An interview series spotlighting global tech influencers, disruptors, visionaries, and of course, innovators.
Best wishes for a prosperous and healthy 2022!
As the pandemic continues and our hopes for normalcy move toward the pragmatic, let’s look ahead to 2022. ‘Tis the season for predictions... Each year I excitedly explore the fintech, tech, blockchain and crypto ecosystems to highlight what key leaders, founders and innovators expect to happen in their sectors during the upcoming year (2017 marketplace lending, 2018 crypto, 2018 blockchain, 2018 fintech, 2019, 2020 and 2021 predictions). This year’s EKMH Innovators’ predictions continue to cover a gamut of sectors, topics and trends, including blockchain, DeFi, TradFi, cryptocurrency, NFTs, medtech, social media, GameFi, metaverse and data. Many thanks to the inspiring trailblazers who share their insight and whose innovations and leadership will continue to guide us into a brighter future.
Calaxy, an open social marketplace for creators, by creators, is built and backed by a team of visionaries, including co-founders NBA player Spencer Dinwiddie and ex-financier Solo Ceesay. By putting today’s fan right at the center of the action, Calaxy aims to reimagine the way people use social media: empowering more meaningful and fulfilling fan experiences. The app gives creators “the ultimate toolkit” to interact with their fans in one place and rewards fans for their engagement. Harnessing Hedera Hashgraphs’ cutting-edge blockchain alternative, Calaxy’s open social marketplace seeks to create a fair exchange of value, enabling creators to monetize relationships with their community through Creator Tokens, which fans can utilize for a suite of personalized experiences. What will 2022 hold for blockchain and crypto?
Calaxy Co-Founder /COO Solo Ceesay: Through the introduction of more tangible applications, the audiences of blockchain and crypto enthusiasts will naturally expand. We will see more countries, particularly under-developed nations, adopt cryptocurrency as a primary means of value transfer. Additionally, I see a large future opportunity for buy-in from various global governing bodies should there be more protocols that address the pseudonymous nature of many of these technologies. Projects that have more identifiable characteristics, for example, having global technology giants such as IBM and Microsoft as backers and advocates, have the advantage to gain market share over those that choose to retain complete centralized disassociation and anonymity.
The most prolific highlight of 2021 was the rapid ascension to relevance that occurred in the non-fungible token (NFT) space. The next wave of excitement to come to the space will focus on utility-based NFTs, particularly play-to-earn NFTs. Previously, certain parts of the NFT market have been somewhat inaccessible, however, play-to-earn mechanics are removing the cost barrier for lower-income individuals to get involved and potentially generate revenue.
With the influx of capital and activity entering the space, I suspect that concerns around scalability will become even more relevant. Gas fees have at times become so high that they’ve overshadowed the value of the asset being transferred. The ETH community has the deepest pockets by far with regards to the dry powder looking to deploy itself into NFTs. Therefore, it will be interesting to see what supply other blockchains will receive as the space continues to battle rising gas fees.
While it is always challenging to foresee what exact fundamentals will lead to a market rally, the sheer amount of capital coming to the space will serve as upward pressure to prices across the market in many projects. With that said, there will be increased scrutiny over avaricious projects entering the space and coins listed on decentralized exchanges given the rise in fraudulent activity that we have observed in 2021.
Most surprising of all was the violent push into the Metaverse as the year rounded off to a close. It’s quite apparent to me that over at least the past two decades, the basis between which we value the physical and digital world has continued to shrink. Zuckerberg’s conviction on the Metaverse as a whole is extremely positive signaling for the blockchain industry at large, given that there are endless natural synergies between the two movements.
Curious about past predictions? Click here to read more about expert insights on 2017 marketplace lending, 2018 crypto, 2018 blockchain, 2018 fintech, 2019, 2020 and 2021 predictions.
*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this series are those of the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.
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