Ethereum: What’s in store in 2022?
Ethereum and Bitcoin have had a phenomenal year. 2021 was recognized as the year of records. Cryptocurrency markets, which last experienced a crazy bull season in 2017-2018, fared better in 2021. Now the question is, will there be a crypto winter? Or will we see a buoyant cryptocurrency market in 2022, though not as strong as the bull season in 2021?
The Ethereum DeFi network experienced an unusual period in 2021 with the contribution of non-interchangeable tokens and smart contracts. The network’s revenue increased to $4.34 billion in the last quarter of 2021. This figure corresponds to a 1,777% increase over the same period the previous year.
Similarly, Ethereum’s gas fees increased by 577%. The gas fee increased from $4.09 to $26.89. This increase made miners smile. That’s because miners as well as Bitcoin and Ethereum investors got a good return in 2021.
Another area of record in 2021 concerns the amount of funds held in Ethereum-based smart contracts. The amount of funds stored in Ethereum-based smart contracts increased from $27 billion to $144 billion.
DeFi (decentralized financial platforms) offer alternative financial services to traditional banking. Cryptocurrency investors can earn high interest and profits by valuing their assets on DeFi platforms. Thus, the size of DeFi deposits has multiplied like a snowball. Barring strict regulation, the DeFi industry will be a candidate for further growth.
Alternative networks to Ethereum also debuted in 2021. For example, Solana, Avalanche and Luna are the leading platforms in this area.
ETH’s transition to a stacking model of mining
In 2022, it will focus more on the ETH mining system based on stacking. Starting in June 2022, PoW mining will be made more difficult and PoS mining will be encouraged. If the current Ethereum network continues to get up-to-date statistics, it looks like Ethereum miners will get a good income in 2022.
Among the important expansions that caused Ethereum prices to rise in 2021, the London hardfork and EIP-1559 cannot be overlooked. Thus, Ethereum’s inflation rate dropped from 1.13% to 0.46%.
