The spotlight on cryptocurrency has been gaining ground recently with industry leaders and traditional financial services institutions expressing interest. The latest research from Huobi Research Institute, a blockchain application research team, found that bitcoin assets are being increasingly accepted and adopted by listed companies and central banks as digital assets that can replace gold.
The “Global Blockchain Industry Overview and Trends 2021-2022 Annual Report” analyzes the development of the crypto industry over the past year from four different aspects: finance, market, technology, and policy. The report also examines 10 important events that occurred in the blockchain industry in 2021 and uses them as a basis to forecast trends for 2022.
According to the report, traditional financial institutions are also actively stepping into this market, and compliance has become an important trend in the virtual asset industry. In the past year, DeFi, an avant-garde field of blockchain innovations, has maintained rapid development in both scale and type, and DeFi2.0 innovations have evolved to provide better liquidity solutions. Stablecoin market value increased rapidly and received attention from regulators around the world. Crypto compliance businesses continue to grow, and demand for such services will remain strong for the foreseeable future.
VMware announces availability of enterprise blockchain platform
IBM leads in industrial blockchain-as-a-service assessment by IT market advisory firm
Several hot topics also emerged throughout the year. NFTs showed explosive growth, but behind the bubble, illiquidity and volatile prices still pose problems. The popularity of meme coins has skyrocketed, forming their own subculture and trends. But behind the sudden price jumps, what greater utility do they provide to the world? DAOs, GameFi, and Metaverse also became buzzwords in 2021. What’s driving them are innovations in organizational forms, improvements in operating models, and further exploration of the boundaries of virtual reality.
The report found that astronomical prices commanded by NFT made it even more popular in the market. According to NFTGO, as of Dec. 26, 2021, the total value of NFT in its collection was 168 times higher than that at the beginning of the year — to a value of
$10.3 billion. Daily NFT transactions stood at $50 million compared with $500,000 at the beginning of the year, up by some 100 times, according to the report.
Technology drives innovation. Huobi Research Institute also analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of Layer2 technology led by Rollups and possible solutions in the future. The fierce competition between old and new public chains constantly challenges bitcoin’s dominance. As cross-chain bridges became important infrastructure, blockchain security is also likely to face more challenges.