In January 2021, the Cointelegraph crew predicted the top cryptocurrency trends for the year. Here’s a look at how their predictions played out:
Bitcoin bubbles
The Cointelegraph crew predicted that Bitcoin would experience a series of bubbles in 2021. This proved to be accurate, as Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of nearly $69,000 in November 2021. However, Bitcoin also experienced several sharp sell-offs throughout the year.
Big Brother
The Cointelegraph crew also predicted that governments would become more interested in regulating cryptocurrency in 2021. This proved to be accurate, as several countries, including China and the United States, took steps to regulate cryptocurrency.
Decentralized finance (DeFi)
The Cointelegraph crew predicted that DeFi would continue to grow in popularity in 2021. This proved to be accurate, as the total value locked in DeFi protocols grew from over $20 billion in January 2021 to over $250 billion in December 2021.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
The Cointelegraph crew also predicted that NFTs would become more popular in 2021. This proved to be accurate, as the NFT market exploded in 2021, with over $25 billion in NFT sales taking place.
Ethereum
The Cointelegraph crew predicted that Ethereum would continue to be the leading smart contract platform in 2021. This proved to be accurate, as Ethereum remained the most popular smart contract platform throughout the year.
In addition to the trends predicted by the Cointelegraph crew, there were a number of other notable cryptocurrency trends in 2021. These included:
- The rise of meme coins, such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.
- The launch of several new Layer 2 scaling solutions for Ethereum.
- The growing adoption of cryptocurrency by institutional investors.
What to expect in 2022
It is difficult to predict the future of cryptocurrency, but some of the trends that emerged in 2021 are likely to continue into 2022. These include:
- The continued growth of DeFi and NFTs.
- The launch of more Layer 2 scaling solutions for Ethereum.
- The increasing adoption of cryptocurrency by institutional investors.
In addition to these trends, we may also see new trends emerge in 2022, such as the development of new cryptocurrency use cases and the increasing adoption of cryptocurrency by governments.
Here are some specific predictions for the top cryptocurrency trends in 2022:
- DeFi will continue to grow in popularity, as more people learn about the benefits of decentralized finance. We will see more DeFi protocols and applications launch, and we will see the total value locked in DeFi continue to grow.
- NFTs will also continue to grow in popularity, as more people learn about the different ways that NFTs can be used. We will see more NFT use cases emerge, such as the use of NFTs for ticketing, gaming, and real estate.
- Ethereum will continue to be the leading smart contract platform, but we will see more Layer 2 scaling solutions launch and gain adoption. This will help to improve the scalability and usability of Ethereum.
- Institutional investors will continue to adopt cryptocurrency at an increasing rate. This will help to bring more legitimacy to the cryptocurrency market and boost demand for cryptocurrency.
Overall, 2022 is likely to be another exciting year for cryptocurrency. We can expect to see the continued growth of existing trends and the emergence of new trends. It is an exciting time to be involved in the cryptocurrency space.
