Cryptocurrencies have moved beyond the hype and have given rise to an industry which is thriving. Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency which started the movement, has gifted the world of blockchain and virtual currencies with a new landscape.
Blockchain technology is considered to be one of the top innovations of this century. According to the World Economic Forum report, 10% of global GDP will depend on the blockchain by 2025. Due to the potential of this innovation, blockchain and cryptocurrencies are currently explored in a number of industries from financial systems to healthcare. Moreover, this has led to the development of a number of projects in the cryptocurrency space.
The Blockchain–Cryptocurrency Industry
From tech-giants like Facebook and Amazon, a number of corporate organizations are building innovative solutions on the blockchain platform. A study of 1400 senior executives by Deloitte reveals that more than 50% of global organizations consider blockchain to be a strategic priority. Worldwide spending on blockchain solutions is expected to increase from $1.5 billion in 2018 to $15.9 billion in 2023. Another study reveals that the technology’s market value is expected to increase to $25 billion by 2025 with an annual CAGR of 69%. These stats clearly reveal that the entire market of blockchain and cryptocurrency domain is going to boost in the upcoming years.
Additionally, institutional investment in digital currencies is also growing. A number of hedge fund investors, Ivy league investment managers, and institutional investors are focusing on investments in digital assets. In recent years, various countries have started introducing crypto-friendly regulations. This has further boosted mass adoption of bitcoin and other digital currencies.
Additionally, even central banks have started exploring central bank digital currencies, a stablecoin representing fiat currency like the U.S. dollar, on the blockchain ledger technology. Furthermore, the applications of crypto and blockchain projects can be found in financial services, real estate, banking, supply chain industry, healthcare, identity management, governance, and many more. Hence, the scope of projects catering to different use-cases is huge.
With blockchain becoming more and more popular, all kinds of projects are starting to delve into it. For example, Guru99, an educational platform, offers a blockchain testing tutorial elaborating on blockchain basics in it.
With a multitude of projects introduced in the sector, it is difficult to monitor each of them individually. In this article, we take a look at the top five blockchain and cryptocurrency projects to look out for.
1. Zelwin
The use of distributed ledger technology is bringing reformation in all the centralized sectors, including e-commerce. Zelwin is a crypto project designed for the e-commerce industry which encompasses benefits for each stakeholder. The project has a loyalty-based program for purchases made on the platform.
In this business model, a buyer is awarded ZLW tokens as a reward for each purchase they make on the Zelwin platform. Users can transfer the cryptocurrency to their Mastercard or Visa or enable saving the rewards for future purchases on the Zelwin platform. Alternatively, a user can also buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum in exchange for ZLW tokens. It incorporates a wide range of products and allows customers to pay with cryptocurrencies.
A blockchain-enabled project, Zelwin allows buyers to earn token rewards in the form of cryptocurrency. With a global platform to trade as well as creating a fair experience in the e-commerce industry based on loyalty-rewards, Zelwin becomes one of the crypto projects to look for in 2021.
2. Curve Finance
The year 2020 and then 2021 has been a lot about DeFi tokens. This space has exponentially increased from close to $1 billion in February to more than $6 billion in August 2020. DeFi protocols have witnessed a growth of more than 600% within a duration of six months. One of the DeFi tokens launched in 2020 is Curve Finance.
It enables the exchange of stablecoins and DeFi protocols with low slippage and low trading fees. Additionally, it integrates the functionality of yield farming in its protocol. This enables users to earn token rewards for staking currency on the Curve’s platform. Although launched in January 2020, this project has become one of the top-performing DeFi projects.
The launch of its CRV token facilitates governance and liquidity within this crypto project’s ecosystem. With the rising interest in DeFi as well as yield farming, Curve Finance is one of the projects to closely follow in 2021.
3. MobileGo
Cryptocurrencies are gaining increasing prevalence in the online gaming and gambling industry. The advantages of blockchain-enabled tokens in the online gaming industry are far and wide. This has led to the development of multiple online games on the open-source blockchain platforms that incorporate crypto as a payment method.
