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Recapping 10 major crypto events from 2022 + 10 future trends for 2023

Recapping 10 major crypto events from 2022 + 10 future trends for 2023

The crypto market has certainly seen its fair share of excitement over the years — cryptocurrencies have garnered a lot of attention due to their potential to disrupt traditional financial systems and their ability to provide a decentralized and secure way to transfer value.

There have been many developments in the cryptocurrency space over the years, including the launch of new cryptocurrencies, the emergence of decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, and the increasing mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency.

By now, you would agree that the cryptocurrency market is highly volatile and unpredictable, and prices are not uncommon to fluctuate significantly. Apart from that, many unfortunate events happened in 2022.

Recap of 10 major crypto events that happened in 2022:

1. The LUNA Empire Collapses

$84 million leveraged a $40 billion financial empire when UST collapsed. The collapse started when UST de-pegging and the market’s extreme panic caused massive withdrawal. The collapse of one of the world’s largest public chains, Terra, fell with it, and it took only two daysThe beginning of the historical decline of cryptocurrency start right then.

“If LUNA fails, it will be the failure of cryptocurrency.” This was the headline we saw in the mainstream media during that period. The downfall process is familiar to many financial folks, similar to the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 and Lehman Brothers in 2007.

2. Top Hedge Fund, Three Arrows Capital, Goes Bankrupt

This is still an ongoing series. Right after LUNA’s collapse, all eyes were on Three Arrows Capital (3AC). 3AC has borrowed from almost every major lender, from BlockFi, and Genesis to Celsius. The fall of 3AC can be traced to the collapse in May of UST.

They have told Wall Street Journal that it has invested $200m in LUNA. Three Arrows’ liquidators have recovered some assets belonging to creditors, including $35 million and several different cryptocurrency tokens, liquidator Russell Crumpler said in court.

3. Crypto Lehman Brothers Moment: FTX Insolvency Hits Markets

A disaster with no survivors is how I described this incident. SBF and FTX have reached almost every corner of the industry in three years, and their demise almost uprooted the whole industry. It all began when SBF intervened to save some other cryptocurrency exchanges from impending doom due to rising interest rates.

He was completely unaware that his cryptocurrency exchange would suffer the same fate not long after. These transactions, which also implicated SBF’s trading company Alameda Research, caused the exchange to incur several losses.

Binance boss CZ called out SBF, users started withdrawing from the FTX, and the rest were history. At that point in time, the market found a liquidity gap of up to $8 billion in FTX. FTX filed for insolvency restructuring, and the plot flipped swiftly without allowing anyone a chance to breathe.

The collapse of FTX had an atomic bomb chain reaction, fusing a series of insolvency and FUD events. The former crypto giant was like a domino, and the entire crypto world was shrouded in panic. The failure of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November resulted in the lending arm of Genesis being compelled to halt redemptions. Since then, Genesis has been striving to raise money or negotiate a deal with creditors. BlockFi Files for Chapter 11 Protection, highlighting the need for crypto controls. Many other companies were affected.

4. Ethereum Successfully Completes Merger of Mainnet and Beacon Chain, End of Mining Era

Following an eight-year wait, at 14:43 on September 15, when the mainnet and beacon chains successfully merged, Ethereum signaled the end of Ethereum Proof of Work (PoW) and the full switch to Proof of Stake (PoS).”The Merge” is a crucial turning point for the Ethereum ecosystem. Ethereum’s vision continues, and there are more milestones to be achieved per their plans published on November 5.

5. Cryptocurrency Donation in Ukraine

At the end of February, the Russian-Ukrainian war started. This event was not directly related to cryptocurrency but more uncertainty to the global macro environment. However, things changed after Ukraine introduced cryptocurrency donations and released its donation address. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian government and an NGO supporting the military have received more than 120,000 crypto donations totaling $63.8 million.

This also contains a CryptoPunk NFT valued at over $200,000 and a $5.8 million gift from Polkadot creator Gavin Wood. Many questioned how this was executed, the airdrop plan, and the NFT sale. But I witnessed one of the most significant cryptocurrency use cases for donations.

6. The Hardest Crypto Sanction in History: Tornado Cash

Tornado Cash, an Ethereum mixing platform, has been placed on the SDN List by The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury. The Treasury Department says Tornado Cash has been used to launder more than $7 billion since its inception in 2019.

This is the first time in history that a protocol was sanctioned. Tornado Cash suffered devastating damage, developers were arrested, codes were removed from GitHub, and the website domain name was blocked.

