Published on Jan 21, 2023

Annual Web3 Ecosystem Report: 2022

Author: Rubin

#Insights

22 Mins

The cryptocurrency industry has experienced fluctuations in market trends throughout the year. Historical data from 2013 to 2022 indicates that market cycles often oscillate between bullish and bearish phases.

Decentralized applications, or Dapps, have gained traction in recent years as they allow for a range of use cases, such as financial instruments, NFTs, and games, to be performed without the need for a central authority. Despite the challenges faced by the space, it is anticipated to continue to expand in the coming years as awareness of the advantages of decentralized networks and the utilization of blockchain technology increases.

This research report provides a comprehensive examination of the current state of the market, including identifying prevalent trends, assessing challenges, and identifying opportunities. The findings of our research indicate that the majority of the Dapp user base currently are concentrated in the gaming and gambling sectors. However, there has also been tremendous growth in the utilization of Dapps in decentralized finance, as well as in other areas such as social media.

Gaming remains the most popular category
Gambling Dapps saw a tremendous increase in user base
NFT trading still stable
Decentralized social platforms, the new hype
Top Dapps Unaffected
Proof of reserves, the newest trend
Users proving to be non risk averse
Game studios integrate NFTs into their existing game
TVL drop in layer-1 Defi protocols

2. Look back at the major happenings of 2022

The Dark Days

Ronin Network Robbed: Hackers make off with $550M in Cryptocurrency
Terra's Tumble: The Fall of a Crypto Giant
Voyager's Vulnerability: Crypto Platform Exploit
Celsius' Crash: Crypto Liquidity Crisis Claims Another Victim
The November Nightmare

The Bright Side

Ethereum's Evolution: The Merge Unveiled
A 200 Million Strong: Polygon's Surprising Growth Amid 2022's Turbulence
Web3 Goes Mainstream: Big Brands Dive into the Decentralized World
Ethereum Staking Frenzy: Total Staked Ether on the Rise
Web3's Funding Boom: Venture Capitalists Flood the Decentralized Market
Blockchain Bill Boom: Positive Legislation Rose
Beyond Borders: Crypto Adoption Takes Off in MENA, Asia, and Latin America

Challenges Facing the Ecosystem

Lack of Regulation and Oversight
Infrastructure scalability problems
Crypto hacks
Limitations in Smart Contracts
UX challenges

3. Unlocking the Full Potential of Dapps: Exploring Other Frontiers

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
Gaming & Metaverse
Non Fungible Tokens (NFT)
NFT Marketplaces
The Future

4. Our Perspective

Listed Projects to Watch Out For

5. Final Words

6. References

Overview of the current state of the ecosystem

The ecosystem has experienced significant growth in recent years, with the number of Dapps in operation increasing from just a handful in 2016 to over 12,400+ by the end of 2022. According to Delphi digital, there was an approximate 50% increase in the daily users in 2022 compared to 2021.

Points scored — *Source: Dune Analytics*

Additionally, the volume of transactions increased by 94.17% this year, reaching 7.44 billion. The continuous adoption of blockchain by both community and brands, along with the growing support from investors, has helped the industry to consolidate. This context confirms the resilience and maturity of the industry.

These were the following trends witnessed in the past year;

