Five potentially game-changing crypto projects to keep an eye on in 2022

2021 was a big year for cryptocurrencies across the world. The total market capitalization of crypto assets touched an all-time high of $ 3 trillion in November. While nearly 14% of Americans now own crypto assets, India has nearly 15 million crypto investors, making us the second-largest country in the world when it comes to global crypto adoption, as per market research firm Chainalysis.

The Indian cryptocurrency industry believes that a progressive and regulated framework will create a thriving ecosystem and encourage more and more Indians to start investing in a safe and secure environment. Here are five potentially game-changing crypto projects that you should have on your radar in 2022.

Ethereum (ETH) - There are very few networks like Ethereum, the second-largest crypto network in the world by market capitalization. The Ethereum network forms the backbone of almost all initial coin offerings, or ICOs, decentralized applications (dApps), (decentralized finance) DeFi protocols, and most non-fungible or NFT tokens. Popular tokens built on the Ethereum network are Chainlink (LINK), Tether (USDT), Binance Coin (BNB), and USD Coin (USDC).

However, the most prominent upgrade in the history of the network, however, is due in 2022. Ethereum 2.0, as they call it, aims to remove bottlenecks and scalability issues while bringing the long-awaited proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism to the blockchain. This may involve getting rid of the currently power-hungry proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism. The changes are likely to result in lower gas charges, faster transactions, and a significant increase in network efficiency.

Polygon (MATIC) - In a world glittering with over 6000 cryptocurrencies, Polygon MATIC is the glue that holds everything together. The network provides an infrastructure that enables cross-chain scalability, which helps the interaction of different blockchains with each other. By creating a sidechain that facilitates execution and collaboration between users, MATIC transacts many times faster than major currencies such as bitcoin or ether. It is also profitable and cheaper than other traditional options.

On November 20, Polygon announced that it would be switching to Polygon PoS on Uniswap, one of the largest decentralized exchanges in the world. Major protocols like Aave and Sushiswap have already been migrated to Polygon to avoid Ethereum fees. These groundbreaking developments also make MATIC a promising crypto project to watch in 2022.

Solana (SOL) - One of the fastest crypto networks out there, Solana leads the development and implementation of modern technologies such as dApps and smart contracts. It is one of the only tokens that can operate on a Proof of History and Proof of Stake consensus model. The SOL network also processes more than 50,000 transactions per second, the fastest to date.

Although Solana was not the first network to implement smart contracts, it now has more than 350 different projects running on its network. It has also returned more than 17,000% of its value in the last 12 months, and is currently ranked one of the top 10 currencies by market capitalization, with a value of almost $ 53 billion.

Decentraland (MANA): Decentraland is a virtual world where users can create avatars to interact with other users. These avatars can buy LAND and other resources through Decentraland's native token, MANA, and trade in them. While essentially a game, Decentraland combines cryptocurrencies, NFT, and a free market economy to create a virtual world that everyone can access, no matter where they are. One of the most prominent players in the metaverse revolution. Decentraland is a self-governing network supported by members and huge MANA stakeholders.

While a significant holding in MANA may give users voting rights on governance issues at Decentraland, smaller stakes may be enough to buy or sell LAND, convert P2P value, or even retain capital gains.

Polkadot (DOT): Polkadot is a “blockchain of blockchains” whose sole purpose is to facilitate the development of new networks for developers. It enables users to build new blockchains that work alongside existing ones without relying on complex bridging protocols. The network allows these chains to be fully customized without compromising basic security and safety. However, the most comprehensive functionality of Polkadot, however, is powering the Web 3.0 revolution.

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