This year was one of the most eventful years so far for the crypto space. From multiple bankruptcies pushing the price of Bitcoin down to $15,000 to impressive regulatory moves and a crypto World Cup, the year 2022 made a memorable mark in the crypto and blockchain space.
Let’s walk through some of the main events together!
Dubai Becomes a Hot Crypto Destination
Dubai started this year with much positive news for the crypto companies, providing the industry with one of the most crypto-friendly destinations to set up their operations.
In 2022, many well-known crypto companies opened their offices in Dubai, the famous city of business and leisure, while the Future Blockchain Summit took everything to the next level as many crypto and blockchain projects came to the city to explore the flourishing market.
The businesses in UAE also started to accept crypto payments with Damac Properties, a prominent real estate developer making the headlines in April.
The European Union Made Significant Progress With Crypto Regulations
The Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation was approved by the European Union, bringing the region one step closer to a properly regulated crypto space. According to the new rule, “crypto-asset service providers will have to respect strong requirements to protect consumers’ wallets and become liable in case they lose investors’ crypto-assets.”
Many Bad Players Were Forced Out of The Crypto Market
2022 will indeed stay in our minds for a long time as we witnessed the dramatic departure of many prominent companies and businesses. From the surprising crash of Luna to the bankruptcy of Three Arrows Capital, Voyager, Vauld, Celsius, and BlockFi and the epic fall of the FTX and its Alameda Research, the crypto market shouldered one incident after another, becoming more mature, resilient, and healthier than ever.
The Ethereum Merge Finally Happened
Ethereum finally went live with the most important upgrade in its history so far, becoming a Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain which is more stable, secure, and sustainable. This marks a significant milestone in the project’s journey and the overall crypto space as it indicates that blockchain technology can become environment-friendly, addressing the concerns of the negative effects of some cryptocurrencies on our nature.
The US SEC and CFTC Disputing Over The Crypto Market
Cryptocurrencies’ status as a security or commodity has been the topic of dispute for quite some time. However, 2022 was the year when the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) openly started to argue their authority over the crypto market.
Even though the bill the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022 is asking CFTC to “oversee the spot digital commodity market”, Gary Gensler, the head of SEC stated that the agency is not waiting for any bills to continue scrutinizing the projects within the space.
DogeCoin’s Biggest Fan Buys Twitter
Ellon Musk, arguably DogeCoin’s biggest fan just finalized his deal and became Twitter’s new boss. The acquisition lead to a significant surge in the price of the meme token as its fans believed in the idea of it becoming the native token of the Twitter platform.
Bitcoin Experienced Its First Geo-Political Tension
2022 had in itself some unfortunate events as well. As the Geopolitical tensions increased in the world, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies found themselves in a different situation, aiding people affected by the incidents in different ways.
The FIFA World Cup Become Even More Competitive with Fan Tokens
This year’s World Cup was somehow different from the previous ones as it added another competitive aspect to the whole contest through cryptocurrencies. Despite a gloomy market and a prolonged crypto winter, fan tokens experienced an increase in price as teams surprised their fans with their unexpected performances.
