Coming into 2023, I’ve been thinking back on the previous year and how much of an impact it had on the world of blockchain and NFTs. Largely defined by the choppy state of the market and the macroeconomic landscape, 2022 definitely had its ups and downs. Despite the market conditions, builders persevered and the industry made some incredible advancements. Here are my 3 main takeaways from 2022.

1. The Market is still Growing

While Q3 and Q4 were rough, the on-chain metrics tell a relatively positive story for NFTs in 2022, as all signs point to progress. Trading volume saw a slight uptick, by just .41% when compared to the previous year. While this number isn’t a moonshot it does represent slow and steady growth in the right direction. A more bullish metric can be found in the number of unique NFT traders, which hit 10.6 million in 2022, an increase of 876.89%. NFT sales also increased, hitting 68.35 million, an increase of 10.16%** **

So What Did We Learn?

NFTs aren’t going anywhere. The nature of prominent collections will likely change, as PFP and storytelling projects will struggle to compete without true utility. Utility has become a buzz word in the space, but the concept is powerful. Projects that provide value to a community will be in a better position to succeed long term than projects adding zero value. ** **

Yes, some projects have amassed significant trading volume, but if it was off hype alone that blueprint will be hard to replicate moving forward. Collectors will be doing more due diligence in 2023, ensuring their faith in what a project is promising and building. One of the biggest things holding the space back now is user experience, something that we see blue chip NFT projects working to innovate. 

1. Blue Chip NFTs Dominated

A bearish year means more focus on the tried and true NFT collections. From trading to raising funds, a few select projects dominated the year. The perfect example is Yuga Labs, who expanded their brand through the acquisition of Meebits, CryptoPunks and a NFT startup called WENEW Labs. These collections represented 55% of the top 100 most valuable NFT collections, an incredible feat that amounts to $15 billion. 

So What Did We Learn?

Compelling brands are being built in the space, and the moves they make are packed with lessons for those that pay attention. One trend you’ll immediately notice is the addition of an NFT marketplace to their ecosystems. We’ve already seen a glimpse of this from CryptoPunks, Goblintown, CPG and more who have built their own dedicated NFT marketplaces. Meanwhile, other leaders like Bored Ape Yacht Club and RTFKT are in the process of building a marketplace. 

According to Web3 enthusiast and founder of Cryptopackedgoods, Chris Cantino, “The future is 1000s of marketplaces, with bespoke experiences that reward loyalty and reinforce brand.” The reasons for this become clear when you return to the challenge of user experience. If we want to attract more users into the NFT space, we must deliver better experiences. 

The current experiences are insufficient, as users that want to trade their favorite collections are directed away from a project’s ecosystem into third party marketplaces like OpenSea, Rarible, and LooksRare. This is why in 2023, more collections will be building dedicated marketplaces to avoid being left behind by their community who seek a better experience elsewhere. From a user perspective, custom NFT marketplaces will also improve retention and margins as everyone experiences the difference. 

1. VC Capital is still flowing

The markets might have been down, but that didn’t stop VCs from expanding their portfolios in the blockchain space. A number of exciting NFT projects received significant funding in 2022, demonstrating the potential that many leading investors see in the technology. Gary Vee raised $50 million for his NFT ecosystem, VeeFriends, Unstoppable Domains raised $65 million for their Ethereum domain name services, and Magic Eden raised a whopping $130 million for their NFT marketplace on Solana. These are just a few of the companies that raised in 2022, and more is on the way!

So What Did We Learn?

Web3 brands are driving the next era of the internet, and investors are clearly seeing the vision for what’s possible. Projects with a long term vision and commitment to creating a better world using blockchain technology are being rewarded for their hard work with healthy investment capital. Beyond the obvious of what this means for Web3 businesses, in 2023 I believe we will start to see the impact of this permeate through other aspects of the current NFT culture. 

Many events throughout 2022 have affected people’s confidence in the viability of Web3 projects being built. This is no surprise, as too many people have been burnt and it’s nearly impossible to build trust if your team isn’t doxxed. Anonymity has been a cloud floating over the NFT space for years, but 2023 will be a turning point in which more and more projects are forced to reveal their identity.

2022 has rushed by, and there are more lessons for us in the NFT space than a single blog could summarize. With everything I learned and experienced as a founder in this space, I see a universe of potential when looking out on the new frontier of 2023. Web3 is steadily becoming the transformative force that it was always bound to be and the world will be forever changed by its presence. Now, as we continue to build, it's so important to learn from our accomplishments and failures as an industry in order to create the best world possible in the future. 

At my company Liteflow, we are working tirelessly to help Web3 businesses build confidently in the space. 2023 is the year of the dedicated NFT marketplace, and we’re here with pressure-tested and scalable infrastructure and tooling. If you’d like to explore Web3 development in more detail, and how to bring your ideas to life this year, schedule a demo with Liteflow today!

