FTI Tech Trends 2022 Book10

15th Edition • 2022 Tech Trends Report Vol.
10

Blockchain, cryptocurrency, DeFi,
decentralization, and NFT trends
influencing business, government
and society.
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
03 Macro Forces and Emerging Trends 34 Self-Finding Digital

05 Overview Infrastructure
08 Key Insights 35 Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
09 Currency 36 Better Digital Wallets
10 Stablecoins 37 Learn to Earn Models
11 Hometown Coins 38 DEXes and AMMs
12 CBDCs 39 On-chain Surveillance
13 Payments and Settlements 40 Staking
14 Social and Digital Payments 41 Smart Oracles
15 Conditional Money 43 Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
16 Earned Wage Access 44 Non Fungible Tokens
17 Banking 45 Smart Royalties
18 Open Banking 46 Monetizing Memes
19 Alternative Credit Scoring 47 Proof of Everything
20 Web 3.0 48 Knock-On Trends
22 Provenance and Authentication 49 Crypto Mining Fuels
Green Energy
25 Scenario: Regulation Z Prime
50 Community Dashboards
26 Token Economics
52 Application
27 Digital Autonomous
Organizations (DAOs) 53 Key Questions
28 Fractional Ownership 54 Trends in Action
30 Tools to Manage Digital 55 Selected Sources
Identity and Assets 56 Authors
31 Fan Ownership Models 59 About Future Today Institute
32 Scenario: Consumption Quota 60 Disclaimer
33 Distributed Computing 61 Creative Commons License
Earning Models
2 © 2022 Future Today Institute

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain EMERGING
SOURCES
TRENDS
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain 6 Watch Closely Informs Strategy Act Now
Macro Forces and Emerging Trends 13TH YEAR ON THE LIST 1
Social and Digital

Payments
For nearly two decades, the Future Today Institute has meticulously re-
searched macro forces of change and the emerging trends that result. Our KEY INSIGHT 2 EXAMPLES 3 DISRUPTIVE IMPACT 4 EMERGING PLAYERS 5
focus: understanding how these forces and trends will shape our futures. Our Tech companies are For well over a decade, companies such
as Venmo and PayPal, which now have
This area is rapidly evolving as payment
capabilities migrate from apps to devic-
• Affirm
• Ant Group
leveraging APIs and
15th annual Tech Trends Report identifies new opportunities for growth and digital infrastructure
hundreds of millions of users, have
worked to bring social payments to
es. Visa is working with auto companies
such as GM and Honda to launch con-
• Apple
• Amazon
potential collaborations in and adjacent to your business. We also highlight to provide seamless,
consumers all over the world. Consum-
er-to-consumer (C2C) purchases are
nected car payment capabilities includ-
ing Visa Token Service, CyberSource • Baidu
emerging or atypical threats across most industries, including all levels of interconnected increasingly enhanced through ser- Payment Management, Token ID, and • Green Dot
vices like Shopify, which save a buyer’s Visa Direct. Car-based payments could • Google
financial services.
government. For those in creative fields, you will find a wealth of new ideas Financial institutions,
payment details and make it simple to
repeatedly purchase products online
streamline transactions such as paying
for curbside groceries or meals, gaso-
• PayPal
• Shopify
that will spark your imagination. payment providers, without entering any new information.
A new announcement by Apple in Feb-
line or electric charges, or parking.
• Venmo
and consumer- ruary 2022 could move C2C and con- • Visa
• WhatsApp
Our framework organizes nearly 600 trends into 13 clear categories, which facing companies sumer-to-business (C2B) one step closer
together. The tech giant launched Tap • Zelle/Bank of America
are integrating with to Pay on iPhone—a capability that will
are being published as separate reports. Each report includes specific use tech platforms and enable individuals to exchange funds
simply by bringing their smartphones
cases and recommendations for key roles in many organizations: strategy, e-commerce to acquire closer together. Apple believes this new
Apple’s new Tap to Pay feature will make it easy
more customers and fend app will lead to businesses accepting
innovation, R&D, and risk. for businesses and individuals to accept payment
and exchange funds with a tap of devices.
off competition.
contactless payments as well, without
the need for additional equipment.
Each trend offers six important insights.

1. Years on the List 3. Examples 5. Emerging Players 6. Action Scale  Informs Strategy
We track longitudinal tech and sci- Real-world use cases, some of Individuals, research teams, start- FTI’s analysis of what action your Strong evidence and data. Lon-
ence trends. This measurement in- which should be familiar to you. ups, and other organizations oper- organization should take. ger-term uncertainties remain.
dicates how long we have followed ating in this space. Mature organi- Fields include: This trend should inform your
the trend and its progression. 4. Disruptive Impact zations are included when they are strategic planning.
The implications of this trend on producing new contributions.  Watch Closely
2. Key Insight your business, government, or Mounting evidence and data,  Act Now
Concise description of this trend society. but more maturity is needed. Use Ample evidence and data. This
that can be easily understood and this trend to inform your vision, trend is already mature and
repeated to others. planning, and research. requires action.

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain SCENARIOS
SOURCES
Scenarios Describe 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain SCENARIO
Plausible Outcomes
Consumption Quota • Pessimistic Near-Future
You will find scenarios imagining future worlds as trends evolve

and converge. Scenarios offer a fresh perspective on trends and Consumption Quota
often challenge your deeply held beliefs. They prompt you to China and the US are neck and neck During World War II, many
for the world’s largest GDP in 2025. governments rationed certain
consider high-impact, high-uncertainty situations using signals GDP is a global vanity metric that products like automobiles, gasoline,
available today. countries use to assert dominance

over one another. The world’s largest
silk, shoes and food like meat, dairy,
coffee and sugar. In the future,
GDP is a coveted spot to have in governments like the US and China
1. Headline terms of negotiating global trade

agreements and geopolitical policies.
might do the opposite - setting
consumption quotas on citizens
A short description offering you a glimpse into future changes. to ensure their rank in the global
economy.
Gross Domestic Product optimizes for
consumption. It’s a calculation that
2. Temporal and Emotive Tags combines public and private spending Universal Basic Income and other
and investment. In a world where guaranteed income programs are
A label explaining both when in the future this scenario is set and everything is disposable, producible, ubiquitous. Citizens are punished for
purchasable, citizens now also have a not spending fast enough since their
whether it is optimistic, neutral, pessimistic, or catastrophic. civic duty to spend. digital wallets are publicly visible and
tracked.
3. Narrative
The descriptive elements of our imagined world, including the
developments leading us to this point in our future history.
Scenario sources:
The Future Today Institute uses a wide array of qualitative and
quantitative data to create our scenarios. Some of our typical
sources include patent filings, academic preprint servers, ar-
chival research, policy briefings, conference papers, data sets,
structured interviews with experts, conversations with kids, criti-
cal design, and speculative fiction.

