Cryptocurrency Adoption

In 2021, mainstream businesses from several sectors showed interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, and in some cases, they even made their own investments. For instance, AMC declared last year that it would take Bitcoin as payment. By enabling customers to purchase on their platforms, fintech businesses like PayPal and Square are also placing a bet on cryptocurrencies. Despite the fact that the corporation has billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency assets, Tesla accepts Dogecoin payments and is still undecided about accepting bitcoin payments. Experts anticipate an increase in this buy-in.

Larger, international firms may accelerate this adoption even further in the second part of this year, according to some experts. Weiss predicts that organizations will start investing in cryptocurrencies, including Amazon and the major banks. A major shop like Amazon would "provide a lot of legitimacy" and "start a chain reaction of others accepting it."

In fact, Amazon recently shared a job listing for a "digital currency and blockchain product lead," which spurred rumours that the company is moving in that direction.

Investing implications of adoption

While most individuals don't currently see the benefit of purchasing with cryptocurrencies, as more merchants begin to accept them, the situation may change. Although it may take some time before buying goods or services with bitcoin will be a wise financial move, increased institutional adoption may lead to more applications for regular consumers and affect the price of cryptocurrencies. Nothing is guaranteed, but if you purchase cryptocurrencies as a long-term store of value, the greater the likelihood that demand and value will rise as it finds more "real-world" applications. Learn More

Future of NFTs

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have existed since 2014, but it wasn't until 2021 that this cutting-edge technology became widely accepted.

NFTs, which stand for digital ownership of a variety of unreplaceable intangible goods, has caught the interest of prominent people and large corporations like American Express and Gucci. According to data gathered by DappRadar, an app store for decentralized applications, total NFT sales reached $25 billion in 2021 as opposed to $94.9 million the previous year.

However, the question of whether NFTs are merely a fad or a trend is still up for debate. According to data from DappRadar, NFT sales declined below $1 billion in June for the first time in the previous 12 months.

The opinions of experts are still divided; some call NFTs a "bubble," while others argue that the smart contracts used in blockchain technology, which underlie them, are what actually provide genuine value. Artists and producers are asserting that this is the newest method of income in the meantime.

According to Humphrey Yang, the personal financial specialist at HumphreyTalks, "I do think that they're really hot right now, especially the previous four months." "I think they'll still be around in 10 or 20 years. I'm not sure how often we use them. Communities will continue to hold some importance for people, but NFTs' more extensive uses will be more fascinating.

Recent evidence suggests that the market may finally be slowing down. At the beginning of the year, nearly a million accounts were actively buying or selling NFTs; however, as of recently, only roughly 491,000 accounts were doing so. Because of the dropping value of cryptocurrencies, and other macroeconomic factors including inflation, rising interest rates, and Russia's conflict in Ukraine, several experts predict that the NFT industry will continue to be negatively impacted. It is the Future now.

NFTs mean for investors

Numerous people purchased NFTs throughout the past year, either as investments or just for enjoyment. Whatever the reason, the recent collapse of the cryptocurrency market has significantly reduced the value of many of those digital assets.

Yang claims that from an investment standpoint, purchasing an NFT is "riskier" than purchasing cryptocurrency because it is "almost like a leveraged gamble on cryptocurrency." People don't really understand the difference and buy them because they are entertaining, he said, adding that it is essentially gambling.

You should probably avoid NFTs knowing that they are even riskier and more speculative than crypto, especially as the price of bitcoin is generally declining. According to experts, most long-term investors will be better off investing in bitcoin or Ethereum, two of the biggest cryptocurrencies, instead of an NFT, with a tiny amount of their portfolio (less than 5%, and never at the expense of achieving other financial goals). Learn More