Gaming remains the most popular category: Games remain the most popular category of blockchain-based applications, hence, dominating the industry. In 2021, games had an average of 622,620 dUAW. This number grew by 85% in 2022, reaching 1,152,255 dUAW on average.
Gambling Dapps saw a tremendous increase in user base: Dapps for gambling are among the most popular categories on the blockchain. Using these applications, users can bet and play games of chance with cryptocurrencies or tokens. In 2021, gambling Dapps averaged 53,364 dUAW. The number reached 110,140 dUAW on average in 2022, an increase of 106%.
NFT trading still stable: On-chain data for non-fungible token (NFT) trading volume was in contrast to DeFi's year-to-date data. NFT trading volume increased by just 0.41% year on year, while the number of unique traders increased by a staggering 876% to reach 10.6 million users in 2022. NFT sales also trended positively, increasing by 10.6% to reach 68.35 million. OpenSea remains the most popular NFT marketplace, accounting for 73% of organic NFT trading volume.
Decentralized social platforms, the new hype: Social Dapps focus on enabling communication and interaction between users, such as social networks and messaging platforms. In 2021, social Dapps had an average of 15,054 dUAW. This number grew by 206% in 2022, reaching 46,410 dUAW on average.
Top Dapps Unaffected: Even though the TVL decreased in the whole ecosystem in 2022, the top Dapps in the ecosystem were still stable in terms of user adoption. PancakeSwap continues to be the most popular Dapp in the industry, with over 1.65 million monthly UAW on average. While the most popular Dapp's TVL fell by 60% from the previous year to $3.15 billion, its popularity remained unchanged. Venus, a DeFi lending platform, is still one of the most popular Dapps on the BNB chain. Nonetheless, the platform's TVL fell by 64.40% this year, reaching $725.32 million.
Proof of reserves, the newest trend: Following the collapse of FTX, the industry's total market capitalization fell close to $200 billion. Since the fallout, several exchanges have begun publishing their proof-of-reserves to assuage investors' concerns, with Binance being the first one to do so.
Users proving to be non risk averse: In 2021, High Risk applications received an average of 37,269 dUAW. This figure increased dramatically in 2022, reaching 145,825 dUAW on average, a 291% increase. This sudden increase demonstrates that blockchain users are not afraid of taking risks.
Game studios integrate NFTs into their existing game:In 2023, web2 game studios will continue to push deeper into web3 and enter what we call "Stage 4" of web3 gaming adoption. The change in terminology from "NFTs" to "digital collectibles" should help traditional game studios introduce NFTs directly into games with less gamer backlash, just as the change in language from "crypto" to "web3" brought in more non-crypto native folks.
TVL drop in layer-1 Defi protocols: DeFi protocols at Layer-1 saw the biggest drop in TVL, with Ethereum losing 74.5% of its TVL to $32.12 billion, while BNB Chain, the second biggest DeFi ecosystem, lost 62.5%. On Layer-2, Arbitrum fell 12% to $1.74 billion. A TVL increase of 127.60% resulted in $669 million being generated by optimism.

Look back at the major happenings of 2022

2022 was one of crypto’s rockiest years ever, but the industry survived. During crypto’s last bear market, there was a question of whether the ecosystem would pull through. In 2022, those watching the space closest have no doubts that crypto is here to stay. And not just here to stay, but after the events of this year, the foundations should be stronger than ever in 2023 and beyond.

The Dark Days

Ronin Network Robbed: Hackers make off with $550M in Cryptocurrency

North Korean state-sponsored Lazarus Group used phishing emails to gain access to five of nine Ronin chain validators, and stole $550 million from the Ronin Network by looting the bridge that connected the network to Ethereum mainnet. The hack occurred six days before it was discovered, and it marked the start of a series of attacks by the Lazarus Group against the crypto space. Other victims of similar phishing schemes were the Harmony network losing $100 million and DeFiance Capital founder Arthur Cheong who lost high-value Azuki NFTs. Although most of the funds are still missing, around $36 million was returned with the help of blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis and crypto exchange Binance.

Terra's Tumble: The Fall of a Crypto Giant

Terra, a cryptocurrency that had a market capitalization of $40 billion at its peak, collapsed in May 2022 due to its unstable dual-token mechanism. The network's native stablecoin, UST, was not fully collateralized and relied on an algorithmic mechanism to stay pegged to the US dollar. The success of UST led to a surge in demand for Terra's volatile LUNA coin, but a series of whale-sized selloffs challenged UST's peg and triggered a bank run. UST holders rushed to redeem their tokens for LUNA, which greatly expanded the supply of LUNA, causing its price to crash. As a result, UST's value plummeted to $0.36, while LUNA's price dropped to fractions of a cent. The collapse of Terra caused a market wipeout and liquidity crisis, affecting major players like Celsius, Three Arrows Capital, Genesis Trading, and Alameda Research.

Voyager's Vulnerability: Crypto Platform Exploit

On May 7, 2022, the Voyager crypto platform filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with estimated liabilities of $1 billion to $10 billion. The platform halted its operations after disclosing a $661 million exposure to Three Arrows Capital, a crypto hedge fund that also filed for bankruptcy.