Coming into 2023, I’ve been thinking back on the previous year and how much of an impact it had on the world of blockchain and NFTs. Largely defined by the choppy state of the market and the macroeconomic landscape, 2022 definitely had its ups and downs. Despite the market conditions, builders persevered and the industry made some incredible advancements. Here are my 3 main takeaways from 2022.

1. The Market is still Growing

While Q3 and Q4 were rough, the on-chain metrics tell a relatively positive story for NFTs in 2022, as all signs point to progress. Trading volume saw a slight uptick, by just .41% when compared to the previous year. While this number isn’t a moonshot it does represent slow and steady growth in the right direction. A more bullish metric can be found in the number of unique NFT traders, which hit 10.6 million in 2022, an increase of 876.89%. NFT sales also increased, hitting 68.35 million, an increase of 10.16%** **

So What Did We Learn?

NFTs aren’t going anywhere. The nature of prominent collections will likely change, as PFP and storytelling projects will struggle to compete without true utility. Utility has become a buzz word in the space, but the concept is powerful. Projects that provide value to a community will be in a better position to succeed long term than projects adding zero value. ** **

Yes, some projects have amassed significant trading volume, but if it was off hype alone that blueprint will be hard to replicate moving forward. Collectors will be doing more due diligence in 2023, ensuring their faith in what a project is promising and building. One of the biggest things holding the space back now is user experience, something that we see blue chip NFT projects working to innovate. 

1. Blue Chip NFTs Dominated

A bearish year means more focus on the tried and true NFT collections. From trading to raising funds, a few select projects dominated the year. The perfect example is Yuga Labs, who expanded their brand through the acquisition of Meebits, CryptoPunks and a NFT startup called WENEW Labs. These collections represented 55% of the top 100 most valuable NFT collections, an incredible feat that amounts to $15 billion. 

So What Did We Learn?

Compelling brands are being built in the space, and the moves they make are packed with lessons for those that pay attention. One trend you’ll immediately notice is the addition of an NFT marketplace to their ecosystems. We’ve already seen a glimpse of this from CryptoPunks, Goblintown, CPG and more who have built their own dedicated NFT marketplaces. Meanwhile, other leaders like Bored Ape Yacht Club and RTFKT are in the process of building a marketplace. 

According to Web3 enthusiast and founder of Cryptopackedgoods, Chris Cantino, “The future is 1000s of marketplaces, with bespoke experiences that reward loyalty and reinforce brand.” The reasons for this become clear when you return to the challenge of user experience. If we want to attract more users into the NFT space, we must deliver better experiences. 

The current experiences are insufficient, as users that want to trade their favorite collections are directed away from a project’s ecosystem into third party marketplaces like OpenSea, Rarible, and LooksRare. This is why in 2023, more collections will be building dedicated marketplaces to avoid being left behind by their community who seek a better experience elsewhere. From a user perspective, custom NFT marketplaces will also improve retention and margins as everyone experiences the difference. 

1. VC Capital is still flowing

The markets might have been down, but that didn’t stop VCs from expanding their portfolios in the blockchain space. A number of exciting NFT projects received significant funding in 2022, demonstrating the potential that many leading investors see in the technology. Gary Vee raised $50 million for his NFT ecosystem, VeeFriends, Unstoppable Domains raised $65 million for their Ethereum domain name services, and Magic Eden raised a whopping $130 million for their NFT marketplace on Solana. These are just a few of the companies that raised in 2022, and more is on the way!

So What Did We Learn?

Web3 brands are driving the next era of the internet, and investors are clearly seeing the vision for what’s possible. Projects with a long term vision and commitment to creating a better world using blockchain technology are being rewarded for their hard work with healthy investment capital. Beyond the obvious of what this means for Web3 businesses, in 2023 I believe we will start to see the impact of this permeate through other aspects of the current NFT culture. 

Many events throughout 2022 have affected people’s confidence in the viability of Web3 projects being built. This is no surprise, as too many people have been burnt and it’s nearly impossible to build trust if your team isn’t doxxed. Anonymity has been a cloud floating over the NFT space for years, but 2023 will be a turning point in which more and more projects are forced to reveal their identity.

2022 has rushed by, and there are more lessons for us in the NFT space than a single blog could summarize. With everything I learned and experienced as a founder in this space, I see a universe of potential when looking out on the new frontier of 2023. Web3 is steadily becoming the transformative force that it was always bound to be and the world will be forever changed by its presence. Now, as we continue to build, it's so important to learn from our accomplishments and failures as an industry in order to create the best world possible in the future. 

At my company Liteflow, we are working tirelessly to help Web3 businesses build confidently in the space. 2023 is the year of the dedicated NFT marketplace, and we’re here with pressure-tested and scalable infrastructure and tooling. If you’d like to explore Web3 development in more detail, and how to bring your ideas to life this year, schedule a demo with Liteflow today!