The future is already here ā it's just not evenly distributed. -William Gibson
Good morning lovely reader,
I got a special issue today. It would be wrong to end this year without predictions for the next year. Writing predictions for you guys allows me to reflect and gather some trend data to find out what might be hot and not. It also allows for accountability, and gives some fun thought starters for you. Let me know if you agree or not with these predictions on Twitter. Aside from SBF getting a $250k bail and insiders turning on him, thereās nothing else to dwell on while ending this yearā¦
I have a strong feeling about thisā¦
SBFās trial will continue: We will learn more details about the collapse of FTX, we will get a response to whether he knew about the fraud or not. He will very likely go to jail.
Results of Yuga Labs lawsuits: SEC is suing Yuga over celebrity endorsements and to figure out whether BAYC NFTs and ApeCoin are securities or not. The final word on this could be a precedent and inform us about other NFTs status.
Twitter will roll out a payments system: It will take a longer time to build the super app that Elon wants, but what he can do more quickly is payments. Heās done it before (PayPal) and itās a potential revenue avenue (thus has priority.)
Twitter Alternatives: I donāt know whether Twitter will downfall or Elon will figure out a way. Itās pretty 50-50 at this point. But be sure that people are taking advantage of this time to build Twitter alternatives. You might not want to deal with Mastodon, but might enjoy Post News. Even two former Twit employees are building a new options called Spill. We will see what works and what doesnāt, and probably adapt to the best user interface.
Layoffs continue in tech: Though the economy is recovering, itās not over yet. Tech CEOs will look at Twitter and realize the core product still works with 70% less employees. Some ripple effects are expected.
More orange jumpsuits: More bad actors from crypto will be cracked down.
AI will be the top story: Artificial intelligence has gained momentum again in the last couple months with image generators like Dall-E and Stable Diffusion becoming popular. This month, ChatGPT dominated the conversation with its easy to use interface and humanly conversational nature.
Companies using artificial intelligence in an innovative way will continue to get VC funding.
It will improve at a higher rate than previously imagined.
AI automation will expand.
After ChatGPT, I expect Siri and Alexa to up their conversational skills.
Ethical AI concerns will grow. (for example - ensuring the data fed into the algorithm wonāt repeat the biases in the real world)
These just might happenā¦ :
Rising Prices: Letās be a little optimistic. Crypto has been hit hard, and honestly itās been difficult to listen to some podcasters telling that itās dead. I believe itāll be more like the dot com boom where weāre in the process of getting rid of bad actors. There are so many smart people working in crypto and web3 that I believe in the return of crypto. So, I would imagine seeing the crypto prices back to $25-30k for Bitcoin and $2.5-3k for Ethereum.
Gaming coming to the rescue: Gamers donāt love NFTs, we know it, and I get it. But metaverse works best with gaming - itās just more natural. The relationship between gaming and web3 is very shaky - so this prediction is on the maybe category. As we continue to build the blocks of the metaverse, gaming might be the new entry point for new folks. We just need a fun game that utilizes NFTs in an innovative way.
Apple Headset: Apple is perfectionist. Their products scream opulence and they are reportedly have been working on the Apple car for almost 10 years. But we can expect to get the first glimpse of Appleās mixed reality (AR+VR) headset roll out next year. Itāll likely be very expensive around $3k, will get a lot of media coverage, and and a few mainstream users.
Metaās Avatars: They are ugly. Meta has their avatars on their metaverse(!) but theyāve also been encouraging them on Instagram. This is a long shot but I think they might acquire or partner with an NFT collection to utilize their characters + likeness.
Iāll believe it when I see it:
Automated / Self-driving cars: This group right here - I wouldnāt bet on it. I worked on two self-driving car research projects in the last 4 months and we are far away from a level 5 automated car. Donāt put this on top of your Christmas gift list.
ATH for Crypto Prices: Look ā Iām not a finance person, Iām no financial analyst. All I do is follow every single business tech and web3 news and aggregate it for you. So when it comes to DeFi, take it with a grain of salt.
The economy is improving, but it has way to go. Many tech companies are still implementing layoffs. Some industries that saw a boom during the pandemic are now shrinking, such as many companies that have launched their own streaming services. Ad-supported businesses are also struggling due to changes in Appleās privacy rules. With all these factors at play, it is unlikely that we will see a glamorous year for crypto or new all-time high prices.Mainstream VR/AR: Prof G says that itās unlikely people will put on their heads ugly looking headsets that make them uglier, because, well, evolution. I see where heās coming from and agree - but also itās difficult to foresee what the normal will be for younger generations. Regardless, I donāt think 2023 is the year for headsets and we wonāt see a mainstream adoption.
Non Fungible Predictions:
Top Projects: Bullish on Yuga ecosystem, Doodles and RTFKT. Which ecosystem are you bullish on?
Generative Art: Will still keep its momentum. Innovations in AI could further improve generative art.
Another Merge: Jk not Ethereum, but I think we will see merging of different NFT projects for survival. I support this idea btw - why wouldnāt projects with similar vibes or mindsets come together and make better experiences for their holders?
Return of P2E: This year was silent in games - it might mean people are building. Games especially take longer to build so we might see a new popular NFT/blockchain-based p2e game.
Return of iNFT: iNFT is bringing AI into NFTs, and this was a top story for a hot minute. With more AI developments we can see some interesting uses of this duo.
Fragmentation of market share of NFT marketplaces: Blur, LooksRare, GameStop, LimeWire, Coinbase NFT, ā¦ Many new marketplaces came up this year, most specializing in specific industries. I think we will see the continuation of the industry-based marketplace trend and this will lead to OpenSeaās market share dropping and creating a more fragmented market.
Metaverse Funding Chart:
Iām on TikTok nowā¦ Iām putting in the work for you though. Iām learning video editing for you guys ā„ļø
Come to learn or cringe with me. Idk. Short video format rules our media landscape so it was aboutš damnš timeš You can find the news explained in the best way possible & funny memes about crypto upcoming on this account.
Come hang & follow š I promise to make it worthwhile.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
A lovely Christmas song in the style of Jingle Bells using my 2023 Predictions (and a singing version on TikTok.. actually)
Dashing through the news, in a self-driving car
Over the virtual fields we go, checking out whatās coming our way
SBFās trial will continue, and Yuga Labs faces lawsuits
Twitter rolls out a payment system, and layoffs continue in tech
Jingle all the way, oh what fun
2023 brings lots of change, everyone
Twitter alternatives are on the rise
And more orange jumpsuits, as bad actors are analyzed
AI is the top story, itās improving every day
VC funding goes to companies using it in a new way
Automation expands, and Siri and Alexa improve
But ethical AI concerns will be something to resolve
Jingle all the way, oh what fun
2023 brings lots of change, everyone
Twitter alternatives are on the rise
And more orange jumpsuits, as bad actors are analyzed
We might see rising prices, as crypto returns to its prime
Gaming could bring new folks to the metaverse divine
Appleās headset arrives, but it's expensive as it can be
Metaās avatars might change, we'll just have to wait and see
Jingle all the way, oh what fun
2023 brings lots of change, everyone
Twitter alternatives are on the rise
And more orange jumpsuits, as bad actors are analyzed
Much love. Have a lovely New Years. ā„ļø
-Aleyna
Disclaimer: Investing in NFTs comes with inherent risk including technical risk, human error, platform failure and more. This newsletter is strictly educational and nothing we offer is financial advice. We are not professionals or licensed advisors. Views my own and not any other company Iām affiliated with.
Thanks for reading NFTimes! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Great post, some serious alpha, very excited to see what predictions come to pass