Blockchain data analytics platform Nansen’s CEO Alex Svanevik just outlined six themes that he thinks will play a role in the next “cycle” in the crypto market via a Tweet thread.
Many analysts talk about macro themes such as potential easing of interest rates from the Fed and other major central banks, more certainty regarding crypto regulations, and increased institutional adoption as spot crypto ETFs gain approval as major drivers of the next bull run.
But the themes Svanevik outlined were more nuanced and crypto sector-specific. Examine them one by one.
Fintech Adoption Crypto as A Backend
Svanevik noted that major fintech firms are increasingly moving towards using blockchain as their main backend.
PayPal has already launched a stablecoin and Revolut is already letting its users stake ETH, he noted.
Fintech firms are attracted to blockchains because of their potential to offer complete transparency, enhanced security, censorship resistance, fast and cheap transactions that offer zero cross border frictions.
“Long-term, crypto replaces the backends for fintech,” Svanevik noted.
Gambling And Betting Moving to Blockchain
Gambling and betting “just makes a lot more sense with a DeFi backend,” Svanevik noted, explaining that “instead of house taking a spread”, protocols can “live off the yields on capital”.
Crypto casinos have been a huge success in 2023, with the likes of Rollbit seeing explosive user growth.
Meanwhile, a new Telegram-based crypto Casino called TG.Casino is currently enjoying a highly successful presale, having last raised over $725,000 to power its new platform.
Web3 can solve a number of problems that have plagued the traditional gambling industry by providing greater transparency, security and offering an avenue to gamble without having to give up custody of your funds.
Real World Assets (RWAs)
Svanevik predicts that real-world assets will increasingly move on-chain, particularly US government bonds or “t-bills”.
Given they are yield-bearing, Svanevik hypothesized that on-chain t-bills will eventually eat up a substantial portion of the stablecoin supply.
He noted he “would be surprised if @circle (and) @Tether_to don’t move here”.
The total market cap of all USDT and USDC currently in issuance was last around $110 billion.
Web3 Gaming
Svanevik admitted that he has been touting the potential of web3 gaming for some time, but noted that, “in the next 6 months, we’ll see games launch after 2+ years of building”.
He noted he is backing Sipher Odyssey, MixMob and Axie Infinity.
SocialFi
Given the recent growth of protocols such as friend.tech, Svanevik noted he expects SocialFi to be a major pillar of future crypto growth.
Recent reports suggest that the development team behind friend.tech has amassed nearly $20 million in revenue since its launch in August.
At its current pace, the platform is projected to generate an annualized revenue of $180 million.
“It’ll take a few iterations (and forks), but I think this (SocialFi) is here to stay”, he noted.
Physical NFTs
Svanevik hailed Pudgy Penguins’ Luca Netz as “showing us the path to Walmart” for NFTs.
Pudgy Toys are now available across 2,000 Walmarts in the USA.
As per Walmart, “each toy has an official, scannable, redeemable code that unlocks digital penguin customization using different trait boxes”.
“That way, you can obtain rare and epic traits and have a one-of-a-kind forever Pudgy Penguin registered to your name on the blockchain”.
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