20 Hot Topics in the Crypto Assets Field to Follow in 2024

With the arrival of the new year, we have compiled twenty important hot topics that may arise in the crypto assets industry this year, covering various aspects from underlying infrastructure to upper-level applications. It is expected to be a busy and fulfilling year.

1. EVM Parallelization

A certain public blockchain announced an upgrade in November, claiming to be the first parallel EVM chain. Subsequently, the stock prices of several projects surged, and although there has been a pullback, the competition for public blockchain performance is still ongoing.

2. Modular Blockchain

Data availability, consensus mechanisms, and execution layers are flourishing. The weekly modular review by industry experts is a great source of information.

3. Solana Ecosystem

Recently, there has been speculation around Solana-related concepts, and the decentralized exchange infrastructure within its ecosystem has also performed well. In the future, focus on projects along the chain of asset issuance, circulation, and leverage.

4. Distributed Physical Infrastructure ( DePin )

Although the reason for the sudden rise of the DePin concept is unclear, it still has the potential to develop interesting applications. It is recommended that project parties study courses on sustainable economic model design from industry experts.

5. Re-staking

DeFi projects compete using interest rates. The 3% risk-free interest rate brought by Ethereum POS can be leveraged up to 8%. Multiple projects claim to offer native yields to attract DeFi funds, while Ethereum ecosystem DeFi projects may attract funds back at higher interest rates.

6. Sei Ecosystem

Similar to Solana, after the launch of V2, attention should be paid to projects on the asset issuance, circulation, and leverage chains.

7. Starknet Ecosystem

The long-awaited token issuance. Main focus on two directions: DeFi and full-chain games. The development direction of DeFi may be influenced by the Starknet DeFi Committee, while full-chain games should pay attention to the trends of industry experts and well-known projects.

8. Atomicals Protocol

Compared to BRC20, it has stronger legitimacy, and you can follow leading projects. Other inscription projects need to be judged based on market sentiment.

9. Blockchain Games

Several high-quality game projects emerged in the fourth quarter of last year and have been launched one after another this year. For specific information, please consult a professional game studio.

10. On-chain Games

Participating in games with on-chain assets can bring a stronger sense of excitement, but currently, there is little research. You can follow the relevant analyses of industry experts.

11. Proof of Work ( PoW )

Miners are always looking for new mining targets. A simple strategy is to follow the new products launched by mining machine companies. After a certain company launched a new mining machine last year, the related tokens saw a maximum increase of 10 times.

12. Cosmos Ecosystem

Although there is not much research, the ecosystem has remained vibrant and has the potential to incubate quality projects.

13. Derivatives

The current DeFi protocols are becoming increasingly complex, making it difficult for individuals without a financial background to understand. However, for traders, this presents opportunities for complex arbitrage and hedging on-chain. The fundamental data performance of certain platforms is excellent, and the user experience is good.

14. Intention ( AI )

After a certain investment institution proposed this concept, it was briefly hyped. Although the enthusiasm has declined, the related projects are still worth following.

15. Berachain

The proof of liquidity mechanism will become the battleground for competing capital efficiency in economic models and token economics design.

16. Decentralized Science

A certain research institution mentioned this concept, but it is unclear when it will become a hot topic. Currently, it mainly involves medical and AI projects.

17. Stablecoin

The new architecture, capital efficiency, and interest rate mechanisms are changing the stablecoin space.

18. Ponzi Scheme

The story of OHM-like projects continues, with two projects having increased by 20 times in the last 30 days.

19. ZK Proof Hardware Acceleration

Currently, there are relatively few related projects, and they may still be in the early stages.

20. ZK Co-processor

This is a complex topic, and industry experts have in-depth analysis articles available for reference.