Who could possibly deny that 2021 was _the_ year for cryptocurrencies? Looking back on the market’s recent achievements, we see a pattern of events that are nothing short of remarkable.  Despite it being the _same_ year that the Chinese government took steps to effectively _ban_ cryptocurrencies across the board, digital assets still had enough momentum to go on an absolute tear last year.

It was the year that major players in the banking sector adopted cryptocurrencies as an offering to their institutional investors, and mainstream society finally decided to buy in.  There were also newcomers that added fuel to the market’s acceleration - NFTs (non-fungible tokens) took the arts and entertainment worlds by storm, _and_ society was introduced to the metaverse once Facebook announced that they would be rebranding as “Meta.”

As we enter another year that’s expected to be just as eventful as the last, the lexicon of cryptocurrency is evolving rapidly.  Below are the marquee “buzzwords” that every investor should take the time to understand before investing in the modern cryptocurrency market:

## Buzzwords

**Blockchain**: Ultimately, a blockchain is a decentralized ledger of all the transactions that happen across a peer-to-peer network.  It is a digital ledger that can store data of _any_ kind, including information about cryptocurrency transactions. 

These digital ledgers are essentially a chain consisting of individual “blocks” of data.  As new data gets added to the network, a new “block” gets created and is then connected to the “chain.  The cool thing about using blockchain technology is that all the transactions can be confirmed _without_ the involvement of a central clearing entity or “middleman.” 

**Metaverse**: Think [Roblox](https://www.roblox.com/) and [Fortnite](https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/home) – the metaverse is a virtual world.  It is a broadly dispersed, interoperable network of 3D worlds that users can experience simultaneously for maximum social connection.  The metaverse is powered by a wide array of technologies, including cloud computing, infrastructure, user-generated content, and hardware. 

Over the past three years, mega-forces like Google, Apple, and Amazon have invested billions on the creation of the metaverse meaning expectations for the metaverse are incredibly high.

**DeFi**: Here we have the operational _core_ of the cryptocurrency phenomenon.  DeFi is an acronym for _decentralized finance_.  It’s hard to accurately define a $100 billion financial technology that is anticipated to bring down Big Finance and all those traditional, money-hungry bankers, but by using [smart contracts](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/smart-contracts.asp) that operate using DeFi technology, it is precisely what DeFi is being developed to achieve.

**dApps**: _Decentralized Applications_ are like any digital app you might find on a smartphone or laptop, with the bonus of employing blockchain technology to prevent users’ data from falling into the hands of the company who is behind the app.  For example, cryptocurrency is decentralized money, and dApps are decentralized applications.

**NFT (Non-fungible Tokens)**: The Christie's auction house sold perhaps the most well-known NFT in 2021 - just a [smattering of images](https://www.christies.com/features/Monumental-collage-by-Beeple-is-first-purely-digital-artwork-NFT-to-come-to-auction-11510-7.aspx) done by a digital artist known as _Beeple_…that brought in nearly $70 million. 

NFTs burst onto the stage in 2021 and they rightfully demand our attention.  In the simplest terms, Non-fungible tokens are pieces of digital content that are linked to the blockchain, the same technologies that power cryptocurrencies like [Bitcoin](/coins/btc) and [Ethereum](/coins/eth).  NFTs are entirely unique and not interchangeable, which means that no two NFTs are alike.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but as Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies continue being adopted by mainstream society, the above terms will grow increasingly more important as more traditional investors dip their toes into the cryptocurrency market.

Core Crypto-Terms Investors Need to Know in 2022

[Bitcoin](/coins/btc) traders and investors continued to hold their breath today as the price of the world’s number one digital asset continued to fall.

At time of press, Bitcoin is trading at $42,406 representing a drop of 1.11% in the last 24 hours. The total market cap for the entire crypto industry stands at just over $2 trillion, a fall of just 0.85% over the previous day. Is this anything to worry about? What has caused this drawback? Lets take a closer look.

