What is the outlook for cryptocurrency and blockchain in 2021? What 20 experts say

The following are 20 industry leaders’ predictions for the development of blockchain technology and encryption in 2021.

After we have experienced all this in 2020, any prediction of the next year is likely to be a blindfolded game. At the same time, I am convinced that mankind must learn many lessons from past mistakes and move forward by correcting mistakes and shortcomings. We have always done this. There is no doubt that the outbreak of new crown pneumonia this year is the main driving force for the development of the encryption field. The impact of the ongoing global pandemic on all aspects of our lives will shape our future. Some trends in the encryption field starting in 2020 are likely to continue into 2021.

The new crown pneumonia highlights the urgent need to find solutions in terms of economic efficiency and transparency, especially in the medical field. Further deployment of blockchain solutions will help doctors and patients around the world by strengthening the medical system (if not by overhauling the system). Despite the promise to protect citizens’ private data in the name of public health during the global pandemic, blockchain-based COVID-19 data storage solutions have caused serious concerns because they seem to have no privacy at all. Although the potential of these emerging technologies is worth looking forward to, for those engaged in the blockchain industry, priority should be given to striking a balance between privacy and appropriate solutions.

By pushing our technological development into the future, the pandemic has also had a major and far-reaching impact on the financial sector. On the one hand, governments around the world have made great strides in the development of central bank digital currencies this year. As the launch of CBDC approaches, the crypto community has expressed serious concerns about privacy, because CBDC represents another step towards a more centralized financial system.

On the other hand, people have been looking for alternatives and decentralized solutions, which led to the unprecedented rise of decentralized finance this year. Both of these trends will undoubtedly be the core trends in 2021.

During the new crown pneumonia pandemic, governments around the world began printing a large number of money, which triggered new concerns about the health of the financial sector and prompted people to turn to cryptocurrency as an alternative asset. Therefore, unlike 2017, Bitcoin (BTC) has proven that it can hedge against inflation and its status as a store of value has also been strengthened.

Institutional investors, hedge funds, and other mature financial investment institutions, such as Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, MicroStrategy, Square, and PayPal, have all entered the encryption field, and this trend is likely to continue in 2021. As more mainstream investors and service providers join the crypto industry, the true use of digital assets will further promote the large-scale global adoption of cryptocurrencies, which in turn will promote crypto philanthropy.

There are cheap, scalable and trustless systems in many fields, from blood donation to the food industry. Blockchain technology is improving the efficiency of the supply chain in these fields, and there will definitely be more DLT (distributed ledger technology)-based use cases around the world. Appear. Some people even believe that the enterprise blockchain is the next stage in the evolution of the economic structure. If it does not develop in this direction with all other companies, large companies will make a serious mistake in 2021.

The potential of blockchain in our response to climate change and global warming is equally important. From sustainable digital finance and carbon emissions, to eco-friendly cryptocurrency mining and transparent fuel usage, blockchain technology to manage the environment is critical to the future. As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, it seems impossible to achieve the United Nations sustainable development goals without blockchain.

Blockchain and cryptocurrency are not a panacea, nor can they solve all our problems, but it is unwise to ignore their potential to improve the world. Cointelegraph contacted 20 crypto industry leaders and asked them about their personal expectations in the field of cryptocurrency and blockchain in 2021. The following are their insights.

How will the field of cryptocurrency and blockchain develop in 2021?

Brian Behlendorf, Executive Director of Hyperledger:

“When it comes to predictions in the cryptocurrency field, I don’t have a clear answer, but I think volatility will continue to be its essential feature. In 2021, the use of blockchain, distributed ledgers and smart contract tools will continue to be like 2020 Grow like that.

The economic austerity period that is likely to continue in 2021 means that there is little room for development of proof-of-concept projects, but this situation also often promotes small and large companies to move towards greater cooperation instead of participating in a zero-sum game of market share. This means more joint efforts and more realistic expectations of returns, as well as less hype and debate. We have seen some networks, such as IBM’s blockchain food traceability network Food Trust, reliably achieve value-added through network effects.

If there is no DLT trading network in the core business process of your industry, it will be there by the end of 2021. Where there is competition, those blockchain alliances with the most open governance and the easiest network to join will have an advantage. “

Brian Brooks, Director of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency:

“Cryptocurrency is to the banking industry what the Internet is to the library. The Internet has existed for 10 years before 1995, and its rapid adoption became possible after everyone had access to it, not just programmers.

