These are the major events that shaped 2021
January: The Bitcoin price rose over the $40k mark for the first time in the company’s short history. Ethereum reached new all-time highs in January 2018 of $1417
February 19: Bitcoin reached $1 Trillion in market capitalization for the first-ever time on February 19. Tesla spent $1.5 billion on BTC purchases and adopted it to be a payment system. PayPal announced that customers in the US can now use cryptocurrency to pay international merchants.
March: Cardano, (ADA) protocol announced that the Mary protocol update would be applied to the mainnet starting March 1.
April: Dogecoin(DOGE) rose after a remarkable rally to become the fifth-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization. Turkey has announced a ban on crypto payments and partnerships. Coinbase is listed on the Nasdaq direct listing
May: With the boom in dog-themed tokens Shiba Inu saw a 2500% increase to reach $0.00003999. Dogecoin surged just before Elon Musk’s “Saturday Night Live” debut. Dogecoin reached an all-time high at $0.76 on May 8, the same day as Musk’s SNL debut.
June: El Salvador adopted a new law to allow Bitcoin to be used as a legal tender. It was the first country to do this.
July: $530M shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, (GBTC), impacts Bitcoin price. More than 16,000 BTC unlocked on July 18.
August: London’s London update with the Ethereum Improvement Proposal 1559 was live. The DeFi platform Poly Network was hacked initially with more than $600 million stolen.
September: China’s People’s Bank confirmed that it is continuing to crack down on cryptocurrency. As the market fell, Bitcoin plummeted to near $40k.
October: Shiba Inu reached all-time highs at $0.000088, making it a new entrant to the top ten. After Facebook’s rebranding to Meta, the boomof Gaming and Metaverse-themed tokens were created. It was the first time that a futures-based Bitcoin ETF went on the market.
November: Taproot was a much-anticipated upgrade to Bitcoin. Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $69,000
December Terre (LUNA). reached all-time highs of $100. Market crash Dec. 4 causes more than 20% to be erased from the value of Altcoins and Bitcoin.
Bitcoin and Altcoin prices
Bitcoin traded at $46,054, a drop of nearly 30% from its previous high of $69,000. As a result of China’s previous crypto ban, the entire crypto market was red.
Shiba Inu, which trades at $0.000033, is the top-earning stock for 2021. Terra (LUNA) and Solana (SOL), were also top gainers in 2021. SOL saw a 9,500% increase, while LUNA saw a 13,000% increase. The tokens saw significant gains due to ecosystem growth and investments.
Non-fungible tokens, also known as NFTs, made their breakthrough year in 2021, despite being around since 2014. The majority of sales were made in the last 12 months. In December, they surpassed $14 billion. DeFi’s DeFi took over as the leader of the gaming sector, which saw the most connections in the first seven month. In terms of gains, the year has seen more gains in the Sandbox (SAND), Axie Infinity(AXS), Enjin [ENJ], Illuvium/ILV, and Ultra (UOS).
What investors should expect in 2022
ETH Transformation: Ethereum intends to move from “proof-of-work” to (“proof of stake”) in 2022. This will change the landscape for Ethereum miners.
Growth in NFTs: NFTs enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2021. However, experts believe that the best is yet ahead. Brands will be actively involved in the Metaverse, NFTs and other initiatives. In 2021, Charmin, Dolce & Gabbana and Campbell’s released NFT collectibles.
Adoption In 2022 even more crypto-intensive businesses are expected to go public.
DeFi Insurance In 2022, viable insurance protocols will be developed to protect users against hacking.