7. Create a new paradigm of GameFi: STEPN Move-to-Earn Big

Move-to-earn is still a relatively new concept, but it is similar to the play-to-earn (P2E) model because it adopts elements of GameFi. They also solve some of the shortcomings of GameFi. STEPN is the pioneer in this.

The announcement of the release of Binance’s IEO on March 1 was an absolute turning point for STEPN. In a market that could not find a glimpse of light, STEPN’s GMT opened at Binance with 17x earnings and then rose from $0.1- to $4. It is no exaggeration to say that STEPN led the wave of Web3 in 2022.

8. NFT Summer- Selling like Hotcakes

Yuga Labs had a brilliant year. In March, the owners of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) received an airdrop of ApeCoins tokens for every NFT they held. The airdrop received by one BAYC was initially worth about $140,000. Some “creative” members took the BAYC out of the borrowing or splitting pool, received the airdrop and returned it, and earned $1.1 million in one day.

Many NFT-related events popped out during the summer. This has also started a series of celebrity endorsements to large brands entering the web3 space. These are great summer moments; we all remember them.

9. Curve Wars

Curve has a very critical mechanism — the liquidity provider (LP) can obtain the veCRV accordingly by locking the CRV. The veCRV are used to vote in governance, boost governance rewards, earn trading fees and receive airdrops. The longer CRV is locked, the more voting power holders have, and vice versa.

Many projects increased APY and organized new wars to win the war, allowing users who participated at that time to obtain good benefits. More and more protocols are building off of Curve, and an entire ecosystem is emerging, engaged in the so-called Curve Wars.

10. Hacking incidents occurred numerous times throughout the year.

  • Optimism confirms 20 million OP stolen; hackers have sold 1 million. Due to communication and technical mistakes in cooperating with cryptocurrency market maker Wintermute, the 20 million OP sent by the Optimism Foundation to Wintermute was sent directly to the wrong Layer1 address. Then the 20 million OP was controlled by hackers.
  • The official bridge of BNB Chain was hacked. This is one of the largest on-chain attacks in the history of crypto, with losses of $718 million. The recovery was rapid, and BNB’s price was stable thanks to the swift actions by CZ.
  • Ronin hack incident of Axie Infinity. This is one of the most outrageous theft incidents this year. Ronin, the self-developed sidechain of GameFi leader Axie Infinity, was attacked. 173,600 ETH and 25.5 million USDC were stolen, worth 625 million US dollars. It is also one of the most severe attacks this year. It is outrageous that the officials discovered it was stolen six days before the official announcement, but it has not been announced.
  • Bitkeep was compromised. The multi-chain wallet BitKeep has security vulnerabilities. Hackers hijacked some APK package downloads, and hackers installed packages, resulting in the theft of many user funds. A total of 8 million dollars of losses were promised to be paid in full.
  • Cross-chain bridges are risky. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin warned us about the safety of cross-chain bridges and cautioned additional risks when used. Ronin Bridge by Axie ($624 million); Wormhole by Solana ($326 million); Harmony Bridge ($100 million); Nomad ($190 million).

It is difficult to predict specific trends in the cryptocurrency market with certainty, as the market is highly volatile and subject to various external factors. However, here are some potential trends that could shape the future of the cryptocurrency market.

Here are 10 future trends and predictions for 2023:

  1. The macro economy will be stabilized, and the Federal Reserve will slow down the progress of interest rate hikes. Crypto will be more stable too.
  2. Cryptocurrency will continue to be watched by the regulators and move to a more compliant stage. Crypto companies must continue to have good government relations.
  3. NFT liquidity tools will stabilize the NFT market and create a better Web3 infrastructure for users and investors. Soul Bound Token (SBT) use cases will also increase and become another market driver;
  4. Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs) usage will experience exponential growth in 2023.
  5. Decentralized Social (DeSoc) will change the way value flows with the help of AAA-level blockchain games.
  6. Metaverse will have its DeFi structure and framework, allowing exchanges, for example, to be operated on it with fewer restrictions and in the good name of innovation.
  7. Investment and hype of ZK series public chains could be the new hotspot. We could see in the first half of the year, e.g., Starknet, Zk-sync, Scroll, Polygon ZKEVM ZK L2.
  8. Artificial intelligence (AI) sparked new growth in Web3. The popularity of ChatGPT surprised us in Q4 2022, and it will continue in 2023. I see them being applied to the application level. We would also see Web3/ blockchain solving productivity issues with AI to achieve a qualitative leap.
  9. Security issues will receive greater attention, and large-scale applications of on-chain data monitoring will be deployed. On-chain data can not only provide support for Web3 security governance but also conduct an in-depth analysis of on-chain activities, revealing key information such as Web3 user behavior, emerging trends, and investment opportunities;
  10. The rise of CeFi + DeFi reshapes the crypto market. Forward-looking financial institutions will continue to pay attention and devote themselves to combining CeFi and DeFi.They will also combine institutional-level risk management capabilities with code-enforced transparency to explore more business models that can support the real business world. Rapid growth and relatively mature DeFi services will be developed and more likely to be favored by major institutions.

