The Future of Web3: Insights for 2024
November 9, 2023
We believe the next bull market will be one of innovation. In this blog, we explore some of the main themes that will likely drive activity in this new market cycle. From individual firms looking to innovate and make their mark in the industry, to mainstream players well-positioned to make an entry into the world of Web3, we delve into what businesses can do to strengthen their position in what looks to be a booming digital asset market in 2024.
Bull Run 5.0?
Everywhere you look, there’s calls that the next crypto bull run is in the works, whether that’s driven by spot Bitcoin ETF optimism or renewed activity in DeFi land. Indeed, Bitcoin’s recent rally suggests that capital is making its way back into the digital asset market, and we couldn’t be more excited.
Analysts from Matrixport suggest that the last four bull market cycles have each been driven by a distinct narrative, from ICOs to the DeFi Summer and NFT craze. This time, they think that waves of institutional adoption will be the force behind all the positive price action to come.
Indeed, the six consecutive weeks of inflows into crypto funds, which just hit US$767 million this year only further drives this point home.
Elsewhere, an increasing number of code commits across blockchains, representative of developer activity in the space, and much improved venture capital sentiment around crypto firms, imply that the next bull run is imminent – if it isn’t already in the works.
Survival Of The Fittest
If you’ve been quietly building in a bear market and survived the crypto winter, we’re confident the tides are about to turn in your favour. As we’ve seen in the last few crypto bull runs, this is the time where projects get noticed – but that can sometimes be a double edged sword.
As the industry gets more attention, it becomes even more important to differentiate your project from the rest and showcase how what you’ve been working on stands out. With the right tools and planning, however, this is most definitely achievable.
Investing in the right kind of marketing goes hand in hand with a successful roadmap to delivery. This means building content around what your project brings to the table, and articulating it to audiences in a way that’s easy to understand.
Our Founder Renee Francis recently took part in a live webinar with Lachlan Feeney from Labrys, and Jock Haslam and Fletcher Roberts from Hashlock, on Building in Web3. This was a dynamic discussion that explored Development, Marketing and Security in Web3. Renee pointed out so eloquently that brands who have built diligently in the recent bear market have what’s called a first mover advantage.
In other words, this is a prime time to strategise and position your business or brand, before the impending bull run strikes.
It is essential for businesses to have a clear strategy for bringing their vision to life, to get noticed by both the end-user and investors, and as importantly, draw in developers and contributors who will be the life and soul of their business’s ecosystem.
In order to sustain growth in a thriving market, communicating these ideas to the masses needs to happen with a unique and consistent brand voice. It is no secret that the industry has its fair share of scams and bad actors that sometimes leads users to question the authenticity of a good quality project when things go wrong.
The Web3 industry recognises those projects that have been transparent since their inception, and gaining the trust of the community you build will be paramount to success in this regard.
This is why we recommend a community, communications and marketing strategy for 2024. You can reach out to our team here to find out more information about how we can help you prepare.
The Best Is Yet To Come
In 2021, we saw the rise of Layer 2 blockchains, decentralised lending markets and non-fungible tokens. We believe the next wave of adoption will be centred around tokenisation, digital identities, cross-chain bridges, demand for stablecoins and traditional financial services giants integrating blockchain-based methods to power payments.
There are already signs that some of these themes are taking shape, as payment heavyweights make their efforts in Web3 public. In August, Visa introduced an experimental solution to simplify blockchain transactions, letting users pay on-chain gas fees with a Visa card. Mastercard is tokenising bank deposits on its Multi-Token Network (MTN) and PayPal launched a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar.
On the regulation front, there’s reason to believe that things are starting to look up for the crypto industry. Grayscale’s recent victory over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the regulator’s denial of its application to convert its flagship Bitcoin fund into an ETF, and the verdict in favour of Ripple that ruled XRP tokens sold on exchanges did not qualify as securities, are important examples.
The outcome of these legal battles, coupled with the interest from popular mainstream financial firms puts regulators in a unique situation. They are now forced to embrace the change that’s coming their way in the form of digital assets and blockchain technology, and create frameworks for their inclusion in the wider financial system without inhibiting innovation altogether.
After a tumultuous few years, we can now see light at the end of the tunnel in the form of a new wave of adoption in the form of both retail and institutional players. Beneath the surface of all the uncertainty, the underlying technology that powers the world of Web3 has only been growing stronger.
It’s now time to build the next generation of crypto, blockchain and Web3 majors – we simply can’t wait.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended to be financial advice and is for informational purposes only.
