- Despite a wave of bankruptcies the volatility witnessed in 2022 adoption of cryptocurrencies appears to have remained apace on a worldwide scale.
In 2022, institutional and retail investors significantly increased the use of digital assets, making it a landmark year for the cryptocurrency market. This trend was influenced by several significant occurrences, such as the introduction of new goods and services, changes in laws and regulations, and adjustments to market circumstances.
The absence of clear regulation and direction from governments all around the world has been one of the main barriers to the adoption of cryptocurrencies more widely. However, this started to alter in 2022 as many nations took action to make cryptocurrency regulation more clear.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States released guidelines on the usage of cryptocurrencies and how they fit within current rules. For companies and private investors looking to enter the market, this gave much-needed clarity.
The following were a few significant occasions that boosted the sector last year: First, the number of unique addresses on the Polygon network topped 200 million. Second, well-known companies like Nike and Adidas kept entering the Web3 market.
A variety of technological developments throughout 2022 also contributed to the increased usage of cryptocurrencies. The introduction of the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, which brought about a number of improvements to the Ethereum network, including enhanced scalability and security, was one of the most significant of these. The total amount of Ether locked within the Ethereum ecosystem rapidly increased in 2022. The quantity of staked ETH increased from slightly over 9 million to over 13 million between February and June 2022.
Late in 2022, the Brazilian Congress passed a measure attempting to control the use of digital currencies for everyday transactions within its boundaries, potentially fostering the uptake of cryptocurrencies in the South American country. Although it does not make cryptocurrencies legal cash, the bill gives them legal status when used to pay for goods and services.
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) was the region where cryptocurrency use grew the fastest last year, according to a survey by blockchain analytics company as per Chainalysis. The area saw $566 billion in crypto transactions between July 2021 and June 2022, an increase of about 49% from the previous year. To put things in context, there were gains of 40% across Europe, 36% across North America, and 35% across Central and South Asia.
In summation, 2022 was a successful year for the cryptocurrency sector, as it experienced notable advancements in terms of legal clarity, general acceptance, and technological development.