- 2021 has been the year that cryptocurrencies have exploded, with many setting new all-time highs, but what will define the industry for the rest of the year?
- For some experts, it’s an explosion in new crypto products, for others it’s regulatory crackdowns and yet for others, it’s NFT adoption.
A lot has happened in the world of cryptocurrencies this year. Bitcoin has hit $64,000, NFTs have become a global phenomenon, DeFi has exploded, China has ousted miners, a country has legalized Bitcoin, Dogecoin eclipsed General Motors, and a whole lot more. But what will define the rest of 2021 for crypto? Experts had their say, and it ranged from regulations to NFT adoption and price volatility.
Regulations have become a big factor in crypto as more watchdogs seek to reign in the industry as its value shoots up. China has been the most drastic, but others like the U.K, Germany, the U.S, Japan, India and South Korea have also taken a keen interest.
According to Colin Pape, the founder of decentralized search engine Presearch, there will be no winning for crypto. Speaking to Business Insider, he stated:
Regulation will hurt crypto. We’re already seeing how things like crackdowns over bitcoin mining in China and scrutiny over global exchanges like Binance have caused panic in the markets. Governments should be in favor of innovation, but right now we’re seeing a lot of governments step in and try to regulate a sector that they don’t even fully understand.
He may be right that governments will be more involved in crypto. However, crackdowns on rogue companies like Binance (allegedly), could end up benefitting the industry in the long term.
Price volatility, NFTs and new crypto products
The crypto market has become less volatile in the past few months, with Bitcoin range-bound below $35,000. However, Pape believes that it’s only a matter of time before the volatility creeps in again.
There are many factors at play, including regulation and the upcoming ethereum upgrade that could drive price fluctuations.
For other experts, the rest of the year could bring with it a lot of new crypto products. Already this year, we have seen the launch of Ethereum ETFs in Canada and South America. Institutional-grade products like those offered by Grayscale have also expanded to bring on cryptos like Cardano.
Matthew Gould believes that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that more are going to join the bandwagon. Gould, who is the founder of blockchain domains firm Unstoppable Domains commented:
Investing and banking apps will continue to roll out features that support crypto and make it easier for people to diversify their portfolios. This will provide a gateway for people to start participating in the crypto ecosystem.
Gould also sees an explosion in digital property, specifically via NFTs.
“There’s no doubt that the pandemic accelerated digital trends – from the shift to remote work, to NFT adoption and volatile crypto prices. More specifically, digital property has dramatically increased in popularity. People want to take ownership via NFT use cases like trading cards, domain names and digital currencies,” he added.
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