Lately, it seems that articles in the digital assets space only cover the price of Bitcoin and the ongoing regulatory conversation and the various associated lawsuits (and let’s not forget the Ledger ‘Recover’ kerfuffle).
However, keen observers will see that there is a lot more going on aside from these major news pieces.
Oftentimes “trends” are difficult to pin down in the digital assets space due to its constant change—trends die quickly in the crypto space. In fact, trends tend to die quickly whenever social media is involved (which is almost always).
Because of this, KCD PR conducts regular, ongoing media monitoring for our clients in blockchain, digital assets, and in our other industries as well.
Here are the lesser-known trends we’ve seen circling around from our media scans.
1. Crypto is heading offshore
Although related to the regulatory conversation, the topic of companies retreating from the United States is a (slightly) less-reported trend. However, many journalists are noting this phenomenon, as they did at Consensus 2023.
The talks at Consensus 2023 were non-stop on U.S. regulation, but a smaller conversation was about its consequence for the American business economy. The lack of clear regulation and the resulting “regulation by enforcement” is taking a major toll on U.S. companies.
Ben Schiller, head of Consensus magazine, wrote that the lack of regulation from U.S. lawmakers is “a concern for American competitiveness at large… Europe and much of Asia now have relatively clear frameworks – and in what is supposedly a major hub for the blockchain industry, we still don’t. That affects an increasingly substantial number of people and organizations.”
2. Meme coins aren’t going away anytime soon
The recent launch of bitcoin-backed Pepecoin ($PEPE) truly demonstrates how crypto and internet culture go together. Jeff Wilser from CoinDesk wrote a feature that dove deep into the origins and culture behind meme coins (this article is one of my personal favorites).
Meme coins, though, contribute a lot more to the crypto ecosystem than meets the eye.
A research article from Forbes Digital Assets by Leeor Shimron outlines how these meme tokens built on the Bitcoin blockchain have caused Bitcoin transaction fees to skyrocket. In the article, Shrimron notes meme coins are contributing to innovation on the Bitcoin base layer and lead to new use cases.
3. Neither are nonfungible tokens (NFTs)
Despite hesitancy on the adoption of digital collectibles, many believe in and are committed to NFT’s utility and value. And the applications of NFTs aren’t only for digital art, but many innovative developers are finding new ways to use NFTs in gaming, intellectual (and literal) property, and other real-world assets.
This was particularly noticeable at NFT.NYC—an annual event founded by members of the NFT community. In an article by Ana Paula Pereira at Cointelegraph, Pereira noted, “After years of development, the first batch of NFT-based gaming projects are entering the market, paving the way for a world in which real life and games will be blended.”
4. Investors are turning their eyes and they need security
Despite a crypto winter, investors and asset managers are seeing the value of digital assets as a part of a diverse portfolio. Companies in digital assets are seeing the potential profits from investment professionals and taking steps to be more secure and regulated in their trading and custody practices (well… minus Binance, but that’s another conversation).
Not only is this being driven by investment pros, but by the crypto space itself. After major firms collapsed in late 2022, security became a top priority for crypto firms across the industry.
In the last few months, numerous articles have been published sharing news of various companies acquiring custody companies or compliance distinctions. Nasdaq announced the creation of its own custody platform alongside Fidelity and BNY Mellon. Ripple recently acquired Metaco, a firm specializing in custody for institutional investors, for $250M. As far back as January, it was obvious that this year more companies would be spending to increase their compliance departments.
In review, there’s never been a more exciting time to be in digital assets. That excitement trends between game-changing innovation and general uncertainty but regardless we’re still ‘bullish’ on the state of crypto right now.
Interested in learning more about digital assets? Here are some of our favorite crypto resources:
