Layer 2 Consolidation: 2-3 Major Players 🌐

Within one year, Ethereum's Layer 2 solutions (L2s) are expected to consolidate to 2-3 dominant players, measured in value. Similar to the trend in decentralized exchanges (DEXes), where Uniswap, Pancake Swap, and Curve accounted for 78% of volumes in 2023, the L2 market is likely to see consolidation. Leading contenders for dominance are Arbitrum and Optimism.

USDC to Surpass USDT 💵

Tether's market share may decline following U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) enforcement against Justin Sun & Tron for KYC infractions, terror financing, and/or market manipulation.

Stablecoin Adaption

The total value of stablecoins on the chain is expected to reach a record high exceeding $200 billion. 🚀

DePin: Helium's Milestone 📡

Helium, the decentralized network of wireless hotspots, is set to achieve 100k paying subscribers for its nationwide US 5G plan, up from the current 5k. Helium's innovative incentive system, powered by native tokens, provides key advantages such as being capital-light, turning hotspot providers into advocates, and enabling real-time network improvement. Helium claims to deliver data at less than 50% of the cost of legacy networks.

Dencun Upgrade: Proto-Danksharding

The Dencun Upgrade, introducing proto-dank sharding, is anticipated in late Q1 or early Q2 2024. This is expected to trigger a fundamentals-driven rally across L2 tokens and their ecosystems as net profit margins grow.

Coinbase Outperformance

COIN is predicted to be the top-performing crypto equity, driven by its role as custodian for multiple approved ETFs, international market growth, and the launch of new exchange products in the U.S. Additionally, potential upside is foreseen from developing an L2, replacing Binance as a leader due to the DOJ's indictment against former CEO Changpeng Zhao. 🏦

NFT Trading Volume Recovery 💎

NFT trading volume is expected to gradually recover.

NFTs will become ubiquitous brand assets.

Privacy Chains: A Major Narrative 🔒

Privacy-enabled smart contract platforms, including Aztec, Aleo, and Mina, will be a major narrative throughout the year as they launch fully featured smart-contract-enabled Mainnets.

Uniswap Hooks and KYC-Enabled Apps 🔗

2024 is projected to be a record year for institutional adoption due to mature infrastructure and new opportunities for yield. More crypto-savvy institutions are expected to use innovations like smart contract hooks to interact with their chosen counterparties.

Solana's Growth 🚀

Solana is anticipated to significantly grow in its ecosystem and market capitalization, solidifying itself as the new number 3 instead of BNB Chain. Solana will host new types of decentralized applications (dApps) and trends that are more retail-focused and not possible on Ethereum.

VCs Rebound Due to ETFs 📈

Venture capital funding for Web3 startups is expected to rebound, reaching all-time highs throughout the year.

The Rise of the Modular Tech Stack 🔧

Monolithic architectures have initial performance advantages, but the rise of an open-source, modular tech stack unlocks permissionless innovation, encourages specialization, and fosters healthy competition.

Stablecoin adaption in hyperinflation countries.

More money will settle using stablecoins than Visa.

Few other things to Add.

• Eigen layer will get great adoption.

• Defi protocol integrating Eth staking to increase ROI rates.

• New memes Coins

• New RWA on chain

• Alt-layer1s moving to become Ethereum Layer2s.

• Prediction markets adaption to increase.

• Institutional crypto adoption will accelerate in 2024.

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