Insights from Giottus CEO: Vikram Subburaj Highlights Noteworthy Web3 Trends Anticipated to Gain Momentum in 2024
In the dynamic landscape of Web3, where blockchain-based innovations continually emerge and evolve, last year witnessed fluctuations in the popularity of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), particularly experiencing a record low in sales before the resurgence of interest fueled by the Ordinals category. Shedding light on the anticipated trends in the Web3 space for the current year, Vikram Subburaj, the CEO of the Giottus crypto exchange, shared insights.
According to Subburaj, the trend of real-world assets (RWAs) and the broader accessibility of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) are poised for mass adoption in 2024. RWAs involve the recreation of digital versions of traditional or physical assets on a blockchain, represented as tokens. Each token corresponds to a specific percentage of the underlying asset, offering a novel approach to fractional ownership. Tokenizing assets, such as real estate or art, enhances liquidity by allowing owners to sell fractions of their assets without compromising the utility of the entire property.
Subburaj draws a parallel between RWAs and NFTs, likening them to digital representations of real-world entities. Presently, the on-chain tokenized RWA ecosystem is valued at around $2 billion (approximately Rs. 17,452 crore). Subburaj predicts a surge in the adoption of asset tokenization as more individuals comprehend the concept, envisioning a transformative year for the tokenized RWA ecosystem in 2024.
About DeFi taking the masses by storm, the Giottus chief said, its nature to give people independence and control over their finances is what will propel DeFi to be experimented with heavily this year. DeFi projects like Uniswap, Aave, and Lido among others use smart contracts and cryptocurrencies to offer financial services without involving a middleman. The smart contracts, essentially replace the intermediary.
As per Finbold, the total value locked in DeFi as of December 2023, stood at $52.71 billion (roughly Rs. 4,38,040 crore).“From staking, lending to market making, there are multiple avenues to earn in this space – DeFi is the fastest growing segment of Web3,” Subburaj added.
2024 marks the fifteenth year since the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was mined in 2009. In these fifteen years, several crypto concepts and projects have matured to accommodate more use cases linked to their ideas – escalating the network’s scalability. This year, some already established blockchains could support ‘layer-2s’. A layer 2 refers to a network, that is built on top of an existing blockchain, that serves as the layer-1 network.
As per Indian exchange ZebPay, the top five AI crypto tokens are – Injective, Graph GRT, Render, Oasis, and Singularity (AGIX).“As more companies integrate AI and Web3 solutions, the AI narrative will stand out over time, particularly in sectors like healthcare and finance. As the year 2024 unfolds, these trends collectively shape a dynamic environment, offering promising prospects for the future of crypto assets,” Subburaj noted.