Original author: The Spartan Group

Original compilation: Deep Chao TechFlow

Cryptocurrencies are spending 2023 in a bear market. While the year saw a lot of upheaval, it also made room for incredible new technological innovations.

Here’s a look at some of the things partners on Spartan’s investment, consulting, and labs teams are excited about what 2024 has in store for cryptocurrencies. This article will delve into nine of the most exciting trends of the year, from Web3 games to the Bitcoin ecosystem. These trends not only herald great changes in the field of Web3, but also reveal a more open, interconnected and innovative digital future for us.

AAA web3 game

Kelvin Koh, Co-Founder and Partner, Chief Information Officer, Spartan Capital

Im excited about the next generation of AAA quality Web3 games, some of which will be available in 2024. I believe these games will bring millions of new Web3 users and demonstrate why Web3 games are a further evolution of existing Web2 games.

Bitcoin-based construction, consumer applications and Asian markets

Melody He, co-founder, partner and co-head of Spartan Consulting

There are 4 things I’m particularly excited about for 2024:

• Unleashing the power of the Bitcoin blockchain, built on Bitcoin assets

• Consumer applications marking the next generation of NFTs

• Asian Markets Become Cryptocurrency Hub - From Crypto Trading to Enterprise Adoption

• Capital flows to regulated exchanges and local exchanges, and liquidity will become more dispersed, but this also forces projects to invest in local partners and exchanges rather than just listing on overseas exchanges without leveraging their tokens Projects that drive local adoption.

MA-driven integration

Casper B. Johansen, Co-Founder and Partner, Co-Head, Spartan Consulting

I predict that 2024 will be a year of growth and consolidation for the Web3 industry. In particular, I think we will see consolidation between centralized exchanges. There are three main forms of this integration:

• Domestic consolidation among competitors in the same market

• Regional integration between exchanges operating in adjacent markets

• Cross-continental integration through large global players entering strategic markets.

We will also see a sharp increase in MA activity in other areas of Web3, including hosting, data and analytics, staking, payments, and more. After the wave of Web3-native MA-driven consolidation, we will see a second wave of MA led by non-Web3-native companies, as well as IPOs of some of the larger Web3 platforms.

Main Applications, Zero-Knowledge Proofs and Modular Blockchains

Leeor Groen, Spartan Group, Managing Director

Im excited for the industry to validate the infrastructure weve built over the past few years by adopting major applications. In Web3, we will start to measure the success of this in a different way, and we will start to realize the value of calculating ownership in addition to personal assets. Privacy and security will be key drivers, and we will see users begin to realize the value of zero-knowledge proofs and modular blockchains that users don’t even know they rely on on the backend for applications ranging from digital identities to games. These zero-knowledge proofs and modular blockchains.

On-chain agency, virtual goods, and aesthetic crypto brands

Adrian Lai, Chief Creative Officer (Studio Head), Spartan Labs

2023 brings concepts such as Rutu, networked playable characters, cryptographic AI agents, NFT applications, and modular account abstractions. In 2024, I expect these decentralized crypto concepts to converge into a powerful economy around autonomous on-chain agents.

Secondly, Apple’s Vision Pro is coming soon. I’m excited about the corresponding wave of virtual goods and experiences that new space formats will bring.

Finally, I look forward to seeing more aesthetically driven crypto-native brands, led by innovators like Family, Blackbird, Bebop, Seed Club, Zora, FWB and more.

DePIN and the Bitcoin Ecosystem

Cody Poh, Investment Associate, Spartan Group

Im excited about DePINs development; projects that leverage cryptoeconomics to reduce structural costs will be strong competitors to existing Web2 businesses. Furthermore, with the upcoming Layer 2 upgrade of Bitcoin infrastructure, the BTC ecosystem becomes more practical and usable, coupled with newly created asset classes such as BRC-20 offering high speculative value, the ecosystem is expected to grow strongly.

The intersection of AI and blockchain

Audrey Taylor-Akwenye, Chief Technology Officer, Spartan Labs

What I’m most excited about in 2024 is the intersection of AI and blockchain. We have research and new use cases on Zero Knowledge and Machine Learning (ZKML). We have games that allow you to train AI agents using ERC 6551. I believe that in the next year, we will see more AI being used to improve the user experience and efficiency of Web3, and more blockchain technology being used as guardrails and transparency layers for AI.

Web3 consumer, social and gaming take off

Dana Gan,Spartan Group Consulting Assistant

Looking ahead to 2024, I’m excited about the following aspects of the crypto space:

• We could see another wave of power and traction with the relatively new L1/2. I hope to see more developer events, TVL, emergence of on-chain “killer apps”, and community building. To prove themselves, chains such as Sui, Sei, Aptos, Base, Scroll and others still have a lot of work to do in 2024.

• Anticipate an increase in retail-oriented consumer applications in the cryptocurrency space: the success of friend.tech, coupled with an airdrop likely to occur in the coming year, has sparked a surge in copycat projects. This is just the beginning. This trend marks a significant shift in the industrys focus toward consumer and social applications. I’m excited to test more products with better UI/UX, improved incentive flywheels and token utility, and more sustainable business models.

• Foresee the next 1-2 years to see more advanced developments in the Web3 game and metaverse industries: after the past few years of development, many AAA and MMORPG Web3 games are about to be launched. With advances in hardware (such as Apples Vision Pro) and software (Metaverse Engine Inc.), I think theres considerable potential for growth in the gaming and Metaverse space, and Ill be looking forward to trying more of these games in 2024.

Tokenization of RWA and the Bitcoin Network

Yan Ma,Spartan Group Assistant

• The tokenization of RWA expands the categories and security possibilities of the Bitcoin network.

• The Bitcoin network provides scalability and interoperability through L2s solutions, activating over $850 billion in unproductive BTC capital and paving the way for institutional adoption.

• DeSci will gain more attention as a powerful use case for blockchain—using Web3 technology to establish a secure, durable record of scientific contributions that enables fair credit distribution, streamlines transactions, allows global resource sharing, and overcomes economic barriers.

The views expressed here are solely those of individual Spartan Group employees and not those of Spartan Group or its affiliates.