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain OVERVIEW
SOURCES
What’s the new normal? Most of us feel an urgent need to curious, rather than absolutely certain, about what you
get back to normal, especially as we continue to witness perceive in the present.
and endure an unprecedented amount of change. Early
this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin waged an un- Our 2022 Tech Trends Report is designed to help you
provoked war against Ukraine, which led to a rapid global re-perceive the world so that you can confront deep un-
response. Switzerland broke with tradition and took a side, certainty, adapt and thrive. In this 15th anniversary edition,
freezing Russian assets and denying entry to oligarchs. we have analyzed nearly 600 technology and science
Anonymous, the global hacker collective, waged a cyber- trends that impact most industry sectors. We created 14
war against Russia, infiltrating government databases and separate volumes, and each report focuses on a related
state propaganda websites. cluster of trends. You will also find vivid scenarios depict-
ing the unexpected ways in which the future might unfold.
Within the past 12 months, DeepMind solved a 50-year- In each volume, we discuss the disruptive forces, opportu-
old problem in biology, opening up new pathways to nities and strategies that will influence your organization
drug discovery. AI systems proved that they can gener- in the near future.
ate images and text as well as a human. Facebook and
Square changed their names to Meta and Block, signaling Now, more than ever, your organization should examine
a digital land grab in the emerging Web 3.0. The biggest the potential near and long-term impact of tech trends.
streamers—Netflix, Disney+, AppleTV, Hulu—discovered a You must factor the trends in this report into your strategic
formidable competitor in social commerce networks like thinking for the coming year, and adjust your planning,
Shein. Seemingly every day, a new set of signals emerge to operations and business models accordingly. But we hope
challenge our existing mental models. you will make time for creative exploration. The new nor-
mal is unfolding for those who know how to re-perceive
It might feel pointless to forecast the future past a few signals in the present.
weeks or months. But strategic foresight results in prepa-
rations, not predictions. Trends invite us to consider alter-
native outcomes from those we previously imagined. They
also unlock something invaluable in each one of us: the
ability to re-perceive reality. The act of “re-perception”
Amy Webb
awakens you to the possibility of a future that differs from
CEO
your current expectations. It helps you understand that you
The Future Today Institute
cannot know all things at all times, and that you should be

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain
The material presented in this report

is intended for informational purposes
only and should not be considered
investment advice, or a recommendation
to buy, sell, or hold any particular
cryptocurrency, digital asset, or security.
This is volume 10 in the Future Today

Institute’s 2022 Tech Trends Report. Each
volume covers a different set of topics.
To find additional volumes, visit

www.futuretodayinstitute.com/trends
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain KEY INSIGHTS
Key Insights
 In the near future, money will be  China will push for the broader use  Banks and insurance companies are  Cryptocurrency developers have
programmable—and more things of its digital currency, the e-CNY, using artificial intelligence, telemat- created software to decentralize
could become money-like, with within and outside of the country. ics, and big data to automate credit the stocks and securities exchange
quantifiable, liquid, and fungible risk modeling and update the way process, allowing individuals to
qualities.  Visa had a monopoly on payments credit scores are calculated. trade directly with one another
at the Olympics for 36 years, and in without relying on a centralized
 The financial ecosystem is undergo- 2022 China’s e-CNY was the pre-  Blockchain-based applications are third party to determine prices and
ing a transformation as blockchain ferred payment inside the Olympics being used to track the origins of settle the trades.
technology and open-source proto- bubble. content online, and permanently
cols introduce alternatives to exist- store original assets, improving the
ing regulatory and capital controls.  Decentralized databases, powered ability of consumers and businesses
by blockchain, could enable secure to authenticate information. This is a
 Due to the surge of interest in non and transparent community dash- powerful tool for combatting cen-
fungible tokens (NFTs), developers boards on everything from water sorship and misinformation.
are making digital wallets easier to quality to city budgets, improving
use by wider groups of consumers. public trust and civic engagement.  Decentralized autonomous organi-
zations (DAOs) will continue to grow
 Ethereum has become the domi-  The bimonthly paycheck may soon this year. As of March 2022, DAOs
nant blockchain now underpinning be a thing of the past. Earned wage have more than $10 billion of assets
thousands of decentralized appli- access (EWA) lets employees re- under management.
cations and is the primary contract- ceive part of their earned wages in
ing platform for NFTs and decen- between paychecks.  Crypto tokens and blockchain
tralized finance (DeFi). Ether, which networks are being developed so
underpins the Ethereum network, is that fans can own portions of their
emerging as the dominant collateral favorite brands.
in DeFi.

Currency

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain Watch Closely Informs Strategy Act Now
2ND YEAR ON THE LIST
Stablecoins
KEY INSIGHT EXAMPLES DISRUPTIVE IMPACT EMERGING PLAYERS
By far the most popular stablecoins are Stablecoins, specifically those pegged to • Binance
While most people are
Tether and USDC, which are both pegged the dollar, give people and businesses • Circle
familiar with Bitcoin, to the U.S. dollar. While Tether is the around the world access to trade in a • Coinbase
another category of most widely used stablecoin, it is also universal means of exchange without
• Meta (formerly Facebook)
surrounded by controversy as it has faced going through traditional financial hur-
cryptocurrency— lawsuits and failing audits related to its dles. This has had positive impacts for • Gemini
stablecoins—is the cash reserves. Tether’s value proposition people who want to store their savings • Tether
is that it is “tethered” to the value of a in a stable asset instead of a local cur- • Visa
most widely used. dollar, and for every Tether in circula- rency suffering from inflation. It’s been
Stablecoins are “pegged” tion, Tether Ltd., its parent company, has a useful tool for faster, more affordable
a dollar in its cash reserves. Interestingly, remittances. This also raises regulato-
to another asset or a the controversy has not hampered inves- ry concerns for circumstances where
basket of underlying tor interest or global adoption. In Novem- stablecoins are used to evade currency
ber 2020, Visa announced a partnership controls and sanctions.
assets. This creates
with Circle to develop a credit card that
price stability, allowing uses USDC. The regulatory landscape for
people to transact this innovation is still evolving. In late
2020, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D.-Mich.)
with digital facsimiles introduced the STABLE Act, which would
Tether remains one of the most popular sta-
blecoins, despite controversy surrounding the of commodities and require companies issuing stablecoins to
obtain a banking license. In 2021, Trea-
company.
currencies. sury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal
Reserve Chair Jerome Powell both called
for stablecoin regulation. SEC Chair Gary
Gensler has been particularly vocal about
his criticism of stablecoins.
1ST YEAR ON THE LIST
Hometown Coins
Miami is the first city in the United Backed by smart contracts and accessed • CityCoins
Community currencies,
States with crypto on its balance sheet on smartphones, local currencies can • Miami
also known as scrips, thanks to MiamiCoin, a project that es- lead to more resilient and diverse econ- • Grassroots Economics
have allowed cities, tablishes crypto treasury funds for a city omies. International development aid
and allows anyone to contribute. The was over $150 billion in 2020; distribut-
towns, and even MiamiCoin treasury raised $4.5 million ing it through local currency networks
neighborhoods to in 40 days, and the Miami City Coun- instead of food donations or grants
cil voted to use the funds to mitigate could reduce waste and corruption.
experiment with their climate change, serve underprivileged Projects like MiamiCoin demonstrate
own monetary policies communities, and provide incentives how municipalities can raise funds
for tech entrepreneurs. A similar effort without hiking taxes or going into debt.
for centuries. Now, with is underway in New York City. In Kenya, Hometown coins can support local
the advent of blockchain, the Sarafu network has almost 48,000 initiatives like backing small businesses,
registered users engaging with a local reinvesting in city infrastructure, and
there is a resurgence
virtual currency. attracting talent.
of local currencies and
exploration of their
potential.
Communities and cities are beginning to explore
how creating their own cryptocurrency can unlock
new opportunities and benefits.

3RD YEAR ON THE LIST
CBDCs
CBDCs could update some of the most CBDCs give citizens a public alternative • People’s Bank of China
While digital payment
antiquated areas of global finance. to digital payment infrastructure, in • Central Bank of Nigeria
rails have exploded in China is the undisputed leader in theory allowing for transactions and • Central banks
popularity in recent years, CBDCs, successfully executing multi- financial services without exorbitant
• MIT Digital Currency Institute
ple large-scale pilots including at the fees. They could streamline global flows
the majority of innovation 2022 Olympics. The rest of the world of currencies and foreign exchange • World Economic Forum
has occurred in the pri- is following suit, with countries like markets. The World Economic Forum’s
Nigeria releasing frameworks and white policymaker toolkit for helping central
vate sector. Central bank papers for their own projects. The U.S. banks investigate CBDCs calls them
backed digital curren- Federal Reserve has partnered with a potential tool for improved safety
MIT on Project Hamilton, an in-depth and resilience in payments systems;
cies—CBDCs for short— research study in this area, but has yet competitiveness of payments systems;
are blockchain-backed to commit to issuing a U.S. CBDC. Not better data transmission and reporting
everyone is a fan. Controversial whis- to central banks; and financial inclu-
tokens issued and man-
tleblower Edward Snowden has called sion.” CBDCs could also expedite the
aged by central banks. CBDCs “cryptofascist currencies,” since distribution of emergency relief funds
More and more, govern- many implementations of this technolo- after natural disasters or health pan-
gy would give states greater surveillance demics. In the case of humanitarian aid,
ments are researching and control of individual citizens and digital currencies are easier to track and
The People’s Bank of China launched a pilot app
that provides access to its digital currency, the issuing digital currencies their transactions. monitor. For that reason, critics say that
CBDCs also present privacy and surveil-
E-CNY.
of their own in an effort to lance concerns. China is spearheading
Image credit: Costfoto/Future Publishing via
Getty Images. modernize the monetary efforts to establish global standards for
CBDCs in order to make them interoper-
system. able and compatible.

Payments &
Settlements

13TH YEAR ON THE LIST
Social and Digital

Payments
For well over a decade, companies such This area is rapidly evolving as payment • Affirm
Tech companies are
as Venmo and PayPal, which now have capabilities migrate from apps to devic- • Ant Group
leveraging APIs and hundreds of millions of users, have es. Visa is working with auto companies • Apple
digital infrastructure worked to bring social payments to such as GM and Honda to launch con-
• Amazon
consumers all over the world. Consum- nected car payment capabilities includ-
to provide seamless, er-to-consumer (C2C) purchases are ing Visa Token Service, CyberSource • Baidu
interconnected increasingly enhanced through ser- Payment Management, Token ID, and • Green Dot
vices like Shopify, which save a buyer’s Visa Direct. Car-based payments could • Google
financial services. payment details and make it simple to streamline transactions such as paying • PayPal
Financial institutions, repeatedly purchase products online for curbside groceries or meals, gaso-
• Shopify
without entering any new information. line or electric charges, or parking.
payment providers, A new announcement by Apple in Feb-
• Venmo
and consumer- ruary 2022 could move C2C and con- • Visa
sumer-to-business (C2B) one step closer • WhatsApp
facing companies
together. The tech giant launched Tap • Zelle/Bank of America
are integrating with to Pay on iPhone—a capability that will
tech platforms and enable individuals to exchange funds
simply by bringing their smartphones
e-commerce to acquire closer together. Apple believes this new
Apple’s new Tap to Pay feature will make it easy
for businesses and individuals to accept payment more customers and fend app will lead to businesses accepting
contactless payments as well, without
and exchange funds with a tap of devices.
off competition. the need for additional equipment.

Conditional Money
Greenlight is a startup with more than As these two signals converge, it’s likely • Gates Foundation
International aid often
4 million users that offers a debit card we’ll see a world where money behaves • Greenlight
comes with conditions with parental controls and a mobile app. differently depending on the wallet it’s • Bolsa Familia
for the recipient’s Parents can block certain stores and im- stored. In individual exchanges, the
pose spending limits and rewards based sender could ensure that the recipient
behavior such as how the on behavior. In the world of humani- spends the money on the intended
funds are used, and so tarian aid and international develop- items—for example, a parent sending
ment, conditional cash transfer (CCT) money to a child at college to purchase
do the funds parents give programs have been widely successful, textbooks. We could also see businesses
to children. Now, apps distributing cash payments as individ- begin to place conditions on expendi-
uals meet specific milestones in areas ture as well, however—in one possible
and payment services such as education and health. Bolsa use case, homeowners insurance com-
are making it possible Familia is a longstanding successful CCT panies could place restrictions on claim
program. As cash transfers are digitized, payments to ensure that the money
to automate such
recipients’ behavior can be more closely actually goes toward replacing the dam-
conditions, allowing for monitored and controlled. aged or lost items.
monitoring and spending
controls of sub-accounts.
With Bolsa Familia, as cash transfers are digitized,
recipients’ behavior can be more closely moni- In the near future,
tored and controlled.
money itself may enforce
controls for how it can or
cannot be spent.

Earned Wage Access
Gig work companies like Uber and Lyft Immediate access to payroll will directly • Clair
The bimonthly paycheck
pioneered EWA by letting their drivers lead to more employee surveillance and • DailyPay
may soon be a thing access their earnings daily for a fee. In monitoring. Amazon recently came un- • Earnin
of the past. Earned 2019, Square was awarded a patent for der fire for its draconian “time off task”
• Green Dot
instant payroll deposits. About a dozen productivity metric, and yet as more
wage access (EWA) lets startups including Clair, Green Dot, employees ask for EWA benefits, em- • Instant Financial
employees receive part Instant Financial, and Earnin are ac- ployers will likely put in place additional • Payactiv
tively developing products in this space, measures to track their work. • Square
of their earned wages in promoting financial inclusion and
between paychecks. EWA targeting gig workers, hourly earners,
freelancers, and contractors—a growing
differs from a payday segment of the labor force.
loan since it is usually
offered through an
employer or connected
to a payroll processor at
lower fees or completely
Solutions like Instant Financial’s allow employees
to immediately access a portion of their pay after free of charge.
every shift.

Banking

Open Banking
Efforts to implement open banking Open banking enables the creation of • AIB Group UK
Open banking enables
began in earnest around 2019, when banking-as-a-service offerings today. • Bank of Ireland
secure interoperability countries including Australia, Canada, Many of these help users make better • Barclays Bank
between third-party and the U.K. implemented practices and use of their financial information, and
• Cake
directives that allowed banks to make offer analysis that assists with budget-
organizations and consumer data available upon request, ing. Several apps aim to help users trim • FIS
financial institutions, most often via APIs. The CMA9, the nine the fat from their budget, by marrying • Fiserv
largest banks in the U.K. per the Compe- their financial data with usage data from • HSBC Group
allowing for the creation tition and Markets Authority, have been other apps to suggest which subscrip- • JHA
of tools, products, mandated to implement open banking tions to cancel. In the short term, the
• Lloyds Banking Group
in the region, and announced in early main benefit is convenience and optimi-
and platforms that 2022 that the number of open banking zation. In the longer term, however, this
• Mint
pull together data users in the U.K. had recently surpassed technology could enable seamless finan- • Nationwide Building Society
the 5 million user milestone. Since the cial transactions in virtual or highly • NatWest Group
from various financial
inception of this practice, the United connected interfaces, in a way that feels • Northern Bank
institutions into one States has seen a multitude of startups invisible and automatic for the user. • Personal Capital
location. emerge that aim to pull together finan-
• Plaid
cial information for the convenience of
• Santander U.K.
users.
Part of Cake’s integration offers insights to • Simplifi
business customers by leveraging millions of
anonymized transactions. Utilizing open banking
APIs, Cake can bring together unique data and
insights that would otherwise be unobtainable or
prohibitively expensive to secure.

Alternative Credit
Scoring
Today, credit reporting agencies includ- Most alternative credit scoring mech- • Experian
Banks and insurance
ing FICO and Experian offer alternative anisms today focus on other financial • FICO
companies are using credit scoring products that use pay- indicators, such as income or monthly • Kabbage
artificial intelligence, ment data from monthly utility bills and expenditures. However, more sophis-
• Root Insurance
deposit account information. Startups ticated AI or automated methods that
telematics, and big data are getting into the space, too; Spin An- could emerge as a result of improved • VantageScore
to automate credit risk alytics readies data first and then runs data or connected devices could begin • Upstart
models as needed. It’s just one example to draw from behavioral or more per- • TomoCredit
modeling and update of the AI-powered automated credit risk sonal characteristics. In many historical • Zest AI
the way credit scores are modeling services that are now being cases, use of AI in credit modeling has
studied by central banks and tested at increased bias against marginalized
calculated. commercial banks including BBVA and groups, typically due to misinterpreta-
Crédit Agricole. tion or application of demographic data.
Automated processes that are based on
Personal insurers are seeking new
behavior and not demographics could
methods of assessing risk as states
result in more equitable outcomes.
increasingly ban the use of credit scores
in modeling and price setting. Califor-
nia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Mich-
Companies are leveraging artificial intelligence igan already banned the use of credit
and new data sources to evaluate credit. scores for setting auto insurance rates,
and the state of Washington added a ban
in 2021. Companies are responding—
Root Insurance uses the accelerometer
in mobile phones to assess customers’
driving and issue a quote.

Web 3.0

Web 3.0
Web 3.0 Explained Key Web 3.0 Developments Web 3.0 Applications
In the 1990s, most of the web was “read Conceptually, Web 3.0 is intended as a Web 3.0’s foundation in blockchain will The metaverse, a buzzy term since
only.” The average consumer could seek return to the decentralized iteration of enable individuals to build out their own Meta’s late 2021 announcement, will be
out and read information using a brows- the internet in which individual users connected spaces and assets in ways that highly dependent on the Web 3.0 infra-
er like Netscape or Internet Explorer. have more autonomy and control of previously weren’t possible. Advanced structure. Tokenization, proof of owner-
The goal of this early commercial inter- their privacy and data through the use techniques in data mining, natural lan- ship, seamless financial exchange, and
net, or Web 1.0, was to present content of blockchain technology to enable new guage processing, and text analytics will provenance authentication—all primar-
and products to consumers, much like types of transactions and authentication make gathering and understanding un- ily blockchain-based capabilities—will
a catalog. of ownership. Think of Web 3.0 as the structured data much easier. Machines drive the development of the metaverse.
The second iteration of the web, or Web next step on a longer continuum, which will collaborate directly with one anoth- Likewise, the advancement of smart cit-
2.0, gave rise to read, write, and publish enables broader computer-to-computer er and, eventually, teach one another. ies, smart contracts, and emerging In-
capabilities. Blogger and LiveJournal interactions over the internet and easier Companies like Blockstack and Cosmos ternet of Things capabilities will not be
kicked off the platform era, where any human-to-machine experiences. are building networking products that possible without Web 3.0 software and
consumer could upload content (includ- will unlock a new generation of appli- infrastructure. Just as cloud computing Web 3.0 enables people, organizations, and
ing videos and audio), sell items, and cations and services. Reddit co-founder revolutionized how businesses manage systems around the globe to be seamlessly
and store information, blockchain and interconnected while acting independently,
build communities. Social media sites Alexis Ohanian’s VC firm, Seven Seven allowing for more equitable access to asset
soon followed, and Facebook, Twitter, Six, announced in early 2021 a part- distributed computing will enable a
ownership and investment.
and YouTube became dominant play- nership with Polygon, a technology new wave of innovation for information
ers. This era consolidated market share solutions company that specializes in technology and databases, as well as for
among just a few big tech giants, which Ethereum-compatible protocols, to how consumers and businesses interact
now wield tremendous power. develop new Web 3.0 solutions. Other and engage.
first movers, such as Reddit and Twitter,
are actively investing in new Web 3.0
applications in order to be prepared for
the evolution.

Provenance and
Authentication
KEY INSIGHT EXAMPLES and detects doctored or manipulated DISRUPTIVE IMPACT
The Coalition for Content Provenance images and videos. This type of technology can be used for
Blockchain-based
and Authenticity (C2PA) released version Permanent archival is another process convenience—never reaching a broken
applications are 1.0 of its technical specification in early made possible by blockchain technolo- link on the web again—but it can also
being used to track 2022. This protocol provides guidance to gy—this open, decentralized, permanent prevent censorship or suppression.
content creators on how they can gener- archive of data occurs through protocols Governments and large corporations
the origins of content ate tamper-evident media by selectively such as Arweave. Arweave describes routinely delete, alter, or censor on-
online and permanently disclosing certain pieces of information itself as a collectively owned hard drive line information, but blockchain lets
about their content. Many companies us create a shared permanent ledger
store original assets, are coming together under the C2PA
that allows users and developers to store
from which nothing can be deleted. By
data forever.
improving the including Arm, Microsoft, and Twitter, adding original content or an index to
in order to combat misinformation the blockchain, journalists and media
ability of consumers online and create easy ways for consum- companies can make their content per-
and businesses ers to detect whether content has been manent, verifiable, and traceable.
tampered with and trace it to its original
to authenticate After censorship by WeChat, Chinese
source. The C2PA protocol leverages a activist Yue Xin at Peking University
information. This is technique called hard binding, in which used the Ethereum blockchain in 2018
a powerful tool for an asset and its details and descriptors, to publish a letter that detailed a pattern
as well as its source of origins, are
combating censorship cryptographically bound together. Any
of abuse and intimidation from school
administrators. This method was effec-
Content provenance applications are being used
to track the origin of information and validate its and misinformation. alteration to the asset would result in a
tive in archiving it; however, transaction
mismatch that changes the underlying
authenticity and accuracy. costs of Ethereum or other cryptocur-
mathematical algorithm, making it pos- rencies could make the cost of archiving
sible to detect if the content has been large bodies of information prohibitive-
tampered. The News Provenance Project
ly high. In contrast, LikeCoin is a decen-
traces the origins of journalistic content

Provenance and Authentication
tralized publishing infrastructure built EMERGING PLAYERS

for content archival. In mid-2021, when • Coalition for Content Provenance
Radio Television Hong Kong began and Authenticity
deleting content that covered protests in • Content Authenticity Initiative
2019, users quickly backed up episodes
• The News Provenance Project
from RTHK. Those episodes were then
• Adobe
archived through LikeCoin, which only
stores metadata but backs up its content • Arm
on the InterPlanetary File System, or • BBC
IPFS—a peer-to-peer file sharing ser- • Intel
vice—to publish and preserve otherwise • Microsoft
censored content, such as news articles
• Truepic
and Wikipedia pages.
• Associated Press
• Internet Archive
• The New York Times
• InterPlanetary File System
Content provenance applications are being used to track the origin of online content such as news and files
and archive them accurately.

There’s a critical need to address widespread deception in
online content—now supercharged by advances in AI and
graphics and diffused rapidly via the internet. Our imperative as
researchers and technologists is to create and refine technical
and sociotechnical approaches to this grand challenge of our
time. We’re excited about methods for certifying the origin and
provenance of online content. It’s an honor to work alongside
Adobe, BBC, and other C2PA members to take this critical work
to the next step.
—Eric Horvitz, chief scientific officer and Project Origin executive sponsor, Microsoft

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain SCENARIO
Regulation Z Prime • Optimistic/pessimistic Future/near-future scenario
Regulation Z Prime
In the early 2020s, fintech companies With rampant growth and no
and large banks bought up providers regulation, BNPL is pervasive,
of “buy now, pay later” or BNPL much like the incessant pop-up
services—and the mechanism ads of the early 2000s. Banks offer
became an embedded finance BNPL to people who can’t afford
component of online shopping or understand debt because their
checkout systems. Soon, BNPL creditworthiness models accept
became so commonplace that banks anyone who makes any purchase.
now use it as the primary means for Much like the mortgage crisis of 2008,
extending credit, effectively getting rid lenders wrongly believe they can
of personal lines of credit and loans. confiscate the goods purchased as
collateral. Because of this zombie
collateral, the loans are tranched and
Banks and other financial providers
redistributed at higher ratings, re-
see BNPL as a way to capture revenue
creating conditions for the great credit
with high interest rates that they can
crunch of 2035.
apply to unsuspecting consumers who
want immediate gratification: Think:
that new VR headset right now.

