Top events of 2022 and what to expect in 2023 in web3 — Peanut Trade overview

As we inch closer to 2023, it’s just the right time to look back and reflect on the entire year. It’s no secret that 2022 has been challenging for all global markets, including the web3 industry. The crashes of CeFi companies have reminded everyone about the essentials of blockchain technology, like non-custodial funds management, and proven the stability and capacity of DeFi protocols.

Let’s recall the most prominent events of the outgoing year!

Crypto market dynamics changed right after the incredible results in 2021, with the crypto market cap hitting $3B, bitcoin and ether reaching all-time highs, DeFi protocols growing unbelievably fast.

But that crypto excitement was swept away by tightened monetary policy and regulations, bankruptcy filings, and the downfalls of reputable exchanges.

Regulations

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rejected all applications for Bitcoin ETFs while Grayscale Investments were bold enough to initiate a lawsuit against the SEC over the rejection.
• The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has allowed banks to hold 2% of their reserves in cryptocurrencies, effective January 1st, 2025.
• Hong Kong to allow retail access to virtual asset ETFs and is considering legalizing retail virtual asset exchanges. This policy would enable retail investors to access digital futures ETFs to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Crypto adoption and expansion

• In 2021, El Salvador became the first country to make bitcoin legal tender, requiring all businesses to accept the cryptocurrency. In 2022, El Salvador launched an experiment in an attempt to popularize bitcoin and regularize its use.
• Institutional adoption is yet accelerating with global leaders such as Disney, Starbucks, Adidas and many others steadily entering the industry by launching their blockchain initiatives.
• Large banks and traditional financial institutions are not lagging behind as well:

- Fidelity launched a crypto service for investors.

- The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock partnered with Coinbase to provide their institutional clients with access to crypto.

- Goldman Sachs is now building a crypto data service.

- JPMorgan registers its trademark of a crypto wallet.

- Mastercard and BitOasis partnered to launch a series of crypto card programs.

- Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, announced that platforms and marketplaces on Stripe can now instantly pay in cryptocurrency.

- Binance.US agreed to buy the assets of the bankrupt crypto lender, Voyager, worth $1.02B. This bid is sending a signal showing the market that big players like Binance have a strong resilience on the current bear market.

- Alchemy reported that web3 developers are more active than ever despite the crypto winter. In 2022, web3 developers downloaded the Ethers.js library 948,981 times, a 212% increase since 2021, compared to web3.js which was downloaded 587,567 times, a 137% increase since 2021.

DeFi on the rise

This year’s shocking significant events such as the Terra Luna, Celsius, Three Arrows Capital and FTX collapses have served to highlight the strength of the DeFi market.

The DeFi market cap is currently $34B with a constantly increasing number of addresses participating in various protocols despite the bear market having set in.

Ethereum’s big events

• 2022 was the year when Ethereum finally introduced its long-awaited Merge, which moved it to a less energy-intense proof of stake mechanism.
• Zero-Knowledge EVMs mainnet is promised to be launched in 2023. ZK-EVMs will be compatible with Dapps and will scale the entire application rather than just operations with tokens. Applications would be able to sustain more throughput, users, etc.

What’s next in 2023?

We believe the next crypto market cycle will be shaped by the development of regulatory frameworks around the world, as well as wider adoption of crypto in traditional industries.

With numerous downfalls of CeFi companies we’re expecting to see a tendency of switching to DEXs. As of November 2022, DEXs already comprise 14% of spot trading volume, compared to 9% in October. They will gradually increase their share in terms of total crypto spot trading volume. Additionally, with the growing adoption of non-custodial wallets like the Crypto.com DeFi Wallet, users will be even more inclined to have full control of their funds.

Leading tech companies are also likely to dip their toes further into integrating crypto in 2023. Twitter already allows for bitcoin peer-to-peer tipping over the Lightning Network, but could go even further with introducing crypto payment functionality and assets. PayPal and MetaMask have just teamed up to make it easier to buy crypto. The integration of the crypto wallet will allow users to buy cryptocurrencies using their PayPal account.

While the outgoing year has definitely been a turbulent one, promising and exciting developments, launches, upgrades and partnerships await us in 2023. The near future appears to be one that is going to be truly fascinating, so let’s see what’s heading our way!

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