👋🏽 Hello everyone, gm gm, WELCOME BACK to another edition of the Overpriced JPEGs newsletter!
It’s prediction season and today, we’re making some predictions for the year to come.
What you’ll read below is a newsletter published from Web3 Academy, who have joined up with us to write + curate in-depth, quality content directly in your inbox!
As always, if you enjoy this one, let us know by replying to this email! Let’s get into it.
Who could’ve predicted that in 2023…
One of the most important people in crypto – CZ – could go to prison
A public company – Coinbase – would launch an Ethereum L2
An NFT collection – Pudgy Penguins – would sell toys on Amazon & Walmart
A $10 trillion asset manager – BlackRock – would file for Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs
To get caught up on all the news from 2023, skim through our Year in Review newsletter here.
Most people wouldn’t have been able to predict those things at the beginning of 2023.
Just like nobody can predict what’s to come in 2024. However, by applying some rationale and industry insights, we can try!
We actually predicted some stuff last year in our 2023 predictions article, and we got some cool stuff right. Read about that here.
This year, we’ll try again, and hopefully we can get a few more things right. Let’s try anyway. ⏬
Kyle Reidhead – Co-founder & Onchain Sleuth ⛓
ETF Approvals and Filings
I'm expecting BTC and ETH spot ETFs to finally get approved in the USA.
I also think that in 2024, a Solana spot ETF will be filed but it won't see approval just yet.
Coinbase Market Cap Surge
I believe Coinbase ($COIN) is set to reach new all-time highs, going beyond a $100 billion market cap.
From current levels, $COIN needs to go up another 127% in 2024. If that happens, it’ll catch Wall Street by surprise and crypto will benefit big time from this.
Crypto Hits New All Time Highs
I predict that $BTC, $ETH, and $SOL will reach new all-time highs in 2024.
$BTC > $69,000
$ETH > $4,900
$SOL > $260
For more details, check out my separate predictions for their growth throughout the 2024-2025 bull cycle.
Solana's User Base Explosion
In terms of daily active users, I see Solana becoming the number one chain, with over 10 million DAU.
At the moment Solana is behind the BNB chain, with just 567k daily active users.
I’m predicting a 17x increase from current levels.
Layer 2 Total Value Locked (TVL) Growth
I foresee Layer 2's TVL soaring past $100 billion.
That’s a 5.07x increase from the current $19.7 billion TVL.
No Gas Fee L2s and Applications Are The New Meta
You want cheap gas fees? How about no gas fees! That’s going to become the norm for applications and entire L2s in 2024.
Once EIP 4844 launches in Q1 2024, this will be more feasible on Ethereum. Immutable is already doing this, as well as Polygon ZKEVM when using the Immutable passport (a specific wallet).
This is the end game for crypto and we will start to see it come into fruition in 2024.
Web3 Gaming Popularity + Immutable Supremacy
My prediction is that three web3 games will hit over 5 million monthly active users, and at least one of them will be on Immutable.
I also expect Immutable to emerge as the top L2 for users and transactions.
Corporate Ventures into Layer 2
I anticipate that two publicly traded companies will launch their own Layer 2 solutions, moving beyond Coinbase's initiatives.
X's Crypto Trading Feature
I'm predicting that X (Twitter) will introduce a wallet or integrate crypto payments within its app.
NFT Market Growth
I believe that weekly NFT volumes will surpass previous records of $3.2 billion from 2021.
Right now, weekly NFT volumes across all chains are $207 million.
Stablecoin Market Cap Expansion
The stablecoin market cap will exceed $250 billion, which is almost 2x its current value ($129.9 billion) and 25% more than the previous all-time high in April 2022.
Rise of KYC Applications
I expect a significant shift towards KYC (Know Your Customer) apps and KYC liquidity, gaining real traction in the market.
This will confuse the shit out of Crypto Twitter and everyone will lose their minds.
Jay Hamilton – Co-founder & Elite Podcaster 🎙
Bitcoin Milestones
I expect a spot ETF for Bitcoin to be approved & BTC to break the $100k price barrier.
Ethereum Developments
A spot ETF for Ethereum will also be approved & $ETH will surpass $10k in value, outperforming every mega-cap tech stock.
Additionally, post EIP-4844, Ethereum L2s will become increasingly significant, capturing most of the EVM-compatible Total Value Locked (TVL) and volume.
Solana Predictions
A Solana spot ETF will be filed before the ETH ETF is approved & $SOL will reach and surpass $500.
NFT Minting Volume Surge
DRiP, a platform on Solana, will lead in NFT minting, creating over 1 billion NFTs.
Growth in Wallet Usage
The number of active monthly wallets will double to 40 million, far exceeding the previous all-time high of 19.5 million in May 2023.
I also predict Starbucks Odyssey to open to the public and onboard 5 million wallets – this was my prediction last year too. 😅
Corporate Blockchain Initiatives
Amazon and Microsoft will launch major blockchain infrastructure projects.