Token Economics
Every cryptocurrency has a specific The internet has enabled a wide range • Binance
Token-based business
monetary policy. For example, Bitcoin of new business models such as free- • Ethereum
models are developed has a fixed supply of 21 million and a mium, shared-economy, aggregator, di- • FlyCoin
when a company or en- gradually decreasing issuance rate, set rect-to-consumer, and so on. Blockchain
at 6.25 bitcoins per block (as of this writ- and cryptocurrencies are creating even
tity issues a token that ing). Ethereum has no fixed supply and newer business models such as smart
represents usage, utility, a variable issuance rate that depends on royalties, fan ownership, and compound-
network demand. The economic model ing yield.
value, or a combination of these projects helps users estimate Companies are also experimenting with
of the three. Token eco- price and use cases. Token projects the economics of loyalty. American Ex-
design their monetary policy based on
nomics encompasses what they are optimizing for. For exam-
press is one such company, which part-
nered with Boxed in 2018 to experiment
everything from incen- ple, Binance, the world’s largest crypto with a customized blockchain-based loy-
exchange, issued Binance Coin (BNB)
tive mechanisms, supply alty program. Singapore Airlines likewise
in 2017. People who hold BNB can use tested out a digital miles wallet program
schedule, distribution, it for discounted trade rates, exclusive for customers. One recent entrant is
and platform gover- products, and other services. Binance FlyCoin, which airlines use to reward
regularly “burns” or destroys coins to
nance. This is gradually regulate the circulating supply.
customers with FLY coins, which can be
redeemed to purchase future flights. As
FlyCoin touts its position as the world’s first crypto
frequent flyer program. Airlines like regional pro- revolutionizing how com- loyalty programs evolve, we expect to
vider Ravn Alaska are rewarding with FLY coins,
which can be used to pay for flights.
panies finance their op- see more blockchain loyalty platforms
emerge that enable customers with these
erations and do business. types of rewards to apply across a wide
variety of their favorite services.

Decentralized Autonomous
Organizations (DAOs)
The first DAO began with Ethereum Think of DAOs as co-ops for the web. • Uniswap
A DAO is an
in 2016 and lasted only a few months DAOs facilitate the collective owner- • MakerDAO
organizational model before it was hacked due to an exploited ship and creation of value. While still • Compound
where processes are vulnerability in the source code. While in their infancy, DAOs offer promising
• Friends With Benefits
the original DAO was short-lived, many approaches to classic coordination
automated, principles other DAOs have proliferated in the years problems such as managing resources
are codified on-chain, since. The earliest DAOs were treasury and aligning incentives.
management systems, designed to allow
and mechanisms exist token holders to determine the direction
for members to generate of a project, new features, engineering
road map, and business strategy. Newer
value. Collectively, DAOs include freelancer guilds where
DAOs have over $10 remote workers can pool their talents
to find clients, investment DAOs where
billion of assets under
members can comanage a portfolio of
management. DAOs exist assets, and media DAOs that have unique
across various industries incentives to encourage engagement and
monetize content. Uniswap, a popular
including finance, art, decentralized exchange, formed a DAO
Constitution DAO consisted of an effort by a
group of people to purchase a rare copy of the media, and law. when it distributed governance tokens
U.S. Constitution—a move that would have al- (UNI) to every address that had used the
lowed the group to do whatever they wanted with platform before Sept. 1, 2020. Friends
the document once in their possession. With Benefits is a social DAO where
token holders can buy season passes for
access to exclusive events and content.

Fractional Ownership
Fundrise is a real estate fintech com- Most of these companies have a stated • CityDAO
Fractional ownership is
pany based in Washington, D.C., that mission to democratize investing. While • Fractional
reemerging as blockchain organized the first crowdfunded real the sharing economy prioritized access • Fundrise
and digital platforms estate development project in the U.S. over ownership, people are still looking
• Masterworks
Otis and Masterworks are two compa- for ways to create and preserve wealth.
unlock new ways to pur- nies that offer fractional ownership for In theory, more people participating in • Otis
chase and own assets. works of art. Schwab and Robinhood re- value creation would lead to more equi- • PartyDAO
cently launched the feature to purchase table distributions of wealth in the long • Robinhood
This method for unrelat- fractional shares of stocks on their term. On the other hand, as more peo- • Roofstock
ed parties to divide costs trading platforms. In August 2021, more ple participate in speculative markets,
• Schwab
than 400 people collectively purchased there could be an increase in specula-
and risks in order to col- CryptoPunk 2066 for 1,144.5 ETH, which tive bubbles and economic instability.
lectively own or invest in at the time was worth over $3.5 million.
CityDAO is a decentralized community
an asset is most common-
raising funds to buy a parcel of land in
ly seen in real estate. It’s Wyoming.
now appearing in fine art,
stocks, as well as other
In August 2021, over 400 people collectively pur-
chased CryptoPunk 2066 for 1,144.5 ETH, which at industries thanks to the
the time was worth over $3.5 million.
proliferation of business
models enabled by smart
contracts.

NFTs represent a first step in the securitization of
digital assets. They turn digital data into speculative
financial instruments. That shift has enormous
implications because computers are in everything,
and that makes anything a digital asset—your bank
records, your Fitbit data, rings of your smart doorbell,
a sentiment analysis of your work email, you name it.
— Ian Bogost, writing in The Atlantic

Tools to Manage Digital

Identity and Assets
Boardroom and Tally are dashboards In the near future, people will expect • Snapshot
Decentralized applica-
that show upcoming governance votes much more control and modularity • Gnosis
tions and autonomous across many DAOs and decentralized across devices, platforms, and applica- • Boardroom
communities give individ- projects. Tally also has a leaderboard tions. If Twitter is considering banning
• Tally
that ranks the most active voters in the a certain politician or celebrity, users
uals more control but also network. Snapshot allows decentralized will expect to have a vote in that deci- • a16z
require more engagement communities to put up proposals for sion. This generation of coordination
a vote while tools like Gnosis Safe lets tools is providing a dramatic improve-
and understanding to people lock funds in an account that ment in user experience and driving
realize their full bene- requires multiple signatures. VC firm engagement within decentralized
a16z has open-sourced its process for projects. It’s possible that these tools
fits. A new generation of delegating voting power to more active will be adopted in corporate governance
coordination tools will community members. In this way, the cases or use cases that require a great
firm is creating a road map for how indi- degree of transparency such as labeling
help individuals manage
viduals can have a stake in a communi- offensive content or misinformation. It
their assets and identities ty, and keep the community active and is less likely that these applications will
across applications. Just engaged while personally taking a less find their way to civic systems such as
active role. political elections because they rely on
as Slack replaced email, completely public votes, and oftentimes
Boardroom shows a ranking of DAOs and their
growth, allowing users to easily see DAO activity which replaced paper votes are weighted by the value in a
given wallet.
as it happens.
memos, these tools will
change how people work,
play, and interact online.

Fan Ownership Models
Krause Haus is a collective of basketball On the surface, fan tokens might seem • Aku
Sports, movies, and mu-
enthusiasts raising funds to buy and like a gimmick rewards program for • Krause Haus
sic all derive value based manage an NBA team. Aku is a young front-row seats, exclusive merch, and • Calaxy
in part on the size and astronaut created by former baseball unique experiences. If done well, fan
• Rally
player Micah Johnson and the first NFT tokens can be much more powerful
strength of their fanbase. (non fungible token) optioned to be- than that—directing important deci-
Crypto tokens and block- come a major feature film. Aku’s story sions for a brand or creator and earning
is released in chapters and distributed part of the profits should the brand
chain networks allow to fans who hold the chapter 1 NFT. increase in value overtime. The chal-
fans to own their favorite Early Aku community members will be lenge for many of these projects will be
rewarded in perpetuity across various finding regulatory clarity on their token
brands. vertices. European soccer clubs have models and avoiding scrutiny from
raised millions of euros through fan agencies like the SEC.
tokens. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing
in the realm of blockchain-backed fan
ownership. Point guard Spencer Din-
widdie attempted to tokenize his $34
million contract with the Nets and was
met with legal hurdles and opposition
High prices like that listed for an Aku NFT on
from the NBA.
the Nifty Gateway site enable access to unique
content that will roll out over time to a limited
ownership base.