MobileGo is a crypto project for online gaming that cites itself as the ‘Bitcoin of the gaming industry’. It facilitates players as well as platforms to interact using the MobileGo’s native cryptocurrency token- MGO. Players can purchase online games using the MGO tokens. At the same time, developers can incorporate MGO tokens into their gaming protocols. The platform offers an instrument for gamers and developers to leverage the benefit of cryptocurrencies in online gaming.
Recent trends show that the online gaming industry is growing. Moreover, many online platforms are incorporating crypto within their existing infrastructure. As MobileGo enables easy access, it is one of the projects to look for in 2021 and beyond.
4. Brave Browser
While the project has been in development since a few years now, it is one of the most interesting projects to follow in 2021 and beyond. The platform changes the dynamics of advertisements. Similar to Google Chrome and Firefox, Brave is a browser to access the internet. However, it offers significantly different features as far as ads on the platform are concerned.
In the Brave browser, a user has control over which advertisements to view. In addition to this, a user also earns a reward in the form of tokens to view these ads. The interaction between a user and an advertiser is on a peer to peer network instead of multiple third-party middlemen. Additionally, with Brave browser, a user also has control over their data’s privacy and security.
The Brave browser enables a decentralized network for a user’s interaction with the internet. In its ecosystem, a user can earn rewards in the form of digital tokens for spending time interacting with advertisement networks.
5. ChainLink
Despite having been created in just 2013, ChainLink is one of the top performers of 2020 and 2021 still. Its expanding ecosystem makes it one of the top projects to closely follow in 2021 and beyond. The platform facilitates supporting infrastructure to the blockchain ecosystem in the form of oracles. The oracles supply real-world data to smart contracts to further enable automated execution depending upon the pre-defined conditions. They are an integral feature in the functioning of blockchain systems and smart contracts.
The recent popularity of ChainLink stems from its success in the DeFi ecosystem. It provides oracles like price feeds to smart contracts in the decentralized finance ecosystem. Its recent collaboration with multiple projects of the decentralized finance industry has expanded its growth in an exponential graph.
With the rising popularity of DeFi, ChainLink becomes one of the most relevant projects of this year. Additionally, its native token, LINK, has risen more than 600% in 2020 and it currently stands at the 5th position in the cryptocurrency market.
Crypto and Blockchain Projects of 2021 and Beyond
While we have discussed the new and popular projects in the crypto and blockchain domain, there are various projects that are going to have a major impact in the upcoming years. One of them is the Facebook project, Libra. After running into a myriad of problems pertaining to regulations, the Libra project has made quite a few changes in its protocol. Moreover, even after mega players have exited the project, it is still backed by a number of giants including Facebook. Although the launch of Libra was set in 2020, a final date of the release has not been yet revealed.
Another exciting development in the crypto world is the news of the leading bank Goldman Sachs entry into the cryptocurrency domain. One of the publications revealed that the bank is in plans to launch its own cryptocurrency. While that bank has not always held a positive stance towards the crypto industry, the outlook seems to be changing. Its digital head also recognized that the future of financial transactions is on the blockchain network.
The leading bank, JP Morgan, has also developed its plans of building a digital currency- JPM coin. Moreover, the bank has integrated with various blockchain initiatives to facilitate financial and banking services. Additionally, the onset of giants into this sector will give a push for mainstream adoption in virtual currencies. Financial players like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal have also started the development of platforms to support payment with digital currencies.
Additionally, players like Amazon and Nestle are leveraging the open-source technology for their operations in the supply chain industry. Mega automotive players including BMW, Tesla, and Group Renaulte have also participated in different projects to leverage the decentralized technology innovation.
Final Thoughts
The entire ecosystem of blockchain and crypto is developing at a high pace. Multiple dApps focused on different applications are currently in development. In the coming decade, a number of new crypto assets catering to various use-cases will be deployed. Furthermore, the interest of giant corporations and investors in this space is further likely to boost mass adoption in the crypto world.
The year 2021 has bought phenomenal developments in terms of crypto regulations, projects, and mainstream adoption. However, this is just the beginning. data, analysis, and current developments suggest that the market cap value of the entire cryptocurrency and blockchain industry is going to thrive.
And if you wonder what has already happened with crypto in 2020, you can quench your education thirst here!