appears likely to continue.
Where, up until recently, we have talked about NFTs, newcomers to the space, particularly big-name traditional brands and migrants from web2, may start to refer instead to digital collectibles or something similar. The most conspicuous recent example of this is Reddit, whose NFTs are called Collectible Avatars.
Over time, we may simply be left talking about Bitcoin…