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain SCENARIO
Consumption Quota • Pessimistic Near-Future
Consumption Quota
China and the US are neck and neck During World War II, many
for the world’s largest GDP in 2025. governments rationed certain
GDP is a global vanity metric that products like automobiles, gasoline,
countries use to assert dominance silk, shoes and food like meat, dairy,
over one another. The world’s largest coffee and sugar. In the future,
GDP is a coveted spot to have in governments like the US and China
terms of negotiating global trade might do the opposite - setting
agreements and geopolitical policies. consumption quotas on citizens
to ensure their rank in the global
economy.
Gross Domestic Product optimizes for
consumption. It’s a calculation that
combines public and private spending Universal Basic Income and other
and investment. In a world where guaranteed income programs are
everything is disposable, producible, ubiquitous. Citizens are punished for
purchasable, citizens now also have a not spending fast enough since their
civic duty to spend. digital wallets are publicly visible and
tracked.

Distributed Computing
Earning Models
In 2020, Folding@Home grew to reach Distributed computing systems harness • Berkeley Open Infrastructure
Large computer prob-
2.4 exaflops—more than the top 500 the idle processing power of computers for Network Computing
lems can be broken down supercomputers in the world put to- all over the world and are being used • Einstein@Home
into smaller portions and gether—and became one of the fastest to solve tremendous world problems. • LHC@Home
computing systems due to increased These distributed systems drive down
solved using processing interest during the COVID-19 pandemic. prices for developers and make it pos-
• MilkyWay@Home
• MLC@Home
power of multiple stan- Folding@Home lets consumers donate sible for organizations to accomplish
idle processing power to fuel disease re- greater volumes of research in a much • Rosetta@Home
dard computers, rather search via their computers, PlayStation faster time frame. Expect to see more • Folding@Home
than with centralized su- 3s, and some Sony smartphones. applications in the coming years that • Stardust@Home
allow individuals to contribute to such
percomputers. Distribut- In February 2022, the MilkyWay@
altruistic projects by donating their
• DreamLab
Home initiative, which aims to create • Electric Sheep
ed computing technology an accurate three-dimensional model of time, as well as a greater number of
applications that allow device owners to • Golem Network
lets people donate idle the Milky Way galaxy, announced that
• The Great Internet Mersenne
sell their idle processing power, provid-
the distributed computing power of its
processor time on their network enabled the measurement of ing them with a new source of income. Prime Search
personal laptops, cell- the mass and shape of a dwarf galaxy. • TheSkyNet
phones, and other digital Another astro-obsessed distributed

computing system, Einstein@Home,
It is estimated that the Folding@Home program
on COVID-19 research was leveraging over 470 devices to support causes uses the computing power it gathers
petaflops of computing power.
or solve socially relevant from volunteers to search for weak
signals from spinning neutron stars, in
Source: Stanford University School of Medicine
problems. order to ultimately make the first direct
detections of gravitational-wave emis-
sions from spinning neutron stars.

Self-Finding Digital
Infrastructure
Open-source software has often suffered • Bitcoin

Much of the internet re- Many cryptocurrency and blockchain
from the “tragedy of the commons” projects depend on open-source devel- • Ethereum
lies on FOSS, free open- problem in that many people are willing opment. This industry is also pioneering • Gitcoin
source software. to use a free resource but less willing to new funding models that could result
• Zcash
maintain it. Open-source development in more sustainable and more robust
is difficult, and the primary contributors digital infrastructure.
to a project often suffer from burnout
and poor compensation. To remedy this,
some corporations “sponsor” develop-
ers so that they can dedicate their time
to development. New mechanisms are
surfacing to enable sustainable digital
infrastructure.
Gitcoin is a marketplace of bounties for
open-source developers who want to con-
tribute to projects and earn income for
their work. It caters primarily to the Ethe-
reum blockchain community. Since 2017,
Free open-source software helps source and fund Gitcoin has facilitated almost $40 million
individual distributors that wish to contribute of funding to open-source software proj-
to the development and maintenance of public ects. Other crypto projects such as Zcash
blockchains like Bitcoin.
earmark a portion of each “block reward”
(the amount of new coins that enters
circulation with each new block) to go
toward community development.

Decentralized
Finance (DeFi)

Better Digital Wallets
In December 2020, FinCEN was con- • MetaMask

Digital wallets securely It is challenging for companies to toe
sidering implementing heightened the line between convenience and secu- • Trust Wallet
store payment informa- rules for “self-hosted wallets,” referring rity, compliance, and user privacy. Web • Decred
tion on mobile devices, to wallets that are not provided by a 3.0 wallets offer users more choices for
financial institution or crypto service, how to store digital assets; however,
browsers, and even wear- residing instead on a user’s computer or they also require more tech-savvy to
ables. Wallets made for offline. Self-hosted wallets are similar to navigate.
a physical billfold tucked into your back
Web 3.0 will let you do pocket—as you have money stored there,
Web 3.0 wallets emphasize personal
responsibility and self-sovereignty. They
more than just buy a cup no one can prevent you from using it.
tend to save more information on the
Financial service providers typically ask
of coffee. They can offer for personal information when setting
local device as opposed to a centralized
server in the cloud. For this reason, Web
greater levels of auton- up an account in order to adhere to KYC/
3.0 wallets will likely accelerate and
AML requirements. Metamask is one of
omy by giving users full improve the experience around 2FA,
the most popular wallets for accessing
password managers, and other security
custody and control over applications built on Ethereum and
tools. User expectations and behaviors
their digital assets or the related blockchains, reaching over 10
will shift as the experience and design
million monthly active users as of August
ability to sign smart con- 2021. Its users can sign smart contracts
of these applications improve. The value
proposition of many of these products
Trust Wallet can also be used to access decen-
tralized apps, many of which can leverage or tracts. directly from their web browser. Other
is that there’s no Big Brother watching
seamlessly interact with the DeFi vehicles (coins) Web 3.0 wallets specialize in specific
you; the trade-off is that there’s no one
in a user’s wallet. protocols or use cases, such as letting us-
to call if you forget your password.
ers lock funds to provide liquidity to the
network and earn interest or participate
in governance decisions.

Learn to Earn Models
1729.com is a newsletter that pays you • Rabbithole.gg

Individuals are earning Verifying digital credentials, whether
instead of the other way around. Each for education, job recruiting, or social • 1729
digital currencies by edition generally comes with a task networking, has long been a challenge • Gitcoin
learning how these cur- that subscribers can complete, the best primarily because there is no standard
• Credly
submissions earning a few hundred for who issues the credential and who
rencies work. Decentral- dollars. Rabbithole.gg takes it one step recognizes its validity. This has led to a • Degreed
ized platforms benefit further; the website is a series of quests, cottage industry of learning experience • LinkedIn
challenges, and projects that anyone platforms like Lynda.com (acquired by
from new participants can participate in and earn crypto upon LinkedIn for $1.5 billion) and learning
in the network. Micro- completion. Coinbase, one of the largest management systems. For a nascent
cryptocurrency exchanges, has an edu- industry like blockchain, individuals are
payments enable small cational platform where users can earn demonstrating their skill sets simply by
payouts and blockchain $5 to $10 in crypto by watching a series showing their wallet address, and the
of videos and completing short quizzes.
infrastructure allows for industry is still small enough to coalesce
around a standard. It’s possible that as
a database of verifiable the blockchain industry grows, its native
transactions. All of these standard for credentialing will displace
the existing status quo.
elements reflect a clear
Coinbase users can take brief lessons and com-
plete quizzes to earn crypto tokens. trend of financial incen-
tives around education
and product adoption.

DEXes and AMMs
Centralized exchanges such as the • Uniswap

Cryptocurrency Pricing algorithms and automated
New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq markets are not new, as most of the early • Curve
developers have created facilitate trades of stocks and securi- applications were in prediction markets • Compound
software to decentralize ties by maintaining a fair, consistent, and sports betting. Blockchains and
• 0x
and transparent process for publishing digital currencies have led to explosive
the stocks and securities prices and orders. By decentralizing growth: In 2018 and 2019, the yearly trad- • Kyber
exchange process, this process, cryptocurrency developing volume for decentralized exchanges • dYdX
ers’ software enables investors to trade was around $2.5 billion. In the first half
allowing individuals to with each other without a centralized of 2020, decentralized exchange trading
trade directly with one third party. This decentralized exchange volume had already exceeded $6 billion.
(DEX) is usually accomplished through In 2021, monthly trading volume for
another without relying automated market maker (AMM) algo- DEXes was over $100 billion every single
on a centralized third rithms. month with over 200 active decentralized
party to determine prices In traditional finance, market makers exchange protocols.
provide liquidity in a market by holding Both of these trends—decentralized
and settle the trades. both buy and sell positions. In crypto- exchanges and automated market
currencies and fully electronic markets, makers—are part of a larger wave of
assets can be priced based on algo- decentralized finance or DeFi. As more
Kyber’s Swap interface enables users to quickly rithms instead of the order books used aspects of the global financial system are
exchange coins at the best possible price by in traditional trading venues such as digitized, there will be a greater demand
giving users access to multiple DEXs at the same stock markets. DEXes and AMMs often for modern, impartial, secure systems to
time.
go hand in hand. settle trades and transactions. DEXes and
AMMs are still in the very early days, so
bugs, bubbles, and user experience hur-
dles are to be expected. Still, the underly-
ing innovation in finance is undeniable.
On-chain Surveillance
Everyone found out what Mark Cuban • Chainalysis

Since many digital It took Buzzfeed reporters 10 minutes to
was investing in when he promoted his figure out Joe Biden’s Venmo account, • Context
currencies require a favorite NFT (non fungible token) in and die-hard “Bachelor” fans follow
public ledger of all January 2021. Because of the nature of their favorite celebs’ Venmo accounts to
Ethereum and Bitcoin, nearly everyone predict who will receive a rose. Finan-
transactions in order to can see the full history of transactions cial surveillance is nothing new; sadly, it
operate, all activity in and wallet balance once they discover seems to be accelerating thanks to digi-
the wallet address. Context is a compa- tal currencies and fintech. Ironically, a
the network is visible ny that lets you follow people’s on-chain technology born from cypherpunks and
to the public, offering activity to determine which NFTs to privacy advocates seems to be ushering
invest in next. in an unprecedented era of surveillance.
zero financial privacy. As
the total market cap for
cryptocurrencies nears
$3 trillion, the incentives
to monitor on-chain
activity grow.
Participants of Chainalysis’ Reactor product can
investigate cryptocurrency transactions, to make
connections to real-world organizations and
individuals.

Staking
The staking mechanism requires users • Ethereum

Staking allows you to Staking schemes might raise eyebrows
to lock up a given amount of their for their astronomical APY rates (up- • Compound
earn rewards based on holdings in order to receive a larger ward of 8,000%), but the premise is • Aave
the cryptocurrencies amount after a given period. Staking is not really different from many inter-
beneficial because it adds liquidity and est-based models that make up the
you hold. Ethereum, the stability to the network. current financial services industry.
second-largest digital Staking is the backbone of many DeFi The disruptive impact comes from the
ability for staking to align incentives for
currency after Bitcoin, (decentralized finance) models such as
participants in a given network.
yield farming, self-paying loans, and
popularized what’s community-owned liquidity. Yield farm-
known as the proof- ing refers to the investment strategy of
locking in funds to a protocol in order
of-stake algorithm for to earn rewards, and reinvesting those
producing blocks. rewards in the same or a different pro-
tocol to earn more, to chase the highest
yield. As of November 2021, the total
value of currencies staked or “locked”
was $112 billion, almost 10 times what it
Investors can use services like Ledger to stake a was the year before.
variety of cryptocurrencies and earn rewards. The
process can be as simple as traditionally swap-
ping coins on a decentralized exchange.

Smart Oracles
In the U.S., the Bureau of Labor Sta- • Chainlink

Price indexes, stock Asymmetric information leads to a com-
tistics publishes economic indicator petitive advantage. Many companies pay • Polkadot
markets, and other reports such as jobs numbers and the top dollar to have their data analyzed • Palantir
economic indicators are consumer price index on a monthly and interpreted for strategic insights.
• Oracle
basis. The NYSE operates from 9:30 a.m. Smart oracles built on blockchain
used to determine the to 4 p.m. Eastern time and closes during enable smart contracts to use real-world
health and wellness of bank holidays. Projects like Chainlink data as inputs. Depending on how this
allow anyone to connect their API to a trend evolves, we may see a democrati-
economic activity. While public network and monetize that data, zation of data analytics or a handful of
these data sources are making market information available companies with surveillance programs
24/7. Projects like Polkadot enable that rival the U.S. government. From
updated regularly, it’s not information to flow seamlessly between a public good perspective, we may see
happening continuously blockchains. This type of data analytics communities electing to put major data-
already happens today to some degree
throughout the day. sets on-chain and creating a community
with companies like Oracle and Palan- dashboard. Either way, big data is only
Cryptocurrencies and tir. They use a combination of external becoming more interconnected and
tokens operate 24/7, databases, customer data, relational interoperable.
database architecture, and AI to draw
making it possible to business insights for their clients.
Polkadot says it’s facilitating an internet where in-
dependent blockchains can exchange information create smart oracles for Now imagine if that level of analytics
was made publicly available. Imagine
and transactions in a trustless way.
economic indicators in connecting weather information with
near-real time. Amazon pricing information and stock
market data to your smart home device.

I don’t want new folks entering into
crypto to feel like they’re transitioning
from old Wall Street to new Wall
Street. I want the environment to feel
approachable and inclusive.
— Kinjal Shah, senior associate at Blockchain Capital

Non Fungible
Tokens (NFTs)

Non Fungible Tokens
NFTs have been available to the masses Digital collectables are not the long- • OpenSea
Blockchains enable digi-
for several years, beginning with the term trend here—the infrastructure is. • Christie’s Auction House
tal tokens that are prov- minting of Terra Nullius on the Ethe- Watch for minting and authenticating • Snoop Dogg
ably unique and scarce. reum blockchain back in 2015. Despite assets as one’s own in a virtual world—a
• Nike
relatively slow growth after that launch, capability that will be a cornerstone
Digital collectibles saw the adoption and sale of NFTs grew to the development of Web 3.0 and the • NBA
an early start in areas exponentially in 2021. Bored Ape Yacht metaverse. NFTs in the future will likely • Roblox
Club was one of the most popular NFTs be used to monetize other types of prop- • Rarible
like eSports, online gam- of the year, with some reaching a price of erty. Personal data will benefit from • Gucci
ing, and social networks, nearly $3 million. Many popular com- standardized tokenization, by allowing
• LVMH
panies and public figures followed, with individuals to verify that data is one’s
but have seen an explo- well-known brands such as Christie’s and own. Additionally, NFTs will be attached
• SuperRare
sion of growth over the Nike launching their own NFTs, as well to real-world items, such as cars, cloth-
as releases by Tom Brady, Grimes, and ing, or luxury handbags, allowing for
past year in artwork and
Snoop Dogg. an authentication chain that validates
media. The application Ubisoft and EA began to explore pay-to- ownership, and for future owners of
of these tokens continues play type business models that leveraged that real property to trace its history.
to expand across com- NFTs to purchase new game features.

