Since the dawn of the blockchain in 2008, the idea of what’s possible within the crypto space has changed dramatically. There’s been an evolution from simple cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to full-fledged DeFi applications, games, and more. But this evolution isn’t complete. “The cryptocurrency market is developing at an ever-increasing pace. Still, we are only at its early seed stage, where the foundations are laid and norms established.” Today, the crypto industry faces even more seismic shifts. Web3 is ushering in a myriad of changes in the way the blockchain is used for business, advertising, and recreation. Governments around the world are looking at ways to regulate various aspects of the industry. With a growing global eye on blockchain technology, one question is at the forefront of everyone’s mind: What lies ahead? While we don’t have a crystal ball that can peer into the crypto industry’s future, we can make some educated guesses by looking at the past. The USA’s Early Crypto Dominance It shouldn’t be a surprise that many of the crypto industry’s earliest pioneers and adopters hail from Silicon Valley. Major players like Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase, and Ripple Labs all have roots there. And countless other influential voices have come from the US’s west coast. But this is only one reason why the United States has played such a dominant role in crypto’s story. The US is home to dozens of major corporations, the largest stock exchange in the world, and unparalleled financial and technological infrastructures. Plus, the country’s legal and regulatory environment tends to be friendly toward entrepreneurs and startups. In many ways, the United States was the perfect incubator for the blockchain. That’s the reason the vast majority of crypto projects were launched and targeted within the English-speaking world. The United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia were the dominant players in crypto. But all that began to change after the collapse of FTX. The Fall of FTX and the Rise of Crypto Regulations In the summer of 2022, FTX was riding high. Earlier that year, they’d made several headline-worthy announcements, including the creation of a $2 billion venture fund, plans to offer stock trading to their US customers, and the development of a gaming division. The future looked bright for the company and the crypto industry as a whole. But then, in November, things began to unravel. And by the middle of that month, the massive exchange and hedge fund has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy. John J. Ray III, the CEO who was brought in as a liquidator, summed up just how bad things were when he said, “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here.” And this was from someone who had also been involved in the bankruptcies of Enron and Nortel. FTX’s collapse sent shockwaves through the crypto industry. Governments around the world began looking more seriously at the possibility of introducing stricter regulations on cryptocurrencies and projects. And since FTX’s fall happened on the US’s watch, lawmakers there were even more eager to “do something.” While comprehensive crypto regulations haven’t been passed yet, uncertainty surrounding the future of crypto in the US has sent entrepreneurs and investors scurrying for other options. Many people who are interested in the crypto space are rethinking their plans for the US, eyeing South American, Middle Eastern, and Asian countries instead. US Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) recently put the situation into perspective, saying, “The failure of the United States Congress to enact policy is pushing the industry to other countries. Europe is ahead of us in terms of its regulatory framework. Australia and the U.K. are getting ahead of us. Switzerland is far ahead of us.” According to Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, the crypto industry already has a foot out of the door as they head for greener pastures overseas. While some voices in the industry are less confident in this geographical shift, noting the US’s history of being a technological and economic leader, there can be no doubt that rough waters lie ahead. Change is coming one way or another. Changes in the Crypto Industry Examining the history of blockchain use allows you to see that it followed something of a natural progression. It began with cryptocurrency, one of the most intuitive and obvious applications for a digital ledger. Once cryptocurrencies were a thing, it only made sense to form cryptocurrency exchanges. But it was the introduction of smart contracts by Ethereum in 2014 that made it possible to go beyond currencies to fully functional applications. This is when decentralized finance (DeFi) projects began to pop up. But the evolution didn’t stop there. There was simply too much potential in the blockchain to end in static assets. The gamification of the blockchain was an inevitability. Over the past year or two, the crypto industry has seen an explosion of growth from the GameFi side of the crypto world. This can clearly be seen from data provided by Bitmedia, one of the blockchain industry’s leading advertising networks. **“Until 2022, the top three advertising campaign niches were crypto exchanges, NFT metaverse games, and gambling betting projects. Since then, the number of GameFi and gambling betting projects has dramatically increased, rising to the very top of the charts.”
\ The following chart reveals just how much of a shift the industry has undergone over the past year. Beginning in 2023, crypto exchanges have swapped places with gambling projects, dropping from 35% to 20% of ad placements. Gambling projects, on the other hand, have risen from 15% to 35%. The fact that the gambling side of the industry hasn’t been hit by regulations has led to this exponential growth. All of this is indicative of a massive change in the industry, and it bodes well for those involved in blockchain’s gaming sectors. Crypto Ad Campaigns Distribution by Niche. Bitmedia data: 2021 % 2023 % Crypto exchanges / DEX 35 Gambling/Betting 35 NFT games 15 Web3 projects 25 Gambling/Betting 15 Crypto exchanges / DEX 20 Web3 projects 10 NFT games 10 Other 15 Other 10 This is especially the case in parts of the world where crypto didn’t have as strong of a presence until more recently. Again, Bitmedia’s data is helpful here. The top locations for Web3 advertising have moved in an increasingly eastern direction. Prior to 2023, four of the top five countries were native English-speaking, and the fifth, Singapore, uses a form of English as its unofficial language. By 2023, four of the top five nations for Web3 advertising were in southeast Asia, and the fifth was African. This signals a major change in the industry. And it’s one that shows no sign of slowing down. Top Geos for Web3 Advertising. Bitmedia data: 2021 2023 USA Philippines Canada Thailand UK Vietnam Australia Indonesia Singapore Nigeria According to a , the “most consistent interest in GameFi has been from the East Asia region,” including South Korea, Hong Kong, and China. study by CoinGecko https://twitter.com/coingecko/status/1658665199208140805?s=20&embedable=true As interest in GameFi grows around the world, there will be an ever-increasing number of opportunities for crypto investors and startups. We at Bitmedia as noted this growth and the growing potential for leveraging the space for advertising. “The use of an open source distributed ledger (or blockchain) would enable users to confirm the trustworthiness and validity of those people participating, their backgrounds and interactions with others. Fake accounts or suspicious individuals without any background could be easily identified by publishers and gaming platforms who could see which accounts are trusted and have numerous interactions with other members of any given blockchain. The benefits go beyond mere transparency and accountability, important though they are; it would also ensure greater budget effectiveness, as the new data adds an extra layer of precise data that can be used to tailor ad campaign targeting to a molecular level”. Looking Behind and Ahead Crypto adoption and regulation related to the industry are different forces that don’t always align with one another. At times, regulations lag behind adoption. In other instances, they lead. Much depends on infrastructure and the kinds of proposed regulations. However, one thing is clear: both of these factors play a significant role in the development of crypto businesses in the world. This can be easily seen by taking a brief look at the development of the crypto industry up until today. As we face uncertain waters ahead, both in terms of crypto adoption and regulations, we ought to recognize the difficulties and opportunities. Anxiety about legal regulations will continue to have an impact on where crypto projects pop up. The competition presented by those new projects will also impact the future of the industry. With all that said, now is the time for entrepreneurs to find a niche they can grow into. There’s never been an easier, cheaper time to do it. Furthermore, the rise of new bursting-with-demand geographies poses as an added layer of opportunities that once again helps the blockchain adoption and, therefore, the world.

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

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