6 Influential Digital Currency Trends That Emerged in 2021

Our colleagues at CoinGeek.com observed six of the biggest trends in cryptocurrency over the past year with CoinGeek founder Calvin Ayre predicting that the rise of the app ecosystem on the BSV Blockchain will be one of the big stories in 2022.

For anyone that's even been casually following the space, the top talk of 2021 was undoubtably centered around NFTs.

Patrick Thompson writes:

2021 was a monumental year for digital art NFTs; the market for NFTs grew exponentially. Some blockchain-based NFT sales even made it onto the list of the highest prices ever paid—at auction or private sale—for an artwork by an artist living at the time of sale.

So why did NFTs experience so much success? Unlike many of the concepts in the blockchain and digital currency space, NFTs had a reference point that any consumer or investor could collect data from to better understand the world of NFTs, that reference point was the market for fine art.

NFTs and fine art have many similarities, a few of the most notable ones are scarcity, the clout that comes from owning a rare piece, the well-developed communities that support the art, and the network effect that the members of these communities often have which bolsters more interest in the art. Additionally, the price of some NFTs creates a barrier to entry which can give projects prestige (like owning a very expensive car), which makes the expensive art at hand even more desirable.

Then there was the metaverse.  More broadly it is virtual reality or VR, but encompasses much more. 

This digital world is enabled by technological advancements like AR, VR, and blockchain to create an immersive experience for the end-user.

Then there is Web 3.0, or the next version of the Internet.

Many believe that blockchain networks are one of the key tools that will bring Web 3 to fruition, and many companies are trying to take advantage of what they believe will be an emerging market (Web 3). 

Web 3.0 is best described as Internet technology that leverages machine learning, artificial intelligence and blockchain to achieve real-world human communication. Individuals will own their data and even be compensated for their time spent on the web.

As for the other influential forces in cryptocurrencies over the past year, Thompson adds Supplying consumer demand, the death of DeFi coins and tokens and the rise of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) to the list.

DAOs are an extension of the legitimate DeFi apps and services that have been created like decentralized lending and borrowing; but rather than decentralizing financial services, DAO’s decentralize decision-making—or at least they used to.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com