The group of people investing in cryptocurrencies is growing. Not only in Bitcoin

Zonda, the global cryptocurrency exchange, has published a report in which it summarizes the events of 2021 in the industry and milestones in the development of the platform, as well as presents forecasts for the upcoming 12 months.

The report shows that global capitalization cryptocurrency market increased by 185 percent. in the last 12 months. In turn, the share Bitcoin from the high level known from 2017, which was then up to 85 percent. market, fell to around 41 percent. in 2021.

Will any cryptocurrency soon become Bitcoin's successor? Zonda users on their exchange accounts most often stored Bitcoin (BTC), but also currencies such as: Ethereum (ETH) Ripple (XRP) Litecoin (LTC) and Lisk (LSK). Overall, investors could choose from a carefully selected 64 cryptocurrencies and tokens available on the platform, including 24 added in 2021.

The growing popularity of cryptocurrency trading was also reflected in the sharp increase in the number of new users registering on the platform - 127 percent. year-on-year growth, which gives a total of over 1 million investors open to trading their assets through Zonda.

For many people, 2021 was a breakthrough in the cryptocurrency industry. Huge rises in the value of Bitcoin, ups and downs of meme-based tokens, large institutional investments, more intense pace of cryptocurrency adoption forced incl. by technological influencers - all these factors have contributed to increasing awareness of the value of cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based technologies.

- The cryptocurrency market valuation has almost doubled compared to last year. We are no longer talking about billions of dollars - that is a number running into trillions. Interestingly, although Bitcoin is still considered a market leader, altcoins grew in importance in 2021, taking the lead, taking over nearly 60 percent. market share. This shows that Bitcoin is no longer the same as the entire industry - we see many more opportunities in this sector. Moreover, we are seeing the constant emergence of new cryptocurrencies and tokens. In just a year, we added 24 new cryptocurrencies on Zonda and increased the number of trading pairs from 120 to 204 - underlines Kamil Sikorski, Chief Growth Officer and Poland Country Head at Zonda.

- Changes in the market have shown that the interests of more and more investors extend beyond Bitcoin. They are more willing to reach for other, more mature projects, such as Ethereum and the ecosystem of its tokens. According to my estimates, the largest company in the cryptocurrency sector may have a value equal to the total sum of all companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. This perfectly shows how the market is developing - and why so many international funds are interested in it - he confirms prof. extra dr hab. Krzysztof Piech from the Lazarski University.

The Zonda platform also benefited from the growing popularity of the industry, which ended the year with over a million registered investors, including 127 percent. increase in the number of new users year on year. The cryptocurrencies most often owned by Zonda's clients include: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Litecoin (LTC) and Lisk (LSK).

Central Banks Course on Decentralization

In 2021, central banks around the world also became interested in digital assets - currently over 87 countries (representing over 90% of global GDP) are exploring the possibility of creating their own digital currencies, and 9 countries have already taken the initiative. The interest in the cryptocurrency market among institutional investors has also increased - in digital assets in 2021 they invested e.g. such companies as: Tesla, MicroStrategy, Square, Voyager. 

According to Zonda experts, other major industry trends last year concerned, among others, the entry of cryptocurrencies on traditional exchanges, the development of blockchain-based initiatives, such as NFTand new regulations around the world, proposed to keep pace with the pace of technology development in the digital currency sector.

Regulation is a key issue for the sector 

Simplifying investing in cryptocurrencies, while maintaining maximum transparency, is the basis of the mission that Zonda undertook in 2021 after undergoing rebranding. The newly appointed management board presented a vision of the development of the platform as a simple and safe space for all investors - both experienced and novices. As part of the implementation of this strategy, work is currently underway on the new look of the transaction platform and the mobile application. It is also planned to launch the Zonda Academy, the aim of which will be to educate on topics related to cryptocurrency trading.

- Even if it might seem that the freedom offered by the lack of legal regulations increases the competitiveness of the sector, it actually discourages the wider adoption of cryptocurrencies, because the industry is perceived as difficult to understand, chaotic, and therefore not very secure. There is also no shortage of disinformation. The key to changing this situation is the introduction of appropriate regulations around the world - and we wholeheartedly support this. Appropriate control or license measures enable the creation of space, e.g. for accepting payments in cryptocurrencies or using blockchain-based solutions - underlines Kamil Sikorski.

The growing popularity of the market requires regulation

Zonda experts predict that in 2022, legal regulations will play an even more important role, especially in the face of the growing popularity of tokenization projects as an alternative to IPO. Although the appetite for this new solution among entrepreneurs is large, the market requires proper supervision to ensure security and transparency for all participants. Other forecasts for next year include, inter alia, the weakening of the market dominance of Bitcoin, which should create more space for other interesting projects to develop. Regardless of the market dynamics in the coming years, the Zonda report emphasizes that the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies should encourage all market participants to support industry simplification and transparency.

For more information, see report.