As we enter 2024, crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum are transitioning from speculative investments to having actual real world asset value. While many still view crypto primarily as a store of value or investment asset, there are telltale signs that the industry is fast becoming much more.Â
Let’s look at some real-world utility that we think 2024 would bring to crypto.
1. Crypto Payments
One major sign that crypto will move beyond investment is the increasing use and adoption of cryptocurrencies for payments. Crypto payment gateways are on the rise as more businesses accept cryptos, and with good reason: transactions are user-friendly, and confidence in security measures is increasing.
Industries like tourism, banking, and even food are implementing systems that take crypto. Take food, for example; only a few people would have seen the connection between crypto and food.
However, with the advent of blockchain technology, this connection is becoming clearer. Restaurants and food delivery services are starting to accept cryptocurrencies as payment, leveraging the benefits of secure, decentralized transactions to enhance customer convenience and broaden their market reach.
Then, we have to consider how crypto tokens and NFTs are already integrated into some games, allowing players to own in-game assets. Players can buy, sell, and trade rare items using crypto tokens. Some games are even building their businesses around crypto. Examples include Bitcoin dice, Mines, Goal, Hotline, roulette, and Plinko casino games, which have integrated crypto payments and rewards systems. This gives players more control, ownership, and ability to profit from their in-game achievements.
2. The Metaverse
The growth of the metaverse also heralds crypto’s evolution beyond investment. Experts predict the metaverse market could expand 10x by the year 2030. As more people spend time and money in the digital world, major tech companies will continue to invest billions into developing metaverse platforms.
A report by the Blockchain Council shows that Dubai aims to create 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030 by attracting over 1,000 metaverse and crypto companies. As digital worlds like the metaverse thrive on crypto and virtual assets, crypto begins to evolve and give way to real-world utility and jobs.
This opportunity means that employees would contribute and earn livelihoods through practical metaverse development – like building VR spaces, avatar clothing lines, blockchain items you can utilize in the metaverse, and more.
Cryptocurrencies like Ethereum are now used to purchase virtual goods, secure virtual property ownership, verify identity across worlds, and enable other metaverse transactions. As more people use crypto to participate in digital worlds, real livelihood and economies emerge – not just investment opportunities.
3. Increased Regulatory Clarity to Aid Expansion
With regulations like the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MICA) legislation focusing on consumer protection, regulatory frameworks are developing to legitimize crypto and foster mainstream adoption.
In other words, market manipulations, terrorist financing, and money laundering would be stifled, allowing institutions to expand confidently beyond crypto investment into utility applications.
4. Tokenization of Assets
Asset tokenization means taking something of value – like real estate, a fund, a bond, or fine art – and representing ownership of it as a digital token on a blockchain network.
For example, an apartment could be tokenized. The building itself would stay the same in the real world, but the ownership of it would be recorded and tracked using crypto tokens, with each token representing partial ownership of the building.
Right now, asset tokenization is still new, but it could expand a lot in 2024. As tokenized versions of items like funds, bonds, real estate, and valuables get created, everyday investors could start participating more easily.
Picture this: instead of buying a whole building or a whole share of a multi-million dollar private fund, people could own just a fraction of these assets – as recorded by crypto tokens they hold. Futuristic!
5. Disruption of Industries
Another major transition of crypto assets would be the evolution it would bring to businesses.
In 2024, it could transform how businesses are conducted across industries. The design of smart contracts and decentralized apps in blockchains like Ethereum allow for more transparent, efficient, and trustless transactions and processes without traditional intermediaries. Everything from supply chain management to real estate transactions could change.
Banking, as we know, could be changed with developments like decentralized finance (DeFi). Decentralized finance allows access to financial services like borrowing, lending, and trading without banks or brokers. Essentially, crypto wallets could eventually become people’s primary bank accounts.
Firms offering Bitcoin custody services are increasingly in demand, as they provide a level of security and peace of mind that personal wallets cannot always guarantee.
Conclusion
The crypto industry is still criticized for its volatile and speculative nature; however, 2024 could be the year when crypto starts meeting all the hype. When people start using cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to play games, conduct business, borrow money, and more in their daily lives.
So be on the lookout come 2024 for the exciting ways crypto continues to evolve and integrate into the mainstream.
Also Read: Crypto Investment Fraud Triples: Can Investors Do More To Protect Themselves?
