We came, we saw, and we (barely) conquered 2022. The world witnessed the rise of many innovations from the Web3 space, such as fractional NFTs for buying luxury goods and real estate, fashion shows and shopping in the metaverse, and the intersection of the music. and technology through NFT. But last year it wasn’t all peach and cream. There were also some low points for Web3, such as Ponzi scheme NFT projects, a racist AI rapper, and the fall of FTX. But with great technology comes great innovation, which brings me to the question: What’s next for Web3?

I asked Web3 thought leaders and creatives what their predictions for the space were in 2023 and here’s what they had to say.

The RTFKT Cas community manager thinks we will drop some things in 2022, for example the phrase “NFT”. He predicted: “The stigma around NFTs doesn’t match what’s really happening in the space. In the next few years, I think many projects will focus more on profit than technology.” Specifically for this year, Cas believes that “the latest trends will focus on the ecosystems that have been building on Web3, such as DAO, digital collectibles [and] social rewards. Many teams have spent over a year working alongside their contributors or collectors, and we’ve seen how powerful social alignment has been in the past. I’m also excited to see more entrepreneurs prosper or find niches in the space. I think most will agree that a good artist or developer could find opportunities in Web3.”

Web3 artist and Bad Grrls Creative Club founder Toni Thai took a different approach, saying it’s hard to make any predictions because “space moves so fast. Also, with the economy where it is, every industry will be affected. However, I think one trend that has been emerging with no signs of slowing down is DeFi (decentralized finance). For anyone who doesn’t know much about the space, DeFi refers to financial applications built on or around blockchain technology that operate in a decentralized manner, so there are no middlemen or mediators.” He also stated that he believes NFTs will not go to nowhere and that “they will be used a lot more in non-art forms.” “I think the strongest use case is ticketing, so scalpers need to find another hustle quickly,” Thai said.

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It seems that people are still pretty hopeful about the progression of Web3. Music artist Black Dave insisted: “Despite the cryptocurrency market conditions, Web3 and NFT will continue to flourish as the people who built it during the first year of the bear market are likely to start to launch the ideas they have been spawning. . I think in 2023, we’ll not only see mainstream artists enter the NFT landscape, but we’ll also see a native Web3 artist have their first breakout moment. I think Web3’s first big hit will be a rap artist or rap adjacent, but time will tell.”

Dapper Labs and NBA Top Shot director of partnerships Nate Hemmingway had similar thoughts regarding NFTs and the future outlook for Web3. He mentioned: “A lot of these easy money, pointless, no real utility, cash-seeking projects will fall through and become obsolete. Similar to the dotcom bubble when those companies disappeared. The ones that have been successful have built a real community and have real utility. [They’ll] They are still feeling some pain from the recession, but they will double down on what has made them successful thus far and continue to build their community.” Hemmingway is another thought leader who believes that NFTs aren’t going anywhere. He added: “Many Fortune 500 corporate companies will continue to use NFTs as smart ways to use Web3 as rewards programs like Starbucks.” He also said that he hopes “the first sports team or venue figures out how to use Web3 and blockchain as their own internal ticketing system because there’s a huge resale market that these entities lose by outsourcing to Ticketmaster, SeatGeek, StubHub.” , etc. .

Ashley Caine, Web3 Educator and Tech Runs DAO Community Builder, had this to say about the predictions for the coming months: “2023 is the year of the DAO. Decentralized Autonomous Organizations are easily understood as IRLs and online communities with voting systems and a shared bank account. With the industry currently in a bear market, organizations with strong communities that show up regardless of the financial condition of the market will thrive this year. Not only will many, many new DAOs be created, but established DAO brands will transcend industry notoriety to become household names this year in the same way that PFP brands like Bored Monkey Yacht Club it did during the last bull market.”

What are my Web3 predictions for 2023? Well, 2022 ended with celebrities like Tom Brady, Steph Curry, and more coming under fire for promoting FTX, as there’s a class action lawsuit filed by investors who said the company was a ponzi scheme. Not to mention Chee… I mean, donald trump…is under investigation after selling his NFT project and earning $4.5 million for minting some of his own collectibles. This wave made its way to 2023 with Logan Paul pulling the team out of him, who helped him quit his NFT project. Based on these events, one of my early predictions is that there will be an increase in regulations around who can shut down NFT projects and how, plus more regulations for influencers promoting them and/or cryptocurrencies.

I also predict increased use of AI technology. Today, artists and many others look askance at platforms like ChatGPT for removing the “creative” aspect of creation. But I think artists will start to embrace this technology and use it to take their art to new heights.

Lastly, I think that Web3 companies and projects in general will have to break out of their normal pool of hype/FOMO participants and will be forced to educate people to get on board. In the past, companies have gotten away with it as a marketing strategy to get people interested in their projects, but with the current state of the market, people are more skeptical than ever when it comes to Web3. This will force homeowners to educate people on the basics of the space and debunk any myths or fears they may have. This will result in innovations and the addition of more people.

The good thing about Web3 is that it’s so new that we can’t even fully imagine how the technology will be used in the future. Every day someone finds a creative way to use blockchain technology, so I’m excited to see what’s next.