The cryptocurrency space is constantly evolving, and we will likely see the development of new technologies and applications that could change how we think about and use cryptocurrency.

“Overall, the future of cryptocurrencies is uncertain, and it is difficult to predict precisely how they will evolve. I am sure it will continue to gain attention and adoption, but it is important for investors to carefully consider the risks and potential benefits before making any investment decisions. Let’s work harder for Crypto 2023!” – Anndy Lian

 

Source: https://cryptoslate.com/recapping-10-major-crypto-events-from-2022-10-future-trends-for-2023/

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com
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What Are the Major September Events to Keep an Eye On? The CPI, the Merge, the FOMC, & Vasil

What Are the Major September Events to Keep an Eye On? The CPI, the Merge, the FOMC, & Vasil

September 2022 will be an eventful month. The stock market has had a terrible month in the past. However, this is may not the case for the cryptocurrency markets. In my humble view, there are a few of major events that investors should pay special attention to since they are all interconnected.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

We’ll begin on September 13th. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) data will be released by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.

One of these data points is the August jobs report, which is already out. A careful examination of US labor market statistics revealed that nonfarm payrolls increased by 315,000 in August, above the projected 298,000 but falling short of the prior month’s 526,000. A healthy labor market means a more resilient economy, prompting the Fed to take on inflation more forcefully. Analysts are also looking for clues in the employment data about what is going on with wage growth.

The CPI numbers for the United States, together with the August jobs data released earlier this month, will eventually help the Fed decide whether to boost rates by 50 basis points or 75 basis points. In the United States, the inflation rate rose from 8.6% in May 2022 to 8.5% in July and 9.1% in June. The August inflation rate in the United States might serve as a guideline for future Fed rate rises.

Ethereum Merge

This is a highly anticipated event in the cryptocurrency world this year. This event has already started. They have released the Bellatrix upgrade, the final update before the Merge, which is set for September 13-15.

This upgrade shift the network’s consensus method from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS). This will lower Ethereum’s carbon footprint by removing crypto mining . This decision has also had an impact on Nvidia’s stock price, given they are a major provider of mining equipment. The miners are nevertheless optimistic, believing that the fork will keep them in business. On top of that, there was a lot of publicity and marketing hype around the new Eth PoW airdrop. Key thought leaders are reminding everyone that borrowing as much ETH as possible from AAVE or Compound before the snapshot is a good idea since they can expect maximum utilization.

The charts are exhibiting strong indicators, with the price of Ethereum increasing by 4.98% while Bitcoin remains unchanged.

Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)

Throughout the year, the FOMC has eight regularly scheduled meetings and extra talks as appropriate. The next meeting is scheduled on September 21.

The Fed Chairman Powell’s “powerful” speech at Jackson Hole on August 26 is primarily to blame for the recent sharp decline in market prices. Powell’s comments were substantially more hawkish than anticipated and alarmed the market.

The market anticipated the Fed to remain neutral after recent inflation statistics revealed that inflation had peaked and prices were dropping. They expected the Fed to keep to its plans to increase interest rates by another 100-120 basis points (1% -1.2%) by the end of 2022, bringing the Fed funds rate to 3.25%-3.5%. At the last FOMC meeting, Powell had also given the market the assurance that the economy would have a soft landing and that no recession was imminent.

Powell used words like “bring some pain to households and businesses” and “very likely be some softening of labor conditions”. Analysts who looked at the speech were reading that the Fed Chair was suggesting the recent fall in inflation was not good enough. To stop inflation once and for all, the Fed was prepared to increase the unemployment rate, reduce wage growth, and sacrifice short-term growth.

For many Americans, the critical question is whether they can continue to keep their jobs, not the increase in rates of September as the Fed bears down on inflation.

The FOMC has raised interest rates four times in 2022 so far. If you are wondering what has the rate got to do with cryptocurrencies. For your information, Bitcoin’s price dipped as low as $17,500 following the Fed’s two-day meeting on June 14 and 15. The Fed raised interest rates by 0.75%. Generally, traders leave the market when interest rates increase, or other markets are impacted, which leads to a sell-off in cryptocurrencies.