Celsius' Crash: Crypto Liquidity Crisis Claims Another Victim

On June 13, 2022, the Celsius Network experienced a significant loss, resulting in over $1.2 billion in damages. As a centralized exchange and borrowing and earning protocol, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and reported a deficit of $1.19 billion on its balance sheet. The network's liabilities amounted to $5.5 billion, while its assets were valued at $4.3 billion. Prior to the announcement, operations on the platform were suspended due to "extreme market conditions."

The November Nightmare

In November 2022, several major crypto platforms faced significant losses due to the collapse of FTX. Genesis, a trading platform, lost $2.8 billion, and BlockFi, a lending platform, halted withdrawals and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing exposure to FTX and Alameda Research. Both companies, led by CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, filed for bankruptcy after it was revealed that Alameda's collateral was dominated by FTX's native token $FTT. This caused panic among FTX customers, leading to billions of dollars being withdrawn from the exchange, resulting in a 95% drop in the value of $FTT in just 24 hours. Other projects that relied on FTX also reported significant losses.

The Bright Side

Ethereum's Evolution: The Merge Unveiled

Ethereum's long-awaited upgrade, "the Merge," finally shipped in September 2022, which brought some relief to the crypto space after a difficult year. The upgrade, which moved Ethereum from a Proof-of-Work to a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, was highly anticipated and was expected to greatly improve the energy efficiency of the network and reduce ETH emissions by 90%. The upgrade shipped without any issues on September 15th and was widely praised by the Ethereum community and developers. The mainstream press also took notice of Ethereum's improved carbon efficiency after the Merge. The impact of the upgrade will likely become more apparent in the coming years, as it may set the stage for yield-hungry institutions to adopt ETH and may also lead to a new bull market for crypto.

A 200 Million Strong: Polygon's Surprising Growth Amid 2022's Turbulence

Despite the uncertainty in the crypto market, Polygon, a layer-2 scaling solution for the Ethereum blockchain, has seen significant growth in 2022. The network's unique address count recently surpassed 200 million, reaching a new high of 205,420,908 on December 31st. The ecosystem also saw an increase of 8,783,568 unique addresses between December 1st and December 31st, indicating that an average of 283,340 new addresses were created daily in the last month of 2022. Additionally, the number of transactions on the network remained around the 3 million mark.

Web3 Goes Mainstream: Big Brands Dive into the Decentralized World

Fashion and luxury brands are increasingly interested in the non-fungible token (NFT) market and the metaverse industry. Rolex, Reebok, Nike, Adidas, and BMW have all made moves to enter this space. For example, Nike has launched a Web3-enabled platform called .Swoosh where customers can buy and sell virtual products, while Adidas has released a line of virtual gear. BMW has applied for a trademark for its logo in relation to virtual vehicles and digital retail services.

Ethereum Staking Frenzy: Total Staked Ether on the Rise

The total amount of Ether locked in the Ethereum ecosystem has been steadily growing in 2022. From February to June, the staked ETH rose from 9 million to 13 million. The trend slowed down between June and September, but picked up again in September before Ethereum's transition to proof-of-stake. Staking refers to depositing 32 ETH into the network, which grants validator rights and the ability to earn more ETH. As a validator, users must perform tasks like storing data, processing transactions, and adding new blocks to the blockchain to protect the network.

Web3's Funding Boom: Venture Capitalists Flood the Decentralized Market

During Q4 2022, Animoca Brands, a company behind several successful crypto projects, including The Sandbox, established a multibillion-dollar fund to invest in various metaverse projects. According to the co-founder of Animoca, Yat Siu, this fund will drive the utility and growth of the metaverse and blockchain gaming market. He stated that “More people are joining crypto every day, especially in gaming” and he is hopeful that this will also lead to the recognition of digital property as physical property in the legal system. Alongside Animoca, other companies have also invested heavily in the burgeoning metaverse economy, such as Daesung Private Equity, a South Korean venture capital firm, announced that they have allocated a total of 110 South Korean won ($83.9 million) towards its metaverse-centric fund.

