Another year and another lifetime lived. Things move fast in crypto and AI. I feel that every year knocks my idyllic web3 dreams down a peg while reinforcing the foundations of the tried and true use-cases. Let’s see how my prior bets have held up and which new bets I will bring to the table.
The future is multi-chain
True as ever. We are seeing this play out as successful apps spread out to the most appropriate chains in the ecosystem. Solana, Ethereum and Cosmos stand out to me as the most practical chains, and while I can’t make any claims about which specific use-cases will excel on each, I have a high conviction that all 3 will be around for a while.
The hype cycles will continue
As the planets spin on their axes, so too does the value of cryptos rise and fall. Until we live in a Bitcoin-first world where we longer have to value our goods in fiat currencies :)
Bitcoin will be the best digital store of value
I would change the wording of this a little bit, Bitcoin already IS the best digital store of value. And furthermore, Bitcoin is THE BEST store of value. Thank God for Bitcoin. Truly.
There will be some form of decomposition/slimming mechanism in the most successful layer-1s
As I’ve learned more about pruning I think this won’t be necessary for the Bitcoin blockchain, but I suspect this will be top of mind for many alt-L1s. I think blockchain ecosystems will mimic nature in many ways. And decomposition is vital to every ecosystem on the planet.
There will be a revolution in how the energy that powers a proof of work system is stored and spent
Yes and we’re getting there! Just this month another Bitcoin-miner-heated bath house opened up in New York, and we have just recently seen the release of the first commodity Bitcoin-miner-space-heater. The more important innovations like solar powered, hydro powered and geothermal miner systems are beginning to get some traction as well. Very excited about the future of Bitcoin mining.
We will not reach hyperbitcoinization for at least 20 more years
I still think this is true. More fiat currencies have showed their cracks, the Japanese Yen most recently and notably, but Bitcoin adoption will need some time and tooling to really prosper. I hope to introduce the beauty of Bitcoin to more communities in need and help with this adoption.
A blockchain ecosystem will establish statehood with land & legislation within the next 20 years
Wow, I really have not thought about this concept in a long while, but reading this opinion sparked some enthusiasm from deep within me. A blockchain system would be an invaluable tool for organizing societies, and I have a sinking feeling that we will have more need for this in the 21st century. Political unrest and fiat currency collapses are becoming way too common.
We will see another country adopt Bitcoin as an official currency within the next year
Sadly no good news to report this year. Many countries would greatly benefit from this, but I suspect the right leaders aren’t in power quite yet. There’s certainly potential with Milei’s Argentina, so I’m going to renew this bet for the coming year. I think in the Middle East, Africa, or South America we will see a country adopt Bitcoin as a national currency in the coming year.
With another halving under our belt I’m excited to see how Bitcoin progresses in the next year. I plan to travel to more Bitcoin communities throughout the world and learn more about the grassroots growth programs popping up. The future is bright.