- China's bitcoin mining crackdown and troubles with state regulators spooked some crypto investors.
- One expert said many governments are trying to regulate a sector they don't fully understand.
- Here's what could be in store for cryptocurrencies for the remainder of 2021.
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Cryptocurrency prices have been somewhat quiet this month against a backdrop of increased scrutiny from regulators, and as those with interest in the market pay close attention to daily developments.
Insider spoke to four industry executives – whose expertise spans retail and institutional adoption, collectible non-fungible tokens, and decentralized finance – to give us their predictions for what lies ahead.
State regulatory clampdowns
"Regulation will hurt crypto. We're already seeing how things like crackdowns over bitcoin mining in China and scrutiny over global exchanges like Binance have caused panic in the markets. Governments should be in favor of innovation, but right now we're seeing a lot of governments step in and try to regulate a sector that they don't even fully understand." – Colin Pape, founder of decentralized search engine Presearch.
He hopes cryptocurrencies are given the space to thrive and bring real freedom and financial stability to "people who have been let down by the way things have always been done."
Further price volatility
Some strategists are keeping a close eye on price volatility.
"There are many factors at play, including regulation and the upcoming ethereum upgrade (on August 4), that could drive price fluctuations," Pape said, adding that staying rational when it comes to decision making is important.
An explosion of new crypto products
With crypto currently being one of the biggest stories in financial markets, the number of apps with digital-asset options are growing.
"Investing and banking apps will continue to roll out features that support crypto and make it easier for people to diversify their portfolios. This will provide a gateway for people to start participating in the crypto ecosystem, whether it be through sending bitcoin or ethereum to friends and family, buying NFTs, or participating in DeFi." - Matthew Gould, founder and CEO of blockchain domain-provider Unstoppable Domains.
"Fintechs and traditional banks will start to offer more crypto products to stay competitive, and bring efficiency to their businesses. Credit card points will be replaced by crypto rewards, adding real and exciting value for customers." - Diogo Monica, cofounder and president of crypto bank Anchorage.
More in-built support on payment apps
"With the rise in institutional adoption comes a need for all crypto projects to operate at a higher level to compete and meet the demands of a growing customer base. We've seen payment apps like PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App start to offer support for top crypto assets, and I see this as a step in the right direction towards making crypto ubiquitous on a global scale." - Matthew Gould, Unstoppable Domains CEO.
Swelling interest in digital property and ownership
"There's no doubt that the pandemic accelerated digital trends - from the shift to remote work, to NFT adoption and volatile crypto prices. More specifically, digital property has dramatically increased in popularity. People want to take ownership via NFT use cases like trading cards, domain names and digital currencies. In the past 18 months or so since the pandemic started, crypto's trajectory has permanently shifted upwards as people have become more educated and comfortable using and engaging with digital technology, and now there's no looking back." - Gould.