Blockchain Is Still The Biggest Opportunity in Our Generation
Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology offer a catalyst for new innovations and progress. While it’s true that the $2T loses in market value hurt, crypto is not going anywhere, and not participating in this new revolution will leave you behind at some point.
Disclaimer: this is a personal opinion blog by Nacho Llanillo, Co-Founder of Juggernaut. Opinions are his and they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Juggernaut. They are based on 5 years of crypto experience and strong passion for the blockchain space.
Bear Market and The End of Crypto as We Know It?
Since the peak in 2021, the crypto market has lost around $2T in market value, from $2,977T in November to a current market cap of $935B (July 15).
Bitcoin lost almost 70% of its value, and altcoins felt down quickly, which made everyone panic and sell even more.
The current market sentiment is “Extreme Fear”, according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which analyzes things such as volume, tendencies, or social media.
Sounds scary? Well, it’s not the first time it has happened, and most likely it will not be the last. Volatility is part of the game, and usually the huge declines in price happen when people are over-leveraged, or simply the price does not match the perceived value, and since cryptocurrencies are digital assets, it’s difficult to put a price to them.
I don’t know, and I don’t think anyone knows if we are at the bottom, if there will be a recession, or what will happen in the short term.
What I know is that this crypto crashes are not necessarily bad for the crypto industry, as they usually wipe out a lot of scams and bad actors, and only the “true believers” are left to continue building a decentralized future.
The Re-Building Process
I have gone through a lot of ups and downs of crypto, since I started in 2017, and I know from experience that crashes are sometimes a breath of fresh air.
Sure, it stings, and it was more fun when everything was going up crazy, but that’s not sustainable in the sense that there are very few things that can grow indefinitely, and probably the crypto prices were a bit over the roof.
We know now that the reckoning has come, and not everyone was prepared for it, but it’s time to learn from the experience, and start re-building and developing while we figure out where we should go next.
Patience is the name of the game, and I like to practice what I call “active patience”, which is not waiting and hoping that something will come, but rather actively preparing yourself for future opportunities.
We will continue building and re-building Juggernaut, because this space, while crazy fast and unpredictable, is also a lot of fun!
Talent is Here and Building The Future
Blockchain is exciting and it offers a lot of opportunities. That’s why there are a lot of engineers that want to work on crypto, to create something new.
And not only engineers. There are a lot of people making the jump to crypto from more “traditional” industries such as finance, HR, or manufacturing.
Also, VCs are betting big on crypto talent and digital asset companies:
The intellectual capital is here, and I believe this is the most important metric for the future of blockchain, because ideas, new innovations, and new implementations are what move any technology forward.
Think about it; I think it only takes one genius idea to make something that people use everyday. If the most skilled people are working in the crypto space, the next great idea will most likely be on-chain.
The Future of Crypto
How long it will take to get back to almost $3T marketcap, I don’t know. I don’t have a crystal ball.
But, I know for certain that cryptocurrencies are an impressive catalyst for new ideas and innovations, and that’s something very exciting.
We have seen numerous phases, from the Bitcoin beginning where very few people believed in it, to the “Bitcoin will cure cancer” phase, where blockchain was thought as the one-fits-all solution to everything, to the craze of the ICOs, IEOs, to the uncertainty where we are now.
There are a lot of influential people comparing this phase to what happened with the Internet on its early days:
I tend to agree, while I think there are certain differences.
For me, the most obvious one is that the idea of the Internet was easier to understand in layman terms, while blockchain is a more complicated term to explain.
The actual technology behind the Internet is rather complicated as well, but very few people actually understand it, and still use it everyday. I think blockchain and cryptocurrencies will get there eventually.
Educating is important, but the more time I spend in the crypto space, the more I realize that the only things that matter for the sustainability of blockchain are, first the virality of products, and the second and most important thing is building useful stuff that works well.
I think a lot of people dismiss NFTs, or DAOs, or IEOs, because they have been associated with really bad actors that instead of building something cool, are trying to empty people’s pockets.