Blockchain Bill Boom: Positive Legislation Rose

In 2022, Brazil’s Congress passed a bill to regulate the use of digital currencies for daily payments, potentially increasing crypto adoption in the country. The bill gives legal status to payments made in cryptocurrency for goods and services, but not as legal tender. Similarly, Morocco's central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), announced plans to finalize a comprehensive crypto governance framework with the Moroccan Capital Markets Authority and the Supervisory Authority of Insurance and Social Welfare, in collaboration with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Other countries that have either introduced favorable regulations in 2022 or plan to do so in the near future include India, Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Beyond Borders: Crypto Adoption Takes Off in MENA, Asia, and Latin America

A study by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis revealed that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region had the highest growth in cryptocurrency adoption in 2022. The region saw $566 billion in crypto transactions, a 49% increase from the previous year, while Europe had a 40% increase, North America 36% increase, and Central and South Asia had 35% increase. Latin America accounted for 9.1% of the total crypto value received and had a 40% growth between Q3 2021 and Q3 2022. Vietnam had the highest crypto adoption rate followed by the Philippines and Ukraine. Other countries with high crypto adoption rate include India, Brazil, Thailand, and Pakistan.

Challenges Facing the Ecosystem

Lack of Regulation and Oversight: Because there are no clear written laws or advisory boards overseeing how this ecosystem operates, bad actors and bad faith interactions are possible. In this open space of operation, regulatory boards are struggling to define even the structure of what are ‘entities' within this operation, such as how to define a "blockchain-enabled organization" in comparison to other companies. Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) run blockchains, which have varying and non-standard governance models based on common business standards. With so much ambiguity in the overall Web 3 industry, it makes ecosystem adoption by the general public difficult. In 2022, the major blockchain regulations focused on increasing the transparency and accountability of blockchain-based systems. This included measures to combat money laundering, fraud, and other illegal activities, as well as efforts to establish clear rules and guidelines for the use of blockchain technology.
Infrastructure scalability problems: The Web3 Dapp distributed database system introduces a plethora of novel and challenging concerns. There are issues with ensuring that even the most remote network nodes receive updates (it literally takes longer for information to reach nodes further away in a network). These issues can reduce accuracy across a network of nodes, resulting in shattered data, lost customers, and a large amount of resources spent correcting an issue that occurred in the past.
Crypto hacks: An estimated 300+ attacks in crypto networks valued at $48 billion occurred in 2022. Rug pulls, flash loan attacks, and access pull breaches were the most common this year.
Limitations in Smart Contracts: In Dapps, smart contracts fulfill the ultimate functions and responsibilities of intermediaries. As a result, it is critical that smart contracts are error-free. To make it difficult for hackers to exploit the ecosystem, smart contracts must use a secure and efficient code design. Flaws in the code structure can result in funds being lost and processes being abused, such as stealing tokens, deleting wallets, removing users, and so on.
UX challenges: Despite the fact that the Dapp industry focuses heavily on UI requirements, it still faces difficulties in increasing usability among potential users. Without any other assistance, it is difficult for a beginner to understand the interface. The majority of organizations have now begun to prioritize ease of use. Various user experience (UX) challenges that must be overcome too in order to achieve mass adoption. These challenges include security concerns related to handling cryptographic keys and unintelligible crypto transactions, a lack of education for users, and a lack of ease of use. Solutions proposed include social recovery wallets, replacing recovery phrases with passwords and creating interfaces that are easy to use.

Unlocking the Full Potential of Dapps: Exploring Other Frontiers

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

DeFi tokens have had a volatile year, with the largest ecosystem, Ethereum’s DeFi space, experiencing significant declines in its highest-rated coins. Despite this, DeFi still represents a significant portion of capital in on-chain products. The highest performing products in DeFi are decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and money markets. The CAGR of Ethereum DEX volume from January 2020 to November 2022 is 402.4%. However, DEX volume has been declining for the past five months leading up to November 2022. Despite this, DEXs on Ethereum still generated around $30-40 billion in monthly volume. Aave, Compound, and Maker have seen strong growth over the past three years, but demand for leverage has decreased during the market downturn.

