4 Blockchain Niches Pushing the Boundaries of Innovation

I've been in the blockchain industry for over ten years now, and in that period, I have never ceased to be amazed by how much the industry has evolved right before my eyes. It feels almost like watching your child grow up. Since the advent of Bitcoin in 2009, the industry has come a long way. It has attracted both retail and institutional investors in its journey to global acceptance all over the world today. There is a notable appeal for digital assets as an instrument of investment.

Several niche markets have been vital to the growth of the Industry. And each has contributed unique value propositions to the overall industry. For example, the Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) market has found a way to shine the spotlight on creators. The sector has helped creatives monetize their works, and it allows the tokenization of real-world assets on the blockchain. Today, it is a multi-billion-dollar market. Another instance is the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) markets that have provided the world with an alternative means of carrying out financial transactions and using financial instruments like borrowing without waiting on intermediaries like banks or brokerages.

These emerging sectors have experienced immense growth within the crypto industry, and they have contributed in no small part to the overall success of the blockchain. However, no matter the level of success achieved at the moment, since blockchain and cryptocurrency are still nascent technologies, it would be unwise to cap the potential of innovation in these technologies. There are several projects already at the forefront of development in the industry. A lot more would come up as the industry evolves. Some of the sectors where these projects are leading the pack include Metaverse, DeFi, Layer-2, Artificial Intelligence (AI), etc.

In this article, we'll delve into these remarkable niches and how they continue to improve the creative potential of the blockchain industry.

Play-to-Earn (P2E) Metaverse

A promising sector that has driven and continues to drive mainstream adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies is the Play-to-Earn Metaverse. The adoption of cryptocurrencies has been slow due to various factors. For one, there has been limited access to knowledge due to the technical nature of most of the industry. There is also the issue of regulatory challenges facing the industry that have prevented or made investors unsure of coming into the space.

However, a very impressive number of people engage actively in video and mobile gaming. In 2021, over 3 billion people played games actively and directly, resulting in the gaming industry generating hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue, with an expected revenue of around $533 billion in 2027. By incorporating P2E features into this gigantic industry, Web3 gaming is serving as an easy route for these people to enter the blockchain world. Proof of this is the play-to-earn games market size, which was valued at $32.9 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach $88.6 billion by 2028—a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17.93% in that period.

In the last couple of years, the blockchain industry has experienced impressive levels of growth, and a major part of that has been the growth of Web3 gaming. Different factors have driven this growth, but a large part of it can allude to the rise in the prominence of NFTs and the P2E model of gaming. This gaming model offers players the ability to earn in-game assets that can be owned or sold in an open marketplace as NFTs.

This has empowered gamers to build valuable digital identities backed by real-world worth in the game's native token. Some of the top P2E Metaverse projects include The Sandbox, Decentraland, Gala, Illuvium, Axie Infinity, and futuristic NFT-oriented Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) like Sidus Heroes and Creo Engine are spearheading this revolution.

Creo is a next-level Web3 gaming ecosystem that connects gamers and developers in a one-size-fits-all Web3 gaming hub with its powerful blockchain technology. It aims to be the foundation of all Web3 gaming systems, providing game developers with a robust and secure platform to build upon.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

The launch of Bitcoin in 2009 saw the explosion of a robust industry from its underlying technology. This industry saw the development of different niches where blockchain solutions were developed for different use cases. One such niche is DeFi. This niche was created as an alternative means of carrying out financial transactions from traditional financial services. DeFi is powered by Decentralized Applications (dApps) and consists of smart contacts and apps built on Ethereum, where a majority of the ecosystem's Total Value Locked (TVL) is concentrated.

A core tenet of Bitcoin is decentralization, and DeFi embodies this ideology. Over the years, the sector has expanded on this ideology and has grown into a subcategory where many mainstream financial services have been built and offered to the masses. DeFi has pushed for a world where these services are controlled by individuals (Peer-to-Peer) instead of central entities. This niche has proven valuable, as evidenced during the peak DeFi season in 2021, when the ecosystem had a Total Value Locked (TVL) of over $179 billion. That figure is currently $69.60 billion.

While the sector may have begun with lending, today, it has many use cases and is giving users access to financial services like investing, trading, saving, and even market-making. Platforms like Uniswap, Curve, and Balancer with their Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs), Aave and Compound with their lending and borrowing protocols, Lido with its staking, Yearn Finance and Libera with their yield platforms are some of the projects at the forefront of the DeFi ecosystem.

Layer-2

The Ethereum blockchain is a popular blockchain for various applications, especially in DeFi. This has held regardless of different market conditions and legal challenges. Two things that have, however, hindered the blockchain's scalability have been its speed and high gas fees.

Layer-2 solutions are a sprawling blockchain niche addressing these issues by providing faster and more affordable transactions while maintaining security. These newer blockchains and DeFi platforms are processing transactions in milliseconds, with a perfect example being SparqNet, a platform capable of handling up to 400,000 Transactions Per Second (TPS), ensuring smooth integration with existing ecosystems by domiciling on the Avalanche network.

The layer-2 niche has explosive growth potential, as evidenced by its $22 billion market capitalization and a 24-hour trading volume of $1.9 billion at the time of writing. In addition to instant transactions, layer-2 platforms, especially on the Ethereum blockchain, also provide zero gas transactions. An example of this is LightLink, a blockchain that lets decentralized applications and enterprises offer users instant, gasless transactions.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI emerged as the most popular technology trend in 2023. Because these technologies are so disruptive, it isn't particularly surprising to see that the AI trend seamlessly transcended into the blockchain industry, with technology like ChatGPT gaining widespread attention. Today, the AI market cap is $11.5 billion, and for an industry that came into prominence last year, the potential to grow even bigger is quite obvious.

Tech giants like Microsoft and Google are actively investing significant resources in the sector and are coming up with products like ChatGPT and Google Bard that have revolutionized our lives. Many AI crypto projects are leveraging this technology to enhance industry-wide efficiency.

AI crypto tokens are cryptocurrencies that power AI blockchain projects like AI-powered image generation, portfolio management, etc. Users need these tokens to use these platforms, and they might also have governance rights on the platform. Some examples of top AI projects include The Graph, Injective, Fetch.ai, Humanity Protocol, etc.

Conclusion

The niches mentioned in this article are only a glimpse into the thriving ecosystems of the blockchain industry. Each niche is a testament to human ingenuity, and they contribute to building a more innovative and accessible future. One thing, though, is certain: the blockchain revolution is still in its nascent stages, and the possibilities are as limitless as our imagination.