Digital assets space will revolutionize in 2021

Looking forward to 2021 and beyond, the digital asset space will undergo revolutionary change. I expect further hype cycles, particularly in the DeFi space. However, for the long term health of the digital assets space, there needs to be a focus on more meaningful work centered around protocol-level developments. In the next 10-15 years, the low hanging fruit will die down, but in its place, a strong crypto vehicle in which more people will experience the social impacts of digital assets will emerge. 

Digital assets space will revolutionize in 2021

Fewer and fewer people in the blockchain space are focused on the protocol-level work and are instead looking to the ‘big picture’ blockchain applications and use cases. While attractive in the short term, this represents a missed opportunity. The FinTech community is too eager to follow trends - as evidenced by the strong shift to Proof of Stake (PoS) protocols. When the next shiny penny comes along, people tend to abandon the work of the previous generation, not giving it enough time to fully understand what it means at a machine level.

A number of jurisdictions, such as Malta and Liechtenstein, are maturing in terms of regulation at a government level. Ultimately, governments have the power to either hinder or foster the growth of revolutionary technologies - this will be a key factor for long-term growth. While I don’t think regulators will accept DeFi offerings in their current form, we will see evolution and adaptation as regulators respond to more high-risk type asset classes. It’s an exciting time for the digital assets space -- we’ve undoubtedly come a long way, but we still have a long way to go.