2021 Year in Review: Laying the Foundations for an Exciting Crypto Future
Cash.Tech Newsletter #10: Reliving the year of NFTs, DeFi, and multi-chain adoption
What a year! 2021 will go down in history as the year that the cryptocurrency industry took a giant step toward mainstream adoption. The industry witnessed remarkable levels of retail and institutional involvement, pushing global market capitalization close to $3 trillion for the first time.
This final Cash.Tech Newsletter of the year reviews the biggest crypto wallet developments of 2021. The highlights include the NFT and DeFi boom, as well as the gradual move to a multi-chain future. Before that, we bring you a roundup of Cash.Tech developments in 2021 and the roadmap for the coming year.
Cash.Tech development roundup
2021 was a massive year for Cash.Tech and its loyal community. We completed a successful token sale and released the first version of the Cash.Tech wallet for Android and iOS. This means we have one of the most user friendly and intuitive applications in the industry where you can easily access and spend your crypto assets. We have a solid foundation for further development over the coming year.
Given the impressive development progress this year, we anticipate that 2022 will be a big year for Cash.Tech and our native $CATE token. The team will continue to rapidly develop the Cash.Tech platform, prioritizing new features that provide utility to the $CATE token and offer sublime features to end users.
2021 Overview
Successful token sale
Full rebranding (new logo, colors, branding and website)
Developed a fully functional multi-chain application for both iOS and Android.
Introduced support for Binance Smart Chain (BSC) BEP20 tokens and Polygon-based tokens
Easily accept or send almost all of your favorite tokens.
Full multi-chain NFT integration (Ethereum, Binance, Polygon), including the integration of video and audio.
In progress
In-built token swap for converting ERC20, Binance, and Polygon tokens.
2022 Roadmap
Main net launch
Cash.Tech lending program (Users can lend assets to each other via the Cash.Tech lending program. Earnings will be in CATE and will be transferred as a staking reward to the token holders)
Implement merchant protocol (makes it easy for merchants to start accepting crypto assets as a payment). There will be a tiny fee that will be used as a staking reward for token holders.
Launching the Cash.Tech temp_access protocol. In the future, many items will be made available to people on a temporary basis (renting, leasing, access to clubs, etc). Cash.Tech will provide the technical foundation for this. The temp_access protocol will allow vendors (in the real world or in the Metaverse) to provide temporary access to areas, tools, data, etc.
The Cash.Tech community can expect that in line with our high privacy standards, all development features will still allow users to maintain full control on their private keys and thereby maintain custody of their assets. We will not store any data on Cash.Tech servers.
NFT adoption skyrockets
The market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) was the fastest growing in the crypto industry this year. The total trading volume for NFTs jumped from under $33 million in 2020 to $13 billion this year, representing an almost 43,000% increase.
(Source: TheBlock)
The NFT market growth is largely attributable to the involvement of traditional art auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie's. Their involvement helped legitimize NFTs, which were undervalued until then. Both firms netted $100 million and $150 million respectively from NFT sales, and will be looking to exceed those figures in the new year.
Another sector that has contributed significantly to NFT market growth is the collectibles and blockchain gaming space. Buoyed by the rise of play-to-earn games like Axie Infinity and Sandbox, investors poured in millions to acquire artwork and gaming characters sold as NFTs. The blockchain gaming space received an estimated $4 billion worth of investments this year, suggesting the sector might see even further growth in 2022.
Public interest in “NFTs” remains near all-time highs (Source: Google Trends)
In line with its user-focused development approach, Cash.Tech responded to the increased adoption of NFTs by launching the NFT Display feature. The feature, which supports viewing NFTs on Ethereum, Polygon and Binance Smart Chain, allows investors to view and manage their assets easily.
DeFi surges 10x in remarkable run
The market for decentralized finance (DeFi) also witnessed significant growth this year. We saw increased usage of decentralized exchanges and staking protocols, as investors sought opportunities to grow their income in a bullish market environment. The total value of assets locked in DeFi grew from under $20 billion to $250 billion.
(Source: DeFilLama)
An influx of retail investors helped fuel the DeFi boom, as evidenced by the massive increase in the number of blockchain transactions. There was also an increased level of institutional adoption, as highlighted by a recent report by security firm Chainalysis. Large institutional transfers into the crypto space jumped from $1.4 billion in July 2020 to $46.3 billion by mid-year, with a majority of funds directed towards DeFi protocols.
The demand for DeFi was matched by the release of crypto wallets that provided simple and user-friendly interfaces for users. The Cash.Tech wallet was designed to meet the needs of the current DeFi landscape, including the growing move into a multi-chain world.
The rise of multi-chain ecosystems
Top Five DeFi Chains (Source: DeFilLama)
The 2021 crypto story would not be complete without acknowledging the emergence of multi-chain ecosystems. The surge in demand for decentralized applications (dApps) highlighted the need for networks that could handle more transactions at relatively low cost. During its peak in May, the average cost of an Ethereum transaction skyrocketed to $68.72, making it unaffordable for smaller investors.
The situation led to the rise of alternative blockchain networks including Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, Terra and Solana. These networks offered faster and cheaper transactions and gained momentum during the bull run. Although Ethereum remains a clear market leader, the massive value already accrued by dApps on these alternative networks means one can expect them to morph into larger economies in the coming year and beyond.
Cash.Tech is building for the emerging multi-chain future by enabling support for leading blockchain networks in its wallet solution. Users can seamlessly access their favorite DeFi and NFT apps across any network using the in-built dApp browser.
Laying the foundations for an exciting future
Although market growth has slowed in the past few months, anyone involved in the cryptocurrency industry since the start of the year will look back fondly at the year’s remarkable developments. The foundation has been laid for applications with the potential to disrupt legacy systems, and unlock the creation of new user-owned digital economies.
Cash.Tech’s ultimate goal is to offer a full-fledged wallet solution that gives investors self-custodial access to the enormous potential of cryptocurrency technology. The future looks extremely exciting and the Cash.Tech team is greatly pleased to be with you on this journey.