DappRadar Q3 report sees United States, Europe, UK taking pro-crypto initiatives
DappRadar has released its report covering the most significant behavioral trends that shaped the third quarter of 2022 of the blockchain industry.
‘Blockchain Behavior Report – Crypto Adoption On the Rise: Reddit Showing the Way?’ notes that almost 36% of all smart contracts ever published and confirmed were executed this year, despite the uncertainty of the macroeconomic landscape.
Despite the harsh bear market in the crypto space (and elsewhere), 94% of adults with discretion over household money are now aware of cryptocurrencies, according to Visa, which goes to show that cryptocurrency is transitioning from a specialist asset class for a limited network of investors to a more accessible market for mainstream investors and new adopters.
Reddit’s NFT debut “one of the biggest events for Web3 this year”
DappRadar argued that the ease of onboarding new users to the world of NFTs by Reddit could be seen as one of the biggest events for Web3 this year.
“What made the mass debut of Reddit NFTs collections so exceptional was the strategy used to conceal the fact that the 40,000 assets were, in fact, Polygon NFTs. Cryptocurrency and the blockchain were unavoidably addressed in the collection’s announcement, but only in the context of not being required for a purchase (as only fiat could be used). In addition, the phrase NFT was never mentioned, and when it came to arguably the most difficult Web3 aspect, the crypto wallet, Reddit avoided the potentially off-putting term by substituting it with ‘Vault’.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered crypto adoption?
The report’s key takeaways:
- 52% of traditional gamers are unfamiliar with the term blockchain gaming while only 15% of Web3 users are interested in playing it in the future.
- The deployment of smart contracts climbed by 40% compared to the first quarter of the year, with each month of the third quarter reaching a new all-time record; almost 36% of all smart contracts ever published and confirmed on the blockchain were executed in 2022;
- Cardano’s adoption keeps rising; in the last 30 days, its NFT trading volume hit $191 million, making it the third largest NFT protocol. Moreover, on October 19, network transactions reached 82,880 – the highest number since May.
- Reddit users have created three million crypto wallets on the Polygon network since July, surpassing OpenSea in terms of the number of active wallets. Four distinct Reddit Collectible Avatar collections hold slots on OpenSea’s Top 10 list for 7-day trading volume over the past seven days.
- Ukraine, Indonesia and Russia lead the list of countries with higher growth of crypto adoption. They have increased their adoption by 143.17%, 115.59% and 88.28% respectively, since July.
SEC’s threats linger while US Congress seen as possible advocate for crypto
DappRadar also covers the White House’s first “Comprehensive framework for the responsible growth of crypto assets” and the SEC’s position as the leading crypto regulator threatening enforcement proceedings against crypto trading venues as SEC Chair Gary Gensler says he deems most crypto assets to be securities and that crypto trading venues must register as broker-dealers.
The US Congress has emerged as a possible advocate for crypto, the report suggests amid multiple bipartisan proposals with significant pro-crypto elements.
The United States may follow the European example after the approval of the MiCA law, designed by the EU Council, the European Commission, and the European Parliament.
The MiCA proposal intends to establish a uniform regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies across the 27 member states of the European Union. The crypto regulations might go into effect in 2024 following legal and linguistic reviews, parliamentary approval of the newest version of the document, and publishing in the official journal of the EU.
The United Kingdom is also making a move, with members of parliament recently voting in favor of recognizing crypto assets as regulated financial instruments and products.
DappRadar believes the development of new legislation and the enforcement of already existing regulations will most likely have a positive impact on the industry, as it will give more legitimacy to cryptocurrencies and foster their adoption.