Cardano Vasil Hard Fork

The Cardano Vasil hard fork is the second most anticipated update in the cryptocurrency market, after only the Ethereum Merge.

Many of us may not know the term “Vasil”. Cardano, ranked 8th on CoinMarketcap is a proof-of-stake blockchain platform: the first to be founded on peer-reviewed research and developed through evidence-based methods.

Vasil is a significant improvement to Cardano, delivering enhanced network capacity and decreased transaction costs. Plutus, Cardano’s smart contract platform, will also be improved as part of the upgrade, allowing developers to design more efficient blockchain-based apps.

Cardano’s ADA token price rose 2.2% in the past 24 hours and 14% in the last week. This upgrade is confirmed to be on September 22.

Impact on the Financial Market

Because Bitcoin is viewed as an investment vehicle akin to stocks and bonds, the FOMC and macroeconomic pronouncements can have a significant influence on its price. Numerous studies suggest that these announcements have an influence on the whole financial market.

It remains to be seen whether history repeats itself and stocks end the month of September lower. As additional evidence comes in over the coming months, the idea of a Fed Pivot that was dismissed after Jackson Hole could start to materialize. Investors in the stock market anticipate that the Fed’s decision will provide them with guidance before the results of the upcoming quarter are released and when macroeconomic conditions change in 2023. Perhaps Ethereum and Cardano are the only shining knights in this financial uncertainty.

We will see.

I will end with a quote. “You will most likely come out on top in this bear market if you stick to your financial strategies and maintain your sense. Keep in mind that the people who sow their seeds today can become the millionaires who will profit from the upcoming bull market.”- Anndy Lian.

 

Source: https://www.securities.io/what-are-the-major-september-events-to-keep-an-eye-on-the-cpi-the-merge-the-fomc-vasil/

 

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com
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“What’s to come in 2020: Major Shifts in the Crypto Investment Space” @ Biki Korea Investment Insights

“What’s to come in 2020: Major Shifts in the Crypto Investment Space” @ Biki Korea Investment Insights

Meet the hottest digital asset exchange in the world, BiKi.com, as they visit Korea during their World Tour. Ethan Ng, CEO of BiKi and several prestigious panel members will discuss, “What’s to come in 2020: Major Shifts in the Crypto Investment Space”, moderated by author and investor Anndy Liang.

 

This event is perfect for…

* blockchain projects seeking fundraising or listing opportunities;

* industry professionals seeking a preview of Korea blockchain trends;

* traders/investors wanting to know more about BiKi;

* media wanting insight into the Korean crypto investment scene;

* and of course, blockchain / crypto / tech enthusiasts of all stripes!

 

We invited top crypto funds and blockchain industry experts who can share the latest on the tech and business opportunities ahead in 2020. Guest panelists include members of Rocketfuel, Blockcrafters, and more.

Afterwards, network with crypto exchange participants, projects, and investors over food and drinks.

Slots are limited, do sign up soon.

Sign up link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/biki-korea-investment-insights-tickets-74254532305?aff=erellivmlt

Agenda:

15:00 – 15:30 Registration

15:30 – 15:35 Welcome speech and start of Lucky Draw

15:35 – 15:50 Keynote by CEO of BiKi Southeast Asia BiKi Exchange

15:50 – 16:35 Panel Discussion: What’s to come in 2020: Major Shifts in the Crypto Investment Space, with panelists:

-Ethan Ng – CEO, BiKi Southeast Asia

-Christine Choi – Co-founder, Block Patch

-Joony Koo – Founding member, BlockCrafters

-Fred Kim – Partner, Rocketfuel

-Moderator: Anndy Lian, Blockchain Advisor, Asian Productivity Organization

16:35 – 17:00 Panel Question & Answer

17:00 – 17:05 Lucky Draw Winner Announcements

17:05 – 18:30 Networking – Drinks and light refreshments served

 

About BiKi.com:

Headquartered in Singapore, BiKi.com is a global cryptocurrency exchange ranked Top 20 on CoinMarketCap. BiKi.com provides a digital assets platform for trading more than 150 cryptocurrencies and 250 trading pairs. BiKi.com is focused on providing the safest, most stable and most effective cryptocurrency trading platform. 100% of the transaction fees are used in buyback and burning of platform token, BIKI. Since its official opening in August 2018, BiKi.com is considered one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrency exchanges in the world with an accumulated 1.5 million registered users, 130,000 daily active users, over 2,000 community partners, and 200,000 community members. BiKi.com has received investments from Huobi co-founder Du Jun, Genesis Capital Zhu Huai Yang, FBG Capital, ChainUP and others totaling approximately 10 million USD.

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com
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