**November Bitcoin Highs**
--------------------------

To many, the cryptocurrency market has never been healthier. Many large scale companies such as Tesla have Bitcoin investments on their balances sheets while 2021 finally saw the emergence of a Bitcoin futures ETF. Rumour has it that there are many institutions poised to make significant crypto investment through 2022 yet the prices of the major cryptocurrencies have been falling since the highs of November 2021.

As the charts and figures clearly show the price of Bitcoin peaked on November 10th with a price of $68,385. Since then the price has been in free fall however many commentators believed that there was significant buying support around $50,000. Therefore the shock when Bitcoin fell firstly to $45,000 and then more recently this week to $42,000 was audible. However, on a macro scale there doesn’t appear to be anything to worry about.

**Strong Fundamentals**
-----------------------

The understanding and concept of digital assets and distributed ledger networks has never been clearer or stronger than it is going into 2022. With other digital currencies such as Ethereum, Hedera Hashgraph and Link all scheduling upgrades and developments in the first part of the year the industry has never been stronger. However, there is a large percentage of the digital asset market  cap which is made up from speculative investors more familiar with the stock market.

These kind of investors still view cryptocurrencies and digital assets as risk on investments compared to other more stable parts of their portfolio. Therefore, when there are concerning macro economic winds whipping across the financial landscape cryptocurrencies are one of the first assets to be sacrificed. The news of the Federal Reserve plans to tighten monetary policy this week provided the catalysts for much profit taking across both crypto and stocks. 

**Local Bottom for Bitcoin Price?**
-----------------------------------

The question many people are asking is where is the local bottom for Bitcoin? There are some market experts saying that Bitcoin could fall as low as $30,000 although the general consensus is that $40,000 looks like a safe bet.  As we mentioned above the fundamentals for both Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general have never been stronger so a fall into the $30,000 region seems unlikely. However as we all know anything is possible in this unregulated and burgeoning market place.



Bitcoin Price Feels the Wind of Change

A new year often means a fresh start but is this the case in the cryptocurrency industry? Lets take a closer look.

At the time of press, the cryptocurrency industry is currently worth $2.23 trillion and shows a 0.79% decrease over the last 24 hour period. In contrast the total amount of crypto traded (volume) in the last 24 hours has risen by 42.06% to $108.48 billion indicating sellers have marginal control over the market.

For extra detail DeFi makes up 21.38% of the total crypto market volume at $23.20 billion whilst stable coins represent 61.47% of the last 24 hour trading volume at $66.69 billion. This data shows the cryptocurrency market is relatively stable going in to 2022 and could be viewed as a ‘bottom’ with prices anticipated to rise in the near term.

## Bitcoin price stability
---------------------------

At the time of press the price of [Bitcoin](/coins/btc) is $46,607, a decrease of 1.00% in the last 24 hours, whilst market dominance continues to fall and currently stands at 39.60%, a drop of 0.08% over the last day.  On Monday, January 3rd Bitcoin celebrated its 13th birthday and shows no signs of slowing down or letting other coins take the number one spot.

Although Bitcoin may never be used to buy a simple cup of coffee, many people are beginning to see Bitcoin as alternative rival to gold as a store of wealth and a solid hedge against rising inflation. Indeed, Grayscale Investment Management recorded returns of 62.2% for its Bitcoin Trust in the last 12 months easily eclipsing the 2% offered by Gold.

## $55 billion Grayscale AUM
-----------------------------

[Grayscale](https://grayscale.com/) are firm believers in the transformational power of cryptocurrencies and describe themselves as ‘the leading partner to investors who wish to navigate and deploy capital into this new asset class’. At time of press, Grayscale is the worlds largest digital currency asset manager with $55 billion worth of assets under management. However, all that being said Grayscale have actually reduced their cryptocurrency exposure in the last couple of months as prices have failed to ignite.

In early November Grayscale AUM were sitting at a comfortably $61 billion but the lack of price action since then has seen the company sell off 30% and 22% of their Bitcoin and [Ethereum](/news/category/ethereum-news-today) trusts respectively. However, recent data shows that since December 31st 2021 Grayscale have purchased $11.4 billion worth of cryptocurrency demonstrating once more their confidence in the cryptocurrency and digital asset market moving in to the new year. Long may this continue.


