Future of crypto in the next 5 years: what comes next?

Crypto
has
come
a
long
way
since
the
release
of
the
Bitcoin
whitepaper
in
2008.
From
a
niche
community
establishing
a
digital
cash
network
to
a
major
worldwide
asset
class
coveted
by
banks
and
investment
firms,
the
landscape
has
changed
drastically.

So
what
comes
next
for
the
crypto
industry?
Where
will
crypto
be
in
5
years?

Crypto
technology
will
become
more
advanced

In
some
ways,
it’s
nothing
short
of
a
miracle
that
crypto
became
as
big
as
it
did
from
2010
–
2020.

The
ICO
craze
of
2018
raised
around
$15.7
billion
for
crypto
projects.
Now
seen
as
something
of
an

economic
bubble,
the
trend
saw
many
projects
with
little
to
no
unique
selling
proposition
raise
massive
sums
as
the
hype
continued
to
grow.

Like
the
net
bubble
of
the
90s,
many
of
these
projects
failed,
but
the
hype
wasn’t
totally
unfounded.
Funding
piled
in
based
on
the
promise
of
what
blockchain
and
crypto
could
potentially
achieve,
and
that’s
where
the
value
lay
—
in
the
potential.

Today,
we
don’t
need
to
wonder
whether
blockchain
will
change
things.
We’re
seeing
real-world
integrations
of
numerous
blockchain
and
crypto
technologies
that
prove
that
the
tech
has
become
practical.

For
example,
Fetch.ai
is
being
used
to
optimize
the
performance
of
a

smart
city
project
in
Munich.
The
busiest
port
in
Europe,
Rotterdam,
now
uses

blockchain
to
track
its
shipping
containers.

From
here,
the
progress
is
anyone’s
guess.
There
are
talks
of
integrating
blockchain
into
voting
systems
for
more
secure
elections,
medical
records
systems,
and
many
more
applications.
The
Federal
Reserve
Bank
of
St.
Louis
issued
a
statement
lauding
some
of
the
achievements
of
the
decentralized
finance
sector,
and
we
can
expect
to
see
continued
advancements
in
DeFi
technology
as
time
goes
on.

Companies
like
Visa
and
Mastercard
have
integrated
crypto
payments,
a
massive
step
forward
in
adoption.
Nations
around
the
world
are
also
considering
introducing

central
bank
digital
currencies
(CBDCs),
a
type
of
cryptocurrency
minted
and
controlled
by
federal
governments.

In
five
years,
it
seems
likely
that
crypto
and
its
associated
technologies
will
be
far
more
interwoven
into
the
day-to-day
operations
of
many
industries,
from
supply
chain
tracking,
finance,
manufacturing,
information
technology,
and
more.

The
crypto
market
looks
likely
to
increase
in
value

This
is
the
kind
of
statement
that
can
be
easily
misunderstood.
There’s
never
a
guarantee
that
the
value
of
a
specific
cryptocurrency
will
increase,
not
even
Bitcoin,
which
has
been
surpassing
expectations
for
years
now.

However,
the
direction
that
the
overall
market
capitalization
of
crypto
assets
is
headed
can
perhaps
be
assessed
more
easily.
With
Bitcoin
ETFs
now
introducing
more
avenues
for
institutional
investment
than
ever
before,
and
crypto
becoming
less
volatile
as
the
industry
matures,
the
future
is
bright
for
cryptocurrency
investment.

The
amount
of
money
invested
in
Bitcoin
ETFs
on
May
21
was

$300
million,
showcasing
the
buying
power
of
heavy-weight
investors
now
getting
involved
in
crypto.

Crypto
in
5
years
could
outpace
even
the
current
figures.
Of
course,
it
all
depends
on
regulation.

Regulations
will
impact
the
future
of
cryptocurrencies

One
of
the
most
talked-about
issues
when
it
comes
to
crypto
is
international
regulation.

The
SEC
doubled
the
amount
of
lawsuits
it
was
bringing
against
crypto
projects
from
2021
–
2023,
most
notably
suing

Ripple
and
Coinbase,
with
plans
to
sue
decentralized
trading
platform
Uniswap
now
under
discussion.

US
regulation
against
crypto
has
a
major
impact
on
regulations
worldwide,
with
smaller
nations
often
taking
inspiration
from
SEC
guidelines.

So,
how
exactly
could
regulation
influence
crypto?

Crypto
and
Unlicensed
Securities

Take
Ethereum
as
an
example.
SEC
Chairman
Gary
Gensler
recently
stated
that
the
SEC
has
considered
Ethereum
to
be
a
security,
although
specific
action
remains
to
be
taken.
If
the
ETH
cryptocurrency
is
officially
designated
a
security,
that
would
mean
that
exchanges
that
have
been
selling
the
currency
would
be
liable
for
selling
unlicensed
securities.

It’s
possible
that
buyers
would
also
be
legally
liable,
as
well
as
decentralized
swap
services
letting
users
swap
ETH
for
other
assets.
This,
of
course,
would
spill
out
into
the
DeFi
industry
which
is
primarily
built
on
the
Ethereum
network.

SEC
litigation
against
the
Ethereum
community
is
by
no
means
a
certainty,
nor
is
it
even
considered
likely
by
many
crypto
users
at
this
time.
However,
the
examples
serve
to
highlight
the
risk
of
crypto
projects
falling
foul
of
national
and
international
regulation.

In
China,
of
course,
the
sale
and
even
mining
of
crypto
assets
is
completely
illegal,
while
the
UK
prohibits
UK
companies
from
selling
crypto
derivatives
to
the
nation’s
residents.

Crypto
enthusiasts
are
often
concerned
about
the
impact
regulation
could
have
on
the
future
of
cryptocurrency.
It’s
worth
noting,
of
course,
that
a
complete
lack
of
regulation
could
be
just
as
damaging
to
the
longevity
of
the
industry
due
to
bad
actors
having
free
reign
with
no
oversight.

What
is
the
future
of
cryptocurrencies?

All
of
the
above
factors
that
we’ve
mentioned
so
far
are
heavily
interlinked.
If
the
past
few
years
are
anything
to
go
by,
advancements
in
crypto
technology
and
adoption
are
likely
to
continue.
If
this
happens,
it’s
open
season
on
crypto
investment
as
more
and
more
people
seek
to
cash
in,
aided
by
developments
like
crypto
ETFs.

On
the
other
hand,
if
worldwide
regulation
heavily
restricts
the
sale
or
development
of
cryptocurrencies,
then
the
industry
will
have
a
huge
obstacle
to
face,
as
this
would
deal
a
blow
both
to
the
market
cap
and
the
funding
available
for
crypto
and
blockchain
research
overall.

Is
crypto
the
future?

In
our
view,
yes,
crypto
is
extremely
well-positioned
to
play
a
major
role
in
key
industries
in
the
near
future.
It’s
rare
to
see
a
new
technology
become
so
quickly
adopted
as
blockchain
and
cryptocurrency,
and
progress
will
likely
continue
as
it
has.

World
governments
know
that
their
residents,
industries,
and
even
national
banks
are
now
invested
in
the
crypto
industry
in
one
way
or
another,
and
one
would
hope
that
a
balance
will
be
sought
between
overly
restrictive
and
overly
lax
regulation,
allowing
the
industry
to
flourish
while
protecting
its
users
from
harm.

If
technology,
investment,
and
regulation
can
strike
a
balance
in
the
next
five
years,
there’s
no
telling
what
the
future
of
cryptocurrency
holds.