Opportunities For Future

Imagining a DeFi Experience Tailored for the Average Consumer: DeFi has the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with finance, but it can be a daunting experience for the average user. To make DeFi more accessible to the general public, a semi-centralized solution is needed, similar to a Robinhood-like app that plugs into different DeFi protocols and provides some degree of custody and facilitates user interactions with underlying liquidity. The platform would hold 1/3 of the keys in a multisig wallet, while the user holds 2/3. This way, users can start off with the platform having custody of their assets and gradually move towards a more self-custodial model. Users could access simple swaps via DEX aggregators, staking ETH via Lido/Rocket Pool, automated liquidity-provisioning services, relatively safe yields and access to low leverage using Aave/Compound, and higher and riskier yields using Yearn, Ribbon, Maple Finance, TrueFi, etc. The platform would need to be regulated, have access to banking services, and have a profitable business model without having to rely on customer funds. The platform could employ a management fee, a small markup on transaction fees, or a freemium model. The goal is to act as custodians, like Coinbase and Anchorage do, and not touch customer funds.
Scaling Undercollateralized Lending: DeFi has the potential to rival traditional finance, but it needs to tackle mass-scale undercollateralized loans to achieve this. Self-sovereign identity and Sybil resistant primitives hold the key to unlocking this. Decentralized identifiers and verifiable credentials can improve crypto's Sybil resistance, which is crucial for building an undercollateralized lending ecosystem. On-chain profiling, social graphs, and Turing tests can be used to complement an already-formidable identity system, but cannot be solely relied upon. Biometrics and social graphs will likely co-anchor the winning identity solution as they both scale effortlessly and cover each other's weaknesses. With transparent and cryptographically verifiable trust assumptions, users will likely be willing to offer more revealing information that they would normally shield from Web2 giants.
Unlocking the Potential of On-Chain Arbitrage: Currently, it is difficult to find profitable arbitrage opportunities and it is mostly done through flash loans or buying low and selling high, holding until maturity. However, Aave's GHO stable coin and its portal feature has the potential to facilitate the settlement of multi-currency cross-chain offsetting derivatives contracts, creating opportunities for on-chain arbitrage. The idea is to use borrowing modules on top of options AMMs or a derivative-backed stablecoin on top of lending protocols to create a more efficient way of arbitraging. The challenge is to overcome the high interest costs and find a way to collateralize options without the need of collateralizing with the underlying asset. Options protocols would benefit from this by receiving more efficient pricing and liquidity, while lending protocols would gain utility for their idle reserves. The possibilities of on-chain derivatives are exciting, and it could put traditional derivatives platforms like Deribit in the crosshairs of DeFi.

Gaming & Metaverse

Noting an increase in the number of venture capital firms investing in Web3 gaming and Metaverse categories, a total of $3.7 billion were invested in 2022. However, a decrease of $1.8 billion in value from 2021 was noted. The leading company in this space is Animoca Brands, with investments in 61 projects, followed by Infinity Ventures Crypto and Shima Capital. The number of GameFi projects is still growing, but at a slower rate than previous years. Animoca Brands' co-founder, Yat Siu, has also announced plans to start a $2 billion metaverse fund called Animoca Capital, with plans to make its first investment next year. Notable investments include a $50 million B round for independent game studio Theorycraft, a $40 million Series A funding round for Horizon Blockchain Games, and a $150 million raise for Fenix Games. Despite challenging market conditions, investors remain optimistic about the future of the blockchain gaming industry.

Metaverse: Opportunities shaping the Web3 gaming ecosystem

Gamevertising: As the metaverse develops, there’s going to be an increase in in-game advertising, with brands creating branded presences in games like Fortnite and Roblox, both of which showcase metaverse elements. Many brands are teaming up with game developers to create environments where their products are featured in games.
Liminal Spaces: Liminal spaces, which integrate both virtual and physical experiences, are making waves in sectors like culture and art. The report predicts that in the future, liminal spaces, through XR, will become more evident in blended or hybrid events and venues.
Virtual Possessions: Consumers are increasingly recreating semblances of their real lives in digital worlds, replicating everyday actions and routines, such as joining a meeting or exploring their environment. Given the replication of our real world habits, it’s predicted that there will be a rise in virtual possessions, like digital houses or clothing. This encourages new business models, such as the direct-to-avatar (D2A) model, to emerge.

Non Fungible Tokens (NFT)

The non-fungible token (NFT) market faced a significant decline in 2022, with market size plummeting 92% from the previous year. The retraction of the market can be attributed to bad actors and market manipulators who have hindered the growth of the industry. Additionally, fundraising within the NFT market also saw a decline, going from nearly $5 billion in January to only $610 million by year-end. Despite these challenges, many promising projects have emerged in the NFT market, such as Azuki, Moonbirds, Skyweaver, and DigiDaigaku, highlighting the potential of unique digital assets. These projects have also led to the emergence of new marketplaces and platforms such as X2Y2 and Blur.

The interest in NFTs also varied by region, with Asian countries, particularly China, having the most searches for "NFT" on Google. However, it should be noted that NFTs are strictly regulated in China and are referred to as "digital collectibles." The Collectibles segment was the dominant segment in terms of volume of dollars traded, capturing roughly 70% of the market share. This can be attributed to the high levels of speculation in this category, including some notable names that brought NFTs to widespread popularity such as CryptoKitties, Bored Ape, and NBA Top Shot. The Metaverse sector had a modest performance during the year, with the Utility segment showing promise, particularly in Ethereum Name Service (ENS) registrations. On the other hand, the Game category experienced a 90% loss in market cap. Overall, while the NFT market faced significant challenges in 2022, promising developments and projects have emerged, indicating a potential for growth in the future.

NFT Marketplaces

The NFT marketplace landscape in 2022 was marked by the dominance of OpenSea, which recorded trading volumes of $3 billion in February and April. However, a new player, X2Y2, emerged in the first quarter and quickly gained traction, reaching a peak trading volume of $170 million in July and becoming the second-largest player in the space.

During the second half of the year, the NFT market faced significant challenges due to the collapse of Terra Luna, FTX, and other major players. Despite this, a new marketplace, Blur, emerged and quickly became a major player in the space. Backed by Paradigm, Blur was able to dominate the market in a short period of time and unseated OpenSea as the leading NFT trading platform in December, capturing over 50% of the market share.

Overall, the NFT marketplace landscape in 2022 was highly competitive and dynamic, with new players entering the space and established players facing challenges. The entry of Blur, with its trader-centric approach, added some freshness to the competition and suggests an interesting outlook for the industry in the future.

The Future

Looking at the figure below, it is quite clear that Dapp activity opened the year at all-time highs, and different events throughout the year created a downward trend for the industry's user adoption. The DeFi projects was particularly affected in the wake of Terra’s TerraUSD (UST) depeg and the resulting cryptocurrency market decline, with a significant drop in total value locked (TVL) of around 73% to $55 billion as of December 2022.

Even though the numbers are a bit unsettled, technology has still proven resilient. 2022 saw an increasing number of financial applications being developed on smart contracts, serving a variety of purposes such as providing basic banking services in areas where traditional banking was not accessible and facilitating transactions between conventional financial institutions and DeFi protocols. Moreover, the undeniable adoption coming from institutions like Goldman Sachs, individuals like Ronaldo and Messi, and some of the largest traditional brands proves that the future of the Dapp industry is bright.