2022- new beginnings for the cryptocurrency market?

2021- It’s the _most wonderful_ time of the year!  Speculation abounds over which altcoins are most favourably positioned to be cryptocurrency’s biggest GAINERS in the coming new year and would-be millionaires remain poised and at the ready to pounce on the exchanges.
2022. 

## A Look Back at 2021

However, a look back reveals that 2021 was a year of substantial achievements for the nascent digital assets market – a handful of these events were considered watershed moments at the time.  Signals that cryptocurrencies could not only stand up to the test of time, but also events that suggested cryptocurrencies had finally reached that oh-so-important stage of “mainstream adoption” – a key benchmark indicating a global embrace of [Bitcoin](/coins/btc), [Ethereum](/coins/eth) and other commonly known cryptocurrencies by modern society.

## 2021 Cryptocurrency Achievements

The waning days of 2021 have been rocky for cryptocurrency investors, but it was undeniably a year that the cryptocurrency market reached a new level of maturity.  Below we share of the few of the most noteworthy achievements for cryptocurrencies in 2021:

*   Celebrity CEO and Bitcoin mega-booster, Elon Musk, issued a series of public comments via Twitter that pumped up significant public interest in cryptocurrencies.  The Tesla CEO _did_ put his money where his mouth was with an announcement in early 2021 that his company would be making a $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin.

*   Proshares introduced the world’s first exchange traded fund (ETF) – the Bitcoin Strategy ETF ([BITO](https://www.proshares.com/our-etfs/strategic/bitCo)).  More than 24 million shares worth over $1 billion were traded…on _the first_ day.  Within 24 hours the fund had accumulated $570 million in assets.

*   Crypto-investors partied the night away when the nation of El Salvador became the first country in the world [to consider Bitcoin legal tender, meaning all vendors in the nation are _now required_ to accept Bitcoin as payment.

*   Business intelligence powerhouse, Microstrategy, upped its Bitcoin holdings to the tune of $6 billion which the rest of corporate America would go on to interpret as “proof positive” that they too could start taking digital currency investing seriously.

*   Industry leading financial companies like Venmo, Paypal, and even Mastercard setup their popular platforms to accommodate Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

*   Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) crashed onto the scene in early March when a digital work of art that was created and sold as a unique NFT fetched over $69 million at a Christie’s auction. The name of the art was “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” and is simply a mosaic of illustrations and sketches created by a popular artist that goes by the moniker “Beeple.” 

*   Finally, how could we exclude [Dogecoin](/coins/doge)?  The market’s (and the world’s) first meme coin initially minted as a joke was introduced to an unsuspecting world and went stratospheric thanks to celebrity backing from Mark Cuban and Snoop Dogg.  Dogecoin had achieved a mind-boggling 12,000% increase in value by May of 2021.

## 2022 Cryptocurrency Predictions
-----------------------------------

So, what’s to come in 2022?  Who’s to know for certain?

Bitcoin has been the industry titan since the market’s inception, but there are those who see Ethereum overtaking Bitcoin in the year to come.  Bitcoin is expected to reach $100,000 in the not-so-distant future, will 2022 be the year?  If we use 2021 as a guide, all we can say for sure is that anything is possible in this market.  It has evolved in both size and in public popularity – both trends you can expect to see continue in 2022.



2021 a “Break Out” Year for Cryptocurrency?

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are gaining wider acceptance by the day. While only 9 countries have launched crypto CBDCs, 14 are in the pilot stage, 16 are developing technology and 40 are conducting research – in all, 87 countries are exploring CBDC technology – the race for the future of money is well and truly on. 

France is the latest country to join the discussion, as it completed the first stage of CBDC experimentation on Thursday (16th December). That said, what exactly is a CBDC?

## What is a CBDC?

A CBDC is essentially a digital form of fiat currency issued by a central bank. It can be in the form of a retail currency or a wholesale currency. A retail CBDC is intended for public use while a wholesale CBDC is meant to serve as a medium of exchange between financial institutions. 

