Seven Experts Debated the Future of Blockchain

Holochain CEO Mary Camacho, Zelwyn Ecosystem CEO Nikolai Shkilev, Bits.Media creative director Alexandra Demidova, Chair DigiByte co-founder Hans Koning, #CitizenCosmos’s Sergei Simanovskiy, Crypto Corner host O.J. Jordan, and BDC Consulting CBDO Paul Moukhine recently participated in a guru roundtable on the Cryptovo YouTube channel. Even though there were numerous differences of opinion among the experts, the discussion provided many important insights into the metaverse, Web 3.0, GameFi, and the future of Bitcoin in 2022. 

Metaverse Will Not Skyrocket in 2022

Although the round table participants had a broad range of views on what the metaverse represents and what it may mean in the near term, it remains one of the most significant technical advances. Basketball legend O.J. Jordan thinks virtual reality requires a experience of virtual reality & Blockchain technology to take off. He predicted that by 2024, the metaverse market may be worth $800 billion, a tenfold rise from its present value of $70 billion. 

On the other hand, the metaverse will take more time, according to Mary Camacho. Other technologies, such as Blockchain, make up the metaverse, which will be fascinating to watch as NFTs transit across virtual places. Additionally, the ebb and flow of legislation will have an effect. Since more organizations are realizing that it is advantageous to enter this market, 2022 will be a year of “little steps” coupled with “aha!” moments. 

As a result, Hans Koning thinks that many folks, keeping assets like virtual land rather than directly participating in the metaverse is the great option to participate in the trend. In addition to Decentraland and OpenSea, which he supports as an advisor, he sees great potential in MetaBrands. 

GameFi’s Audience Will Likely Split into Two 

Founder Alexandra Demidova of GameFi, a concept closely linked to the metaverse, revealed that she is receiving several marketing requests from Bitcoin gaming businesses, many of which are physically identical. A new Axie Infinity seems unlikely to hit the market very soon, considering the abundance of high-quality games now available. 

Mary Camacho believes that GameFi’s future will be divided into two separate categories of players: who play to earb money & who play only for enjoyment, for whom the financial aspects of the games may be a deterrent. Looking forward, it will be interesting to see how Web 3.0 and the rise of large-scale distributed gaming affects this split. 

GameFi, which Paul Moukhine describes as “gamified DeFi,” has yet to be understood by large video game development businesses, according to Moukhine. If studios enter the market with the mindset that it’s all about the money, they will have a major influence. 

Are Music NFTs the Future?

As industry veterans like Sergei Simanovsky pointed out, no one projected that NFTs would trigger Blockchain adoption, yet it turned out that way. 

He predicted that music will be a new frontier for NFT after the record $69 million sale of the Beeple’s collage at Christies, saying that the event “shook the globe.” It has long been a problem for artists to have direct ownership and royalty opportunities. Non-fungible tokens solve this problem. Intangible revenue streams might give musicians back some kind of financial autonomy (NFTs). 

Experts also pointed out that the NFT market is still in the speculative bubble stage, which is analogous to the ICO hype of 2017-18 when many were compelled to sell their holdings at a large loss. NFTs may experience something similar, but this does not diminish their revolutionary potential. 

The Future of the Internet Depends on Regulation

According to popular belief, humans shall be replaced by a decentralized internet in the not too distant future. According to Mary Camacho, unless decentralized technology is easy to use as traditional centralized services, it will just be a ‘playground’ for those who know how to earn money off of it. 

Personal data ownership and management are more important in the Web 3.0 era. Mistrust in society is to blame for this. Self-sovereign identification will be a major issue in 2022. Still, the transition to a really Web 3.0 will take longer than predicted due to individuals and organizations’ intrinsic inertia. 

While Blockchain law is important to Web 3.0, experts don’t expect substantial changes in this area until 2022 at the earliest. Regulatory ambiguity is expected to continue, as illustrated by the semantic debates about the meaning of utility tokens. It’s possible, says Hans Koning, that because US authorities are still unsure, the United States will be left behind and surpassed by more crypto-friendly nations. 

On the other hand, we need to be ready to see restrictions tightened across the board. Regulators despise cryptocurrencies for their high volatility, but they also despise stablecoins for the same reasons. China has previously implemented the “digital yuan” and is one of the 80 countries now exploring CBDCs (central bank digital currencies) (digital version of the Chinese currency). Countries that establish CBDCs may make efforts to restrict or regulate Bitcoin. 

They then shared their Bitcoin predictions with the gathering. According to the research, O.J. Jordan predicted a price peak of $120,000 for this cycle in 2022. For Nikolai Shkilev and many others, $100,000 is a goal. There will always be those who seek $20k while others want $1 million, and the truth will be somewhere in the middle, as Hans Kerner has pointed out. Instead of focusing just on the Bitcoin price, it could be more fruitful to pay attention to the fascinating trends taking shape right before our own eyes.