In 2021, I expect that cryptocurrencies will begin to undergo the same transformation. I think we are approaching a critical period of mass adoption because cryptocurrencies are becoming more and more universally accepted as a tool that everyone can use, not just people in Silicon Valley. Of course, the realization of this acceptance cannot be guaranteed. Cryptocurrency developers, exchange operators and other companies need to continue to pay attention to issues such as anti-money laundering compliance, fraud detection and prevention. If the crypto industry wants to operate on a large scale, these issues must be resolved. “

“Blockchain is at a critical juncture. In order to realize the lofty promise of the technology and achieve its widespread adoption, the industry needs to learn to work together. This is not a new concept, and few mainstream technology companies do it alone. For example, We don’t expect Samsung phones to be compatible only with Samsung’s wireless routers, nor should we expect this to happen in the encryption field. If we always hold a platform that needs to “win”, then we have to shoot ourselves Risk of feet.

In 2021, companies will have to face this critical test. If companies can first find ways to interoperate and realize that the blockchain industry will benefit from a rich cooperative ecosystem and work seamlessly with its end users, then nothing can stop us from using it to be better for all participants , A fairer solution to replace the global operating system.

By 2021, we may see developing countries adopt blockchain on an unprecedented scale. For developing countries, lack of infrastructure often hinders their growth rate. However, blockchain technology may begin to help cope with this situation. The fast function of the blockchain means that it can be expanded to satisfy all people without the need for existing infrastructure. After a year of prosperous blockchain development, blockchain technology has finally matured enough to be adopted by developing countries.

Blockchain technology not only allows developing countries to grow at a faster rate, but also means that they will not face the challenges faced by developed countries, which are facing challenges in reforming existing traditional systems. “

Da Hongfei, founder of Neo, founder and CEO of Onchain:

“Looking forward to 2021, I believe that blockchain will truly become mainstream. In 2020, Bitcoin has proven its value to mainstream investors, and the DeFi project has also confirmed the transformative power of blockchain. In addition, the new crown pneumonia pandemic revealed The various shortcomings of today’s global system also show that we urgently need more blockchain-based solutions to overcome current limitations.

Entering 2021, I have not seen the above-mentioned trends slow down. If any, these trends will only continue to accelerate because mainstream institutions are increasingly accepting blockchain technology. “

Denelle Dixon, CEO and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation:

“Although 2020 is far from the expectations of most of us, I think this is an important year for blockchain and digital currency. This proves that the positive impact of the blockchain can be faster and more effective Provide payment services. This will lay a solid foundation for 2021.

In 2021, as we are committed to creating user-friendly and connected products, I believe we will see more companies adopting blockchain technology. For the Stellar Development Foundation, we are working to expand our customer base (companies that issue fiat tokens and provide access to funds) so that the blockchain can be seen as a useful, versatile and scalable technology. These companies will better support the most common use cases in 2021, namely B2B (business-to-business) cross-border payments and C2C (user-to-user) cross-border remittances, and encourage more applications to enter the market. “

Elissa Shevinsky, former product manager of Brave and former editor of Lean Out:

“I think investors with sufficient funds will continue to invest in cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin will continue to be newsworthy. I think that due to the current funding distribution methods, we will see more companies adopting cryptocurrencies.

I believe that in many ways, 2021 will be an extension of 2020, rather than a year of great changes. With the development of the new crown pneumonia vaccine, people’s lives have become more “normal”, and we will see a lot of optimism in 2021.

I have seen people increasingly distrust the government and lack trust in how the country handles fiscal policy and basic functions. When you see recent cyber attacks (using SolarWinds, Microsoft, etc.), including hackers hacking into the US Treasury Department, would you invest in US dollars? When you deposit U.S. dollars in a savings account, you are investing in U.S. dollars. All of these make me optimistic about cryptocurrencies. “

Emin Gun Sirer, CEO of AvaLabs, Cornell University Professor and IC3 Co-Director:

“In 2021, DeFi will become a cross-chain ecosystem, and users will seek income opportunities for the same assets through bridges across multiple chains. We will also see many use cases released for the first time, as developers are exploring the ability to achieve sub-second processing Transaction network, and this type of network is more economical than the network they currently use.

Meaningful decentralization (measured by the number of full nodes participating in the consensus) and on-chain governance will get closer and closer to the forefront, as users and new entrants in the crypto field are increasingly aware of how central many blockchains are They are also aware of the risks they bring.

Finally, we will see institutions and companies start to no longer only invest in cryptocurrencies, they are also building real applications and infrastructure on platforms that can meet their performance requirements and be customized according to their data and compliance requirements. “

Heath Tarbert, Chairman and CEO of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission:

“The digitalization of the market is a macro trend. Of course, digital assets are also part of it. Digital assets and their underlying technologies are pushing the boundaries of traditional markets. I have to make a relatively safe prediction that the crypto market will continue to be a dynamic field of.

Digital assets, especially the underlying technology of the blockchain, have a great effect on our economy and the global market.

Innovation in the encryption field must continue to flourish. Today’s financial services industry is different from my parents’ generation, even when I was a child. I don’t want the financial services industry of my grandchildren’s generation to be the same as it is today. The market must continue to develop. We have witnessed how these markets, especially these technologies, eliminate geographic boundaries. It is very important for regulators to develop principles-based harmonized regulations for this ever-changing industry. “

Irene Gao, Regional Sales Director of Bitmain NCSA (North and Central and South America):

“The current bull market is different from 2017. Unlike previous years, we are moving from retail speculation to mainstream market integration. We have seen financial institutions and regulators becoming more and more interested in cryptocurrencies. Will last.

Mining plans delayed due to the new crown pneumonia pandemic may resume, especially in the United States. Therefore, as American miners expand their operations, we may see Bitcoin mining become more diversified in 2021. In order to cater to more overseas customers, we have improved the efficiency of our Malaysian mines and improved our cooperative relations with our customers to further assist them in expanding their mining business.

We are confident to move on in 2021. We are improving our service to customers. Recently, we have extended the warranty period of the Antminer 19 series from 6 months to 12 months, and started to cooperate with more local partners from different regions to provide better support for the world. “

Jean-Marie Mognetti, CEO of CoinShares:

“In 2020, Bitcoin shows a similar trend to 2013 and 2017. The price changes and trading volume of cryptocurrencies also indicate that there is a momentum for trading, especially Bitcoin trading. If this trend continues, we may be in 2021 will see Bitcoin show a parabolic rise.

We may see more and more institutional investors and companies adding Bitcoin and digital asset investment tools to their portfolios. This will cause some Bitcoin investment tools, such as CoinShares’ ETP (Exchange Traded Product) and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, to continue to buy more Bitcoin than the Bitcoin mined every day. This trend is in the new year. It might speed up. I believe that we will see a repeat of 2017 or 2013 in 2021, albeit in a more structured and less emotional way, unless there is a Six Sigma event that disrupts market momentum (a kind of improvement in corporate quality). The technology of process management, with the perfect business pursuit of “zero defect”, drives a substantial improvement in quality and a substantial reduction in costs, and finally achieves the improvement of financial performance and the breakthrough of corporate competitiveness). “

Jimmy Song, Blockchain Programming Instructor:

“Whether it’s a bull market or more institutional investors entering the crypto space, I don’t think anything in the blockchain field will have any impact, just like the past 6 years. Cryptocurrencies are mainly for new investors. They You will find that anything other than Bitcoin is a real scam.”

Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and founder of ConsenSys:

“I think DeFi will become closer to ordinary people, and the technology used to interact with it will become more user-friendly.

I also predict that the various parts of Web 3.0-decentralized storage, bandwidth and value will be further integrated with each other. We spent a year working together to build a bridge between Filecoin and Ethereum through Codefi DeFi Bridge. Infura’s IPFS service transmitted more than 300 TB of data in 2020 alone. Web 3.0 is showing the potential to provide more open content creation, including the potential for publishing, participating, creating, and running e-commerce, communications, and video.

We will also be closely involved in the expansion of Ethereum, including promoting research on ETH2.0, and assisting our customer team Teku, Codefi Staking and Infura’s beacon chain API. The merger of ETH1.0 and ETH2.0 may take place in 2021, and we look forward to the emergence of a more flexible and scalable solution globally.

In the early 1990s, you could not legally buy anything on the Internet, and we are now seeing the same democratization in the financial industry. We have replaced bank passbooks and phone calls to securities brokers with online interfaces. Anyone’s access to financial services is a major achievement in itself, and we believe that this will continue to develop rapidly in 2021. “

Mance Harmon, co-founder and CEO of Hedera Hashgraph and Swirlds Inc.:

“In 2021, the intersection of the three trends of tokenization, DeFi, and business logic will move to the second-tier network, which will pave the way for enterprises to adopt public DLT networks. These trends, coupled with the painful lessons learned from trying to deploy private networks, Enterprises have been adapted to the public DLT network in an unprecedented way.

