2021 has been all about crypto adoption and the nascent tech going mainstream. Until 2020 most of the VC funds and Wall Street giants kept a safe distance from the crypto market as they considered it too volatile to invest in. However, when their predictions about an inevitable bubble burst didn’t come true, they eventually joined in the trend to make the most of it.
Some of the biggest commercial banks like JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and several others who once blocked crypto payments on their platform and called it a Ponzi scheme have to take a total turn to offer crypto-based products to their clients. The likes of Microstrategy became the pioneers of Fortune 500 companies investing in BTC as an inflation hedge over the US Dollar.
While 2021 was all about adoption, 2022 could be all about regulations as governments around the globe are currently mulling and examining various aspects of the crypto market and how it can be regulated. Some nations have regulated them under existing tax laws while many others are planning to bring in a new set of rules altogether. Circle CEO, Jeremy Allaire belive stablecoin regulations might set in but it won’t impact the growing adoption of stablecoins.
“In 2022 stablecoin adoption will continue its upward trajectory. We believe that dollars on the internet will soon be as efficient and widely available as text messages and email.”
Crypto CEOs predict brain drain
2021 saw VC firms pour in billions while numerous crypto startups gained Unicorn status within a couple of years of launch. With rising institutional interest in crypto, the amount of money that VC firms have invested in 2021 is more than all other years combined. However, with regulations looming over many crypto platforms are cautious in their approach.
In a recent interview with CNBC, some of the biggest crypto CEOs put forward their thought on what they think lies ahead of the crypto market. The likes of FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried belive it won’t be an immediate surprise action of the sort but year regulations are definitely ahead. The FTX CEO also drew focus towards the growing discussion around stablecoin regulations and said:
“There will be substantial fleshing out of the crypto regulatory systems over the next few years. There’s enormous worry about stablecoins right now. But it’s pretty straightforward to address. You have attestations, or you have an audit from a regulator.”