Identity Enhancement: Blockchain allows for the creation of portable digital identities (DIDs), which allow users to easily transfer information and assets across networks and chains. Today, this technology empowers individuals by allowing them to truly own their own data and maintain their privacy while meeting the know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements demanded by both Web2 and Web3 platforms. This trend would become an enormous opportunity for the infrastructure Dapp industry.
Regenerative Finance (ReFi): ReFi can be thought of as a way of triangulating sustainability elements by "stabilizing" the climate and "biodiversity," while also maintaining equitable access within global communities. This has the potential to lead to the development of new financial models and systems that can boost prosperity. It would have a greater impact on defi, gaming, and the NFT industry. ReFi projects have also raised a total of $6 million, including Loam ($4 million), which aims to create a marketplace for farming data in order to incentivize farmers to engage in regenerative practises; impactMarket ($1 million), which unlocks access to finance and implements human empowerment mechanisms, such as Unconditional Basic Income (UBI), for vulnerable communities; and Circular Impact ($1 million), a platform built in collaboration with Sanergy that will enable circular economy companies to quantify and monetize their positive impact using Web3 infrastructure, starting with carbon.
Zero-knowledge proof theory: Zk Proofs have the potential to have a significant impact in 2023. When using blockchain technology, this would allow for greater privacy and security. ZKPs' new features will benefit more than just extending Web2 functionality to Web3. it will also greatly expand the set of novel possibilities available to Web3. It will open up new possibilities majorly in NFT marketplace, Defi and governance.
Better NFT use cases: The perception of NFT will shift from over-hyped must-haves to proper IP management tools. Because there is no longer a first-mover advantage in the field of art-related NFTs and Metaverses, more virtual-identity NFT projects, as well as targeted 3D experiences related to specific websites and brands, will emerge in the next few years.
Amplification of gaming industry: While blockchain gives users an advantage in gaming, particularly in terms of ownership, there is plenty of room for developers to create applications that improve the performance of those games. The current Web3 gaming market is characterized by play-to-earn games, which appeal especially to players in developing economies who can earn a substantial income from their game earnings. These games, however, are not known for their user experience or imaginative worlds. They are usually utilitarian, which severely limits their appeal. Play-to-earn has limitless possibilities. By 2029, the esports market alone is expected to be worth $5.48 billion.

Our Perspective

According to the yearly data, Defi and NFT projects lead the ecosystem in terms of listing. Additionally, we saw an upward trend on games and social media project listing which indicates that the building landscape is robust and the upward trend in terms of TVL and adoption could surge real soon.

Following infographic shows the Dapp stats on our website. To know more about the year recap, click here.

Listed Projects to Watch Out For

Float: Float Capital is a blockchain-based platform that offers a secure and efficient way to transfer money across the world. It allows users to send and receive payments in a matter of minutes, with no fees and no minimums. In 2021, FLT saw a significant increase in its value, with a peak of over $13.00. Many analysts believe that FLT will continue to grow in value, as the platform is becoming increasingly popular and more people are using it. It is also likely that more businesses and organizations will adopt FLT as a payment option, driving up its value even further.
Interface: Interface is a decentralized social mobile app that allows users to share and connect with friends, family, and colleagues. It was launched in 2019 and has since grown to become one of the most popular social media apps. The app is built on the Ethereum blockchain and has a wide range of features, including secure messaging, decentralized file storage, and secure payments. The app also allows users to create their own tokens and use them to reward content creators. Recent developments include the integration of the Ethereum blockchain with the app, allowing users to send and receive payments in Ethereum. They are also working to add support for other cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Litecoin. Additionally, Interface is working on an AI-powered chatbot that can help users with their queries.
Transpose: Transpose.io is a decentralized application (Dapp) that enables users to create and manage secure, immutable, and transparent digital records. It is powered by blockchain technology, which offers a distributed ledger system that is secure, transparent, and immutable. Transpose.io was founded in 2018 and its growth has been strong since then. As of 2021, the platform has over 1 million users and is continuing to grow. In 2023, Transpose.io is expected to continue to grow as more people become aware of its features and the benefits of using a decentralized platform for record keeping. The platform is expected to gain more users, attract more developers, and expand its services to more industries. Additionally, Transpose.io is expected to continue to innovate and develop new features that will make it even more attractive to users.

Final Words

It's worth noting that none of the failures we've seen this year have been caused by a flaw in the blockchain technology itself. In fact, technical advancements in the space have continued, and this year has been a watershed moment in the history of many blockchains. In 2022, Ethereum successfully upgraded from a proof-of-work blockchain to a proof-of-stake blockchain. Ethereum's tokenomics have also changed significantly, which many people believe will benefit the Ethereum ecosystem's future.

Many people have called for more crypto regulation in response to the failures and bankruptcies seen in 2022. Fraud and theft, as well as irresponsible lending and leveraged trading, have created a difficult environment for investors that many believe would not have occurred otherwise.

As we approach 2023, users should be aware that the current macro environment, lack of regulation and trust in crypto, and ambiguous regulatory frameworks will continue to put pressure on crypto. While these issues are significant and will not be easily overcome, blockchain innovation and progress have been growing exponentially, as are the use cases for the technology, and hence the crypto summer would be here soon!!