Cryptocurrency has been around for over a decade, with the invention of Bitcoin in 2010. However, outside of market trading and speculation, crypto doesn’t seem to offer many tangible benefits and hasn’t disrupted the world as much as many people thought.
Albeit, in the last crypto cycle in 2021, we saw the emergence of non-fungible tokens (known as NFTs). These were mainly collectibles traded on the Ethereum and Solana networks and redefined ownership of digital assets online.
Nevertheless, the market has crashed spectacularly in the value of NFTs. For example, many people have lost serious cash on NFTs. Take the NFT of the first-ever tweet by Jack Dorsey, which sold for an eye-watering $3.2m.
Now, in 2024, that same NFT is worth only $1200, a massive price reduction. It’s not unique either, many celebs from Paris Hilton to Jake Paul have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars on NFTs.
Yet, many in the crypto space are still assertive that technology will someday dominate everything. In this article, we take a look at the industries it’s most likely to start making noises.
Gaming
The most obvious industry cryptocurrency can completely revolutionize is gaming. In the past five years, crypto gaming has continued to rise in popularity, with many game cryptocurrencies such as Sandbox, Decentraland, and Enjin Coin all starting to make waves.
One aspect that has also surged in popularity is sweepstakes crypto casinos. Instead of depositing real money like US dollars, you use Bitcoin or Ethereum. Depending on the site or app, up to 20 cryptos can be accepted for deposits and withdrawals.
At these sweepstakes apps, all the games are supplied by the biggest brands in the industry like NetEnt, Hacksaw Gaming, and IGT. Also, players can claim a welcome bonus when they sign up and join the loyalty program, to get even more rewards like cashback and free spins.
Besides online casinos, play-to-earn models are quickly gaining traction. This means when you play games such as God’s Unchained, Star Atlas and Axie Infinity, you can trade and sell assets for crypto. This gives gamers an economic incentive to play crypto games compared to regular ones.
Finance
Bitcoin was initially invented as a reaction to the 2008 financial crash so it’s no surprise finance is on this list. Crypto allows for two parties to send and receive value without the need for a third party such as a bank or financial institution.
In recent times, this has led to the introduction of “decentralized finance”, where users can lend and borrow cryptocurrency using smart contracts to execute transactions. The benefits of crypto for sending money quickly and cheaply cannot be underestimated.
This is most certainly the case in remittance payments, where workers abroad send money back to their families. Currently, they are paying commission fees to send money, which is surely a problem crypto can resolve.
Moreover, banks themselves are investing heavily in the underlying technology, blockchain. Countless administrative tasks can be helped by using blockchain. These include everything from document management to international money transfers.
Real Estate
One industry cryptocurrency can start to change is real estate. This is because, with crypto, any asset can be tokenized, meaning multiple owners for one house or apartment. This type of micro-investing will allow young people to get on the property ladder.
In addition, with the usage of smart contracts, checking issues with any houses in the past will become simpler and much more detailed. This is because blockchain technology is immutable, so if a roof was changed over a decade ago, all the records will be on file.
Finally, cryptocurrency has no international limits like regular currencies. Therefore, the market for potential buyers of property will become much larger. With no currency exchanges, the process will most certainly become more straightforward in time.
Governance
An extremely controversial area where blockchain and cryptocurrency can revolutionize is governance. This is solely because the data structure of the blockchain is immutable and reliant on a decentralized network. This is a stark contrast to today’s highly centralized systems which in turn, makes them easy to control or hack.
In the crypto space, there are also plenty of governance tokens available today, with the most famous being Tezos. Tezos provides decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), which allows for decentralized decision-making in any organization such as a school, business, or local council.
Blockchain technology allows for agreements to be put in computer code rather than relying on human beings. However, many people are still extremely apprehensive about anything digital when it comes to governance – especially any voting systems.
Caroline is doing her graduation in IT from the University of South California but keens to work as a freelance blogger. She loves to write on the latest information about IoT, technology, and business. She has innovative ideas and shares her experience with her readers.
