TMRW is a 3-day CRYPTO, NFT, and METAVERSE conference in Dubai that brings together 40.000+ in-person and online attendees and 80+ speakers to focus on the most interesting trends in blockchain and crypto. Jenny Zheng, BD Lead of Bybit NFT presented her keynote speech on Big incidents in 2022 and what we can learn from them.
2022 has been a year of many events in the cryptocurrency market. The bear market was long and painful as the market kept going down from 69k to 15k. There was no berry rally, which made many peers leave the industry. The collapse of FTX and the fall of big firms caused many traders to withdraw their assets from crypto. It was a challenging year, but things are getting better now.
From the beginning of last year, there was a huge NFT boom. NFTs have been around since 2017 with Crypto Kitty, but they didn’t boom until 2021. In 2022, it reached its peak. Jenny remembers joining Bybit in January of last year, and whenever they launched an NFT, it sold out within five seconds. There were complaints from people who waited for a long time but couldn’t purchase an NFT. Most successful collections were art and PFPs like Crypto Punk, Ape, Azuki, and the Ukraine Dao.
We have never seen a country or nation do an NFT and raise funds for war or protect itself from war before. It was a significant step in the NFT industry, and more attention is pouring into it. Though the price is going down, more and more projects are no longer just PFPs and images; they have utility attached to them. The ecosystem is getting bigger as builders build, so we can still have faith in it.
Another thing that caught Jenny’s attention was the move to earn play-to-earn games like Five Summoners. This trend began with Axie Infinity, where people in developing countries could earn money playing games. It significantly improved how we can think about creating jobs and opportunities for people who can’t work traditional jobs. People can now earn a living by playing games, a massive achievement for the cryptocurrency market.
The world of cryptocurrency is highly volatile. The recent collapse of major platforms like BlockFi, AC3, and Arrows Capital has further reinforced the importance of investing in decentralized platforms like Curve. Investors have lost their life savings in these centralized platforms, leading many to trust technology over humans.
FTX’s closure was the most significant news of the year, and it surprised many. It has also prompted other centralized exchanges to release their proof of reserve to users, and many are switching to decentralized platforms like UniSwap and DyDx. Before FTX’s collapse, 95% of traders used centralized platforms. However, the trend is changing, and traders are now gravitating towards decentralized platforms, the mantra being "Not your key, not your token."
The cryptocurrency industry is rife with hacks, the biggest being the BNB Bridge hack that broke records. Hackers are becoming increasingly high profile, often leaving a message after the hack, reminding companies to be more careful next time. Protecting oneself from these hacks is difficult; newbies may not be well-equipped to navigate the decentralized world. In such cases, starting with centralized platforms and gradually moving towards decentralized ones may be a better approach.
Crypto regulations are getting more stringent, with governments trying to regulate the industry. The US government is leading the way in embanking crypto-related businesses, most likely due to FTX’s closure. The rise of decentralized platforms, hacks, and regulations are all pushing the cryptocurrency industry toward decentralization.
In conclusion, 2022 has been an eventful year for the cryptocurrency market, and though it was tough, things are getting better now. There is still a lot to build.