Digital tokens are designed for economic activities within the supply chain, not just a way for startups to raise funds. The combination of tokenization, legal currency-backed stablecoins and DeFi (underlying technology, not short-term hype) will make traditional financing operations faster and cheaper, and fundamentally change some of the existing processes: purchase order financing, Obtain working capital loans, purchase insurance, ensure inventory pledge financing and invoice factoring.

Companies are realizing that they can let their applications execute business logic in the second-tier network and simply use the first-tier network to reach consensus and make decisions. This approach combines the advantages of public networks (distributed trust) and private networks (low cost, scalability, privacy, and regulatory compliance).

The intersection of these trends will lay the foundation for companies to use DLT in their daily business and will significantly accelerate their adoption of DLT in 2021. “

Mathew Yarger, Head of Mobility&Automotive Department of IOTA Foundation:

“2021 will be a year of hybrid DLT, interoperability and real-world integration. We will regard 2021 as a major transition year in the DLT field. People will shift from the mistaken belief that “DLT is the solution” to a realistic understanding DLT is a tool, just like artificial intelligence and cloud services.

We should see more and more people realize that different DLTs have different advantages for different things, and they can be combined in interesting ways to form interesting solutions. Other important points to note include: interoperability between licensed and unlicensed DLT in applications, the connection between IoT-centric DLT and cloud DLT environments, and the use of DLT as a consumer-oriented solution Verification, testing of safer architectures in real environments, mainly for medical, energy, travel and supply chain solutions. The ecosystems in these areas are highly decentralized or highly regulated.

Many practical solutions will be introduced through technology. These solutions will affect traditional technology companies that have made major commitments in the DLT field and promote their technology in interesting new ways. “

Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo:

“We believe that institutional investors will accept and agree with Bitcoin in 2021: Bitcoin’s scarcity is critical to long-term value. Therefore, we expect 2021 to be very strong for BitGo and the industry as a whole. One year. The impact of the new crown virus pandemic, the influx of institutional investment and the Bitcoin bull market will continue to accelerate in the new year and attract new retail and institutional investors.

From a long-term perspective, we also see huge potential in the crypto sector, because the future of funding depends on handling cross-border business in a transparent and cost-effective way, and helping people all over the world have greater opportunities and freedom To establish financial security. We firmly believe that the crypto sector will continue to accelerate growth in 2021 and attract more new retail and institutional investors. “

Paul Brody, Head of Global Innovation and Leader of Ernst & Young’s Blockchain Technology:

“Enterprises adopt the Ethereum mainnet, and enterprise users early adopt DeFi that supports privacy protection. Fast and mature DeFi security and audit tools. Early adoption of decentralized enterprise applications outside the financial sector. From DApps (decentralized applications) to The transformation of Zapp (zero-knowledge application that works the same as DApp, but supports user privacy). The most important thing is to specifically cover stablecoins linked to fiat currencies and the regulatory framework used in user and enterprise applications.”

Roger Ver, founder of Bitcoin.com:

“Almost every year is better than the previous year. I don’t think this will change in 2021.”

Samson Mow, Chief Strategy Officer, Blockstream:

“In 2021, as more and more institutional investors join, we will see Bitcoin gaining amazing benefits. However, we will also see a wave of rubbish coins sweeping the retail market, and scammers trying to take advantage of Bitcoin. Aura to make money.”

Scott Freeman, co-founder and partner of JST Capital:

“We believe that many of the existing trends surrounding institutions will continue and expect significant growth in the next 12 to 18 months, especially in decentralized credit and decentralized derivative services.

We believe that investors will have different views on cryptocurrencies because people see Bitcoin more as a store of value and begin to pay attention to the utility value of other cryptocurrencies. This may reduce the correlation between traditional encrypted assets and more investment opportunities. “

Vinny Lingham, CEO of Civic:

“2020 is the warm-up for 2021. In 2021, we will see the rapid development of decentralized storage, decentralized finance and non-political currencies.

I think the best performing cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin, Ethereum and Filecoin. However, if we hope to continue to see success in 2022, Ethereum’s expansion problem needs to be resolved in 2021. “