In this model, players would receive
Adoption of NFTs has skyrocketed over the past
year, and the tokens are being used to purchase merce and investing, in in-game NFT collectibles. However,
everything from digital art to digital property.
addition to extending the many players pushed back due to the
environmental concerns that surround
breadth of personal art NFTs, because of the amount of energy it
collections. takes to mine a blockchain, as well as the
amount of time it would take for players
to earn such tokens.
Smart Royalties
Blockchains form the foundational • Associated Press

Blockchain networks This type of royalty authentication
infrastructure layer for new, low-fric- could be used in a vast array of appli- • Ethereum
offer new ways to track tion ways to automate royalty payments cations moving forward. Most obvi- • Mycelia
ownership, licensing, for digital intellectual property. A smart ously, content creators will have better
• Open Music Initiative
contract, for instance, would automat- mechanisms for maintaining their
and royalties through ically pay an artist when her song is rights to their content and subsequent • Berklee College of Music
smart contracts, or self- streamed or simply track the number of payments. Additionally, however, this • ConsenSys Mesh
times people share online content, pre- same model could be applied to any
executing agreements serving it in a shared public database. other form of content that could yield a
with terms directly ConsenSys Mesh is debuting an NFT micropayment upon usage—individual
likenesses, aspects of personal data and
written into lines of code. platform called TreeTrunk on the Poly-
information, new articles and reports
gon Mumbai testnet. Tree Trunk collects
and distributes royalty payments from that sit behind paywalls, photographs,
secondary sales of NFTs using a method and many more. Currently, much of
called crypto-lithography, which allows the content online is available broadly
artists to create unique and numbered and publicly, even if the content creator
prints or copies of their work. This intends for there to be limitations on
method will ensure that artists’ material its use. This type of tracking and veri-
is protected from fraudulent copies, and fication mechanism could change the
The Open Music Initiative is working to solve many
that artists will receive royalty payments nature of accessing and sharing infor-
royalty payment gaps within the music publishing
industry. The red lines are aspects of the OMI’s from subsequent sales of their content. mation—and more specifically, the value
process and API that ensure fair payments to each
Metablaze is releasing a collection prod- that information holds.
artist and contributor.
uct that aims to do the same thing, and
incorporates NFT based perpetual royal-
ties set on the Ethereum blockchain.

Monetizing Memes
In 2021, NFTs of Disaster Girl and Bad • OpenSea

Internet memes are It might be hard to understand why
Luck Brian sold at a digital auction, someone would pay for a picture that • Bequant
viral images that spread commanding $500,000 and $36,000 is widely distributed throughout the • Discord
across the web. Chef respectively. Many recent popular internet, but in the near future, all me-
• TikTok
memes sold have all been purchased by mes may be monetized. NFTs have the
Salt Bae parlayed his a single buyer. Disaster Girl along with power of making digital images scarce. • Instagram
viral moment into a Charlie Bit My Finger, Overly Attached As a meme becomes more popular or
Girlfriend, and Side Eyeing Chloe were goes viral, there is value in proving that
chain of steakhouses, purchased by 3F Music, a Dubai-based an influencer or brand was an early
but otherwise the music producer. The sales did not in- adopter or one of the first “in the know.”
clude transfer of copyright. Not only can the subjects of memes
subjects in those images capitalize on their likeness, future me-
rarely receive any mes can also be leveraged as a means of
compensation despite distributing tokens or building online
communities.
their wild popularity.
NFTs are empowering
meme makers to
Side Eyeing Chloe, a popular meme for expressing
concern or disapproval, sold for 25 ETH in Septem- monetize their original
ber 2021—just over $76,000 at the time of sale.
work after it becomes
viral.

Proof of Everything
A POAP badge is an NFT that proves • Rabbithole

One characteristic Digital proofs will become more com-
your attendance to an event. Rabbithole. mon as we spend more of our lives in • Everything Blockchain
of blockchains is the gg is a platform that lets you transform a digital (and therefore borderless)
permanent history of your digital wallet into a Web 3.0 ré- world. Proof of everything also means
sumé by completing certain tasks. The ubiquitous surveillance and new social
transactions broadcasted World Food Program was criticized for a norms for establishing trust and build-
on a public ledger. NFTs blockchain pilot program that required ing rapport.
refugees to scan their irises in order to
can act as badges that get their food stipend.
prove your membership
in a group, your
attendance to an event,
and even certain skills on
your résumé.
Collect badges for everything you’ve attended

and store them in your POAP NFT wallet. These
digital momentos show others where you’ve been
and what you’ve experienced.

Knock-on Trends

Crypto Mining Fuels

Green Energy
For years, crypto miners have leveraged • Compass Mining

Crypto mining provides Bitcoin mining is spurring a conversa-
wind and geothermal and hydro energy tion on what should count as “green” en- • El Salvador
security to the Bitcoin as sources for cheap electricity to mine ergy and what counts as energy waste. • Galaxy Digital
network by rewarding Bitcoin and other currencies. El Salva- Beyond bitcoin, this trend will challenge
• HODL Ranch
dor mined the first bitcoin using volca- communities to be more creative with
computers for validating nic energy in the summer of 2021. In El how energy grids are designed, man- • MintGreen
transactions, but it’s Salvador, 22% of the energy comes from aged, and monetized, eventually result- • Riot Blockchain
geothermal activity such as volcanoes. ing in a better alignment of sustainabili-
widely criticized for In the U.S., entrepreneurs are estab- ty and profit.
being energy-intensive. A lishing mining operations near fossil
fuel plants in order to capture energy
new generation of crypto that would otherwise go to waste or
mining companies is reduce pollutants entering the atmo-
sphere. HODL Ranch in Texas operates
focusing on renewable or
using the state’s wind and solar energy,
otherwise green energy and has an agreement with the state
to fuel their operations. to suspend mining operations when
the electric grid experiences a surge in
demand. Crusoe Energy Systems sets
The energy-intensive nature of cryptocurrency
up mining operations using natural gas
mining is driving the industry to search for renew-
able energy solutions to support the work. near pipelines that would otherwise be
burned off in flares. MintGreen, a Cana-
dian cleantech startup, will provide heat
to the city of North Vancouver using
electricity from mining bitcoin.

Community Dashboards
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, • Taiwan

Governments have Community dashboards are a likely
communities worldwide produced dash- outcome as movements toward open • Indiana State Board of Education
reams of information boards to track outbreaks, infections, government and civic tech gain popu- • Asheville, North Carolina
that would benefit their and vaccination rates. Some of these larity and local newsrooms continue to
• Virginia Department of Health
efforts were managed by municipal disappear. As more people have access
citizens if only it was health departments while others were to public information, more groups can
easier to access and un- the results of civilian volunteer efforts. monitor them to ensure accuracy. While
people have grown accustomed to the
derstand. Decentralized In addition to a slew of COVID-19 and
notion of governments surveilling their
public safety–related dashboards,
databases, powered by communities are experimenting with citizens, citizens surveilling their gov-
ernments is an exciting new paradigm
blockchain, could enable these centralized data hubs for a variety
for accountability and public services.
of other applications. In February 2022,
secure and transparent the Indiana State Board of Education re-
community dashboards leased a first look at its new dashboard.
The hub provides information about the
on everything from water state’s public K-12 schools across five
quality to city budgets, key areas: academic mastery; career
improving public trust and postsecondary experiences and
credentials; collaboration and commu-
The city of Asheville, North Carolina, launched a
dashboard in early 2022 that provides point-in- and civic engagement. nication skills; work ethic; and digital,
time data on homelessness. financial, and civic literacy. The city
of Asheville, North Carolina, launched
a different kind of dashboard in early
2022, one that provides point-in-time
data on homelessness in the city.

For a long time, Web3 has been very
theoretical, but now there is a surge of
momentum to build.
— Elon Musk, CEO, Tesla

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain APPLICATION
How these trends impact your company
STRATEGY INNOVATION R&D GROWTH
Innovative use cases for blockchain Companies interested in blockchain often Once viewed as falling squarely in the In the longer term, business models will be
abound, but the complexity of the ecosys- struggle to find meaningful use cases, financial services industry, companies forced to transform as financial markets
tem remains a hurdle for most companies. but recent developments of new decen- across all industries are beginning to see are increasingly penetrated by new value
Given the meteoric rise of NFT popularity tralized, blockchain, and/or NFT offerings the possible applications of decentralized mechanisms, smart contracts become
and metaverse buzz over the past year, have revealed a possible solution or or blockchain technology. There continues the norm for agreements and terms