Both forms of technology are backed by the full credit of a government. CBDCs will make purchasing goods, sending local and cross-border payments and layering possibilities on transactions much easier, among other possibilities. 

While private cryptocurrencies offer these capabilities in several shapes and forms, they are decentralised, not centralised and controlled by a government. 

## France's CBDC quest

On Thursday, The Banque de France completed the first stage of wholesale CBDC experimentation. The next step is exploring cross-border transactions. Interestingly, France has been exploring wholesale CBDC technology since March 2020. 

France conducted experiments with numerous partners, including HSBC, the final stage of which was issuing a digital bond on a blockchain with settlement in wholesale CBDC. The Banque de France is exploring a retail CBDC as well. 

## Conclusion

As private crypto assets are gaining prevalence and people are avoiding the use of cash (apps like Google Pay and [Cash App](https://cash.app/) are being increasingly used), governments all over the world are looking at CBDC technology to combine the power of crypto with the craze of digital currency.

For more Business news, see [here](/news/category/crypto-business-news).


France Jumps on Crypto CBDC Bandwagon

Wouldn’t you know it?  Of all the people in our global community, 2021 was the year that _cryptocurrency users_ received the accolade of being the [most charitable investors](https://www.fastcompany.com/90691172/fidelity-crypto-charity-2021-report) on the planet.  As society embraces cryptocurrencies on a wider scale, it’s a fact that people are increasingly using digital assets instead of fiat to make donations to their favourite charities. 

United Way Worldwide, the international network of 1,800+ non-profit fundraising affiliates, reported a jaw-dropping 350% increase over the past year in donations that were made using cryptocurrency.  No less impressive, the largest grantmaker in the U.S., Fidelity Charitable, recently reported receiving over $274 million in cryptocurrency donations in 2021.  That’s almost _four times_ the grantmaker’s prior record of $69 million in 2017.

## Crypto-Philanthropy

While crypto-philanthropy may be surging in 2021, it isn’t because the concept is entirely new.  Remember when the cryptocurrency market had its “coming out” party during the 2017-18 bull market and American actor turned celebrity tech investor, Ashton Kutcher, donated crypto on “The Ellen Degeneres Show?”  Or when a philanthropic project called the [Pineapple Fund](https://pineapplefund.org/) was initiated by an anonymous investor who went on to donate more than 5000 Bitcoins to over 50 different charities through the fund?

Tech and crypto wealth are rapidly becoming a big part of global philanthropy.  Now, faith-based organizations, churches, and non-profits are beginning to recognize that, with the proper online platform in place, they can draw in larger donations than regular fiat would alone as crypto expands its role in the rapidly growing online economy.

While the larger and more widely recognisable charities and international “do gooders” like the American Red Cross and Save the Children are already active in providing platforms that allow donors to contribute crypto instead of fiat, smaller organizations are still struggling with how they can set up a similar system to benefit from the recent wave of crypto-philanthropy and are determining if it even makes sense for them to do so.  It’s a compelling question considering that smaller charities make up the majority of registered non-profit's in America. 

## Bitcoin Donations

In 2018, [Engiven](https://engiven.com/) and [The Giving Block](https://thegivingblock.com/) were launched.  These two sites have become the most popular crypto-giving platforms for assisting non-profit's and especially churches in setting up online platforms for making cryptocurrency donations.  This year The Giving Block has said that it expects to facilitate cryptocurrency donations for charities totalling between $100 and $150 million.  This past November, the cryptocurrency donation platform Engiven said it accepted what the company is calling “the largest single Bitcoin donation known to date” which turned out to be a Bitcoin donation made to an undisclosed faith-based organisation totalling $10 million.

How liberating it is for the crypto-community to beat the traditional philanthropists to the top of the “most charitable” list?  But perhaps the better part of the story is how the cryptocurrency market has opened a new way for charities to source their efforts to make the world a better place. 



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2022- new beginnings for the cryptocurrency market?

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