The year 2021 was a tipping point for several incidents all over the world. Whether it was science or education, there have been many developments over the last year.
One particular aspect that has witnessed a growing interest this year is cryptocurrency. In fact, with all the events and achievements taking place in the crypto space, you could say that 2021 was a massive breakthrough for crypto.
But what are the incidents that made the crypto market skyrocket this year?
Key Crypto Stats in 2021
Earlier on Tuesday, Google published its annual list containing all the top searches of 2021. This list is also categorized based on people, news, movies, games, and more.
According to this, the terms “Dogecoin” and “Ethereum Price” were among the top 10 searches this year. The reason for this sudden surge could be traced back to Elon Musk’s singular tweet on Dogecoin being known as the “meme coin.”
Reddit also recognized the power of cryptocurrency as it became a topic of interest with over an incredible 6.6 million mentions!
Secondly, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, reached an all-time high value this year. In 2020, this crypto earned around US$30,000, but in 2021, Bitcoin broke its own record and managed to reach almost US$70,000!
With such an exponential growth rate, Bitcoin certainly has the potential to break more significant barriers in 2022. Needless to say, observing the journey of Bitcoin prices is undoubtedly an exciting venture.
Top 4 Iconic Moments for Crypto In 2021
#1 The Incredible Boom of NFTs
The year 2021 kickstarted with the most trending topics of the year, and that is NFTs (also known as Non-Fungible Tokens).
In simple words, these are digital tokens that have a direct link to blockchain and hold an exact value to themselves. They are unique because, unlike Bitcoin, NFT cannot be replicated in any way.
Currently, “Everydays By Beeple” is the most expensive NFT sold this year, and it was valued at almost US$69 million (equivalent to 40,000 Ether).
In addition to art, the gaming world has also welcomed the arrival of NFTs in 2021. For instance, Axie Infinity, animated by Tamagotchi and Pokémon, is an NFT-based game where you trade and battle.
By October 2021, this game had almost 2 million active players! Therefore, the cost of one AXS token also increased from US$6 to a fantastic US$150 by November!
#2 More Businesses and Companies Started to Welcome Crypto
Needless to say, the world of crypto received a lot of attention throughout the year. This, in turn, had an impact on businesses and companies all over the world, and they started to adopt this technology.
For example, some of the biggest names like Tesla and Square had their Bitcoin reserves this year. Moreover, Tesla also revealed that they had purchased Bitcoin worth almost US$1.5 billion, which they were holding as reserves!
Not long after this, Square also made its statement of buying US$170 million worth of Bitcoin and holding this as reserves.
In addition to this, sneaker companies like Adidas and Nike have also taken part in the metaverse club! In fact, Adidas even had an exciting collaboration with the Bored Ape Yacht Club to create the limited edition “Into The Metaverse” sneakers as NFTs.
Furthermore, Nike also joined hands with a business that makes digital sneakers and shoes.
At first glance, the concept of “virtual shoes” may seem a bit bizarre. However, because of the “limited edition” tag, these shoes stand out from the rest of the shoes and sneakers in the real world.
Needless to say, this is quite a breakthrough as more and more companies have started to use Bitcoin as a reserve asset like that of gold or silver.
#3 More Countries Have Started to Make Use of Cryptocurrencies
Now that more and more big companies have started to use cryptocurrencies, countries and places also want to get into the action. And the biggest news in this aspect is when El Salvador adopted Bitcoin into their country.
This came as a massive shock to the rest of the world when the El Salvador government sprung a surprise all over the world when they stated Bitcoin as their national form of currency.
Not only does this make El Salvador the first country to adapt to using Bitcoin, but it is also the first to use Bitcoin as its national currency and legal tender.
Of course, when this news spreads worldwide, people have different opinions about it. On the one hand, it is entirely possible to make Bitcoin a national currency throughout the country.
But on the other hand, the volatile Bitcoin market fluctuates a lot which makes it unpredictable to buy groceries and other everyday items and supplies.
#4 The Evolution of CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currencies)
Now that companies and countries have become more open to the idea of using cryptocurrency, the CBDC is also worth mentioning. In simple terms, this is a type of digital currency that works on a blockchain network created by a central bank.
There are several types of CBDC currencies today. However, one project stands a class apart from the rest, and that is Digital Yuan based in China.
In fact, several trials and test runs have already been done for places like Shanghai to see if this is a viable option.
Today, most of China has started to use e-payment methods for everyday purchases. Other than Digital Yuan, Digital Euro (based in Europe) and Ubin (based in Singapore) are also emerging CBDC projects.
Wrapping Up
As you can see, 2021 is the year where plenty of companies and governments have started to get more and more involved in the cryptocurrency space.
Needless to say, cryptocurrency will continue to see an uprising in the coming years across all aspects and industries. Therefore, now is the best time to start learning about the basics of cryptocurrencies.
This way, you will be ready for whatever the future holds for crypto!
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