In my opinion, it doesn’t matter if people believe in these technologies or not. A time will come when on-chain technology will produce some exciting, useful and viral products that everyone will forget all the bad things that have happened in the past surrounding cryptocurrencies.
A lot of people will then regret not being more active into the blockchain space.
Participate or Get Left Behind
When you read this phrase, the first thing that comes to mind is investing in crypto. I think that’s because crypto has been associated with its financial side.
Let me share a similar phrase that someone could have said in the early 2000s: “participate on the Internet or get left behind”.
That doesn’t sound as crazy, right? We know now that the majority of people in the world have access to the Internet (around 63% in recent estimates). We use it everyday, from social media, buying things online, doing business, to banking.
I think a similar thing is going to happen with crypto: it will be used for banking, payments, decentralized governance, voting (maybe?), business…
If you participate early, you will have an advantage over those that underestimate the potential impact of blockchain.
I’m not only talking about buying crypto. I’m talking about understanding the blockchain technology base (proof of work, proof of stake, hashes, merkle roots, ledgers, miners…), working in the industry, or simply starting using blockchain products just to get a general idea.
Same as the Internet’s early days. You didn’t need to understand how it worked, or get a job on the industry, but if you knew how to participate, you would’ve have an advantage over those that thought it was nothing important: for business, for work, for personal use, for discussing things online…
Of course one part of participating is investing in crypto. You can’t guarantee anything, and the space is very volatile, but if you take a chance, and buy in, you will be covered in case the sector explodes.
For example, it is likely that crypto will become regulated at some point. Policy makers are already trying to legislate and bring clarity into the space.
In case that happens, who would do best, the ones that are already invested in crypto, or the ones that FOMO in trying to catch the wave?
I believe that blockchain is still the biggest technology breakthrough in our generation.
The Future of Juggernaut
Since starting JGN in 2020, the project has grown significantly, and we have been able to accomplish amazing things, such as:
- IEO on Gate.io (oversubscribed by 2,349.93%)
- Create one of the first NFT games on the market, JuggerDRAW.
- Launch a leading BSC NFT Exchange, JuggerWORLD.
- Being invested by SoftBank (UK), Goldman Sachs (CA), and Binance.
- First JGN x PancakeSwap Syrup Pool.
- Becoming official creator partner or Binance NFT Marketplace.
- Launch Diamond JGN, a staking and DAO exclusive membership.
- DeFi for Good charity initiative, with Steve Aoki, and Michael Carter-Williams.
First Year Summary (2020–2021): https://juggernautdefi.medium.com/jgn-1st-year-anniversary-recap-aug-2020-aug-2021-99f724e80bc9
Most recent recap: https://juggernautdefi.medium.com/juggernaut-jgn-feb-mar-apr-recap-and-updated-roadmap-5470ec842d57
The future of JGN looks very bright. We will continue to innovate and iterate, and that’s what this space is about.
Crypto is fast moving & early stage, and a lot of things are happening at the same time. We are very excited about what’s coming.
At Juggernaut, we will continue to innovate, grow along the future of blockchain, and see where it goes, with the help of our incredible community.
About Nacho Llanillo
Nacho found crypto and blockchain technology when he was finishing his Bachelor at the University of Málaga, in Spain.
He has since helped built and launch different crypto initiatives and projects, as well as co-founded Juggernaut.
Nacho thinks blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are the future of both the financial and non-financial aspects of our lives.
About Juggernaut
Juggernaut (JGN) is unstoppable DeFi. JGN is a friendly and cohesive ecosystem, where all the components are user-first and easy to access.
Invested by Binance (BNB Chain Fund), SoftBank (UK), Goldman Sachs (CA), LD Capital, or AVAX Asian Fund (AVATAR) among others, JGN wants to expand its reach across the whole decentralized space.
With DAO, NFT, Games, and Charity components, leading global partners, and a powerful community, JGN continues to revolutionize the DeFi space with powerful innovations.
