AI dominates the discussion, followed by gaming, UX, NFTs, and SNARKS.<\/p>\n
With 2023 winding down, investors, traders, and crypto aficionados are beginning to set their eyes on 2024.<\/p>\n
Venture capital behemoth a16z published today a list of \u201ca few things we\u2019re excited about in crypto (2024)<\/a>.\u201d Ten of the firm\u2019s partners highlighted the trends they are watching and the convergence of key narratives within the crypto industry.<\/p>\n The thunderous arrival of ChatGPT and other AI tools has taken the tech scene by storm \u2013 with a16z partners exhaustively addressing the intersection of AI and crypto.<\/p>\n \u201cDecentralized blockchains are a counterbalancing force to centralized AI,\u201d wrote general partner Ali Yahya, Stanford professor Andy Hall, and data scientist Daren Matsuoka.<\/p>\n They acknowledge that AI models can only be trained by a small number of tech giants, leaving the door open for crypto to create multi-sided, global, permissionless markets where anyone can contribute \u2014 and be compensated \u2014 for adding computing power or a new dataset to the network.<\/p>\n Ultimately, says partner Carry Wu, \u201cAI alignment\u201d is really an incentive design problem, one that crypto is uniquely ready to address.<\/p>\n Play-to-earn becomes play-and-earn, says general partner Arianna Simpson.<\/p>\n As the gaming ecosystem sees a resurgence<\/a>, Simpson reckons games were not initially designed to be a workplace. However, she writes, Web3 gaming will increasingly morph into a place where users can have fun and reap the rewards of what they\u2019re immersing themselves in.<\/p>\n And as AI agents become more present in gaming, thanks to its transparent nature, crypto stands to become the guarantor of a game not losing its integrity, said Simpson.<\/p>\n Start for free<\/a><\/div>\n User experience challenges have plagued crypto since its birth, even though the industry has been getting a makeover<\/a> in recent times.<\/p>\n Dealing with self-custody<\/a>, interacting with a string of letters and numbers to pay hefty transaction fees, and grappling with user interfaces built for tech bros have been barriers to mainstream adoption.<\/p>\n Eddy Lazarin, CTO of a16z crypto, points to 2024 as the year for resetting.<\/p>\n \u201cDevelopers are actively testing and deploying new tools that could reset frontend UX (user experience) for crypto in the year ahead,\u201d he writes, noting several changes taking place \u2013 like simplifying access to dApps through passkeys \u2013 which could propel crypto into homes around the world.<\/p>\n Starbucks<\/a>, Nike<\/a>, Reddit<\/a>, and other big brands have continued experimenting with NFTs<\/a>. According to research partner Scott Duke Kominers, NFTs are set to become ubiquitous digital brand assets in 2024.<\/p>\n Kominers writes that brands will increasingly look to this type of technology to capture market share in the ever-growing digital economy.<\/p>\nArtificial Intelligence<\/h2>\n
Gaming Matures<\/h2>\n
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Improved UX<\/h2>\n
Omnipresent NFTs<\/h2>\n
SNARKS and Modular Technology<\/h2>\n