Anyone following the ups and downs of the cryptocurrency industry during 2022 will recognise just how unpredictable the year was. While major developments were being made that made it into the record books, and certain currencies generated returns exceeding 1200% (AXS), the year also brought with it industry-wide crashes that saw billion-dollar companies sink and “crypto billionaires” go into hiding.
If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that the crypto industry will never perform as expected. However, it’s also possible to make some educated presumptions on what the major developments may be in 2023 based on past performance.
As with all digital tech industries, the cryptocurrency sector is subject to trends – some of which become era-defining and some that fall by the wayside in favor of more sustainable innovations. In this article, we’ll take a look at what’s likely to be in store for cryptocurrency in 2023.
Crypto Casinos will go from Strength to Strength
The remote casino sector is currently dominated by high-profile gaming brands like PokerStars Casino. As a market leader, it features a wealth of iGaming experiences on its platform, such as slots and table games, which consumers can access using traditional payment methods. Deposits and withdrawals using debit cards, wire transfers and, more recently, digital wallets are the standard in the industry.
There’s been a lot of noise about crypto and blockchain tech representing “the future” of the digital gaming industry, and so far, it’s been able to gain traction in the iGaming segment. Crypto has the potential to change the state of play during the next twelve months and beyond with the rise of blockchain and crypto casinos.
Furthermore, we won’t just see an increase in gaming platforms built on the blockchain, but a change in direction for established remote gaming operators in terms of accepting cryptocurrencies as payment options. An increasing number of gaming providers have even started to bypass crypto exchanges and now allow gamers to purchase decentralised currencies on their platforms. This streamlines the deposit and withdrawal process and goes a long way to democratising the process of accessing cryptocurrencies.
Ethereum to Gain a Dominant Position
Ever since the initial major crypto boom of winter 2017, Ethereum has typically played second fiddle to Bitcoin. While it’s true that in investment circles, Ehtereum has stood equal to or occasionally surpassed Bitcoin on occasions, in terms of mainstream awareness, Ethereum usually comes in second.
Interestingly, ETH has been quietly building its position as a leader in innovation and development. It’s been responsible for the creation of new market categories within DeFi and NFTs, as well as playing a key role in the rise of the metaverse. Now, with new Ethereum scaling solutions like Polygon coming to the forefront, the stage is set for ETC to gain dominance as the go-to DLT for consumer-facing brands and businesses.
Added to this is the news that another upgrade is just around the corner for ETH. Following the recent success of The Merge last autumn, the currency’s Shanghai network is next in line for a refresh. This will see approximately $20 billion worth of the staked cryptocurrency becoming available to users within hours of the upgrade.
A Defi Boom may be Around the Corner
One of the biggest impacts that the rise of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies has had on mainstream sectors is the introduction of decentralised finance (DeFi). Even crypto detractors have had to admit that decentralised currencies have major advantages over fiat currencies due to their secure nature. While the value of the likes of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Doge will fluctuate over time, the transparency and security of their underlying blockchains or distributed ledger technologies are never called into question.
Now, DeFi is genuinely being considered as an enterprise-level solution. More individuals, companies and organisations are moving away from traditional financial services and instead are exploring decentralised options. We’ll likely see DeFi have a noticeable impact on the areas of lending, gaming, insurance, stock trading, staking and more as the year progresses.