US Election Predictions
I foresee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. becoming the next POTUS.
But, the US election will see a massive surge in AI-generated content, which will drive the adoption of blockchain as a verified identity solution.
Impact of Political Events on Crypto
Political events and elections worldwide, including the US election, will drive the price of Bitcoin upwards. 🚀
Raul Chisluca – Content Writer & Shitposter on X ✍
ETF Approvals
I foresee a BTC ETF being approved early 2024, but ETH won’t get an ETF in 2024.
Ethereum Outperforming Bitcoin
I am confident that $ETH will significantly outperform Bitcoin and the ETH/BTC price will reach the 2018 highs of 0.11.
This means that $ETH will outperform $BTC by 2x.
Bitcoin Halving Impact
The upcoming Bitcoin halving will be a 'sell the news event,' and Bitcoin won’t reach its all-time highs until after the summer of 2024.
In Q4, $BTC will surpass ATHs and enter price discovery, heading towards $100k – but won’t reach it by the end of 2024.
TL;DR: $BTC to $69k–$100k in Q4 2024.
Web3 Gaming Milestone
At least one game with web3 features will reach 1 million monthly active users.
This game will be one of the 100+ games on Immutable that will go live in 2024.
Coinbase's Growth and Influence
Just like Kyle, I predict $COIN to reach its ATHs.
Additionally, Coinbase will continue to play a crucial role in improving the regulatory landscape for crypto in the US.
Rise of Web3 Wallets
Web3 wallets that cover in-app fees are going to gain more adoption and start competing against neo-banks.
Coinbase Wallet is the one I’m most excited about.
Onchain Crypto Cards
I envision a new way for people to spend their crypto directly from non-custodial wallets through onchain crypto cards.
xPortal & Safe are 2 wallets that have this already – I expect both to rise in popularity quite a lot.
Crypto Conferences Hitting New Highs
Real-life crypto conference franchises like Token2049, Permissionless, European Blockchain Convention, Bitcoin2024, etc., will see record numbers in terms of attendees.
Token-Incentivized IRL Apps
Applications like Sweat & StepN that reward users with tokens for doing IRL activities will be re-born and onboard millions of people onchain.
L2s and Polygon's Ascendancy
The L2 narrative will dominate 2024 but Polygon, especially after its upgrade to 2.0, will lead the pack.
I predict they will have the most Total Value Locked, Monthly Active Users, and dominate other L2s across key metrics.
Launch of $BASE Token
This is a moonshot that I’m not too confident about, but I do have a feeling that the $BASE token will be introduced in 2024, with the goal of decentralizing the Base L2 blockchain.
The launch of $BASE will occur sometimes in the middle of the L2 narrative (which will be crazy).
Web3 Academy DOers Rise Up 🚀
As of now, there are 9,700 DOers reading this newsletter. By the end of 2024, I predict we’ll be over 50,000.
This is the only thing that we at Web3 Academy can control out of all of our predictions and we’ll do everything in our power to grow this beautiful community. 🫶
Tyler Galbraith – Content Producer & Shitcoin Magnet 💩
Well, in order to live up to a prestigious name like “Shitcoin Magnet” I’ll have to steer clear of the “BTC ETF gets approved” predictions and really swing for the fences. So here goes nothin…
Winter of Cosmos
Cosmos?
Ya bro. Cosmos has tons of new (tokenless) protocols up and running and there will be no one to compete with for securing those airdrop bags. Know why?
First, everyone is on Solana trying to airdrop farm after that $10,000+ JITO drop but now the ecosystem is flooded and rewards will be diluted.
Second, it’s the most confusing blockchain I’ve ever used (sorry, “network of blockchains” 🙄) so people will probably just give up while trying to farm here…
ETH Spring
I think the ETH ETF gets approved swiftly after BTC and we see average Joes/Janes pumping their 401Ks with that sweet ETH by the end of spring. Luckily I’m in Canada and have had my old man filling his TFSA with BTC and ETH ETFs since the Summer.
Shitcoin Summer
Like DeFi summer but better! This means sell all your bitcoin for BONK late spring. Just kidding, don't do this, I’m just trying to live up to my name.
But in all honesty I think we see some repetition of past cycles in Q3/Q4 of this year and see some outrageous pumps to a good chunk of those spicy small cap alts. Make sure to take profits cause last cycle I didn’t and that’s why my predictions go last.
Winter Wonderland
BTC over 100k?? I think so!
$9,000 ETH??? Maybe?? Who knows.
Solana in the #3 spot for total market cap??? Why not?
I’ll be locking in some profits and curling up on my couch with a cozy blanket while I watch the prices continue to move up only and kick myself for selling anything at all.
What Are Your Predictions for 2024?
Reply to this email with at least 1 prediction and we’ll give you a free 7-day trial to Web3 Academy PRO to start the year off strong! 💪
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not financial advice. Conduct your own research and consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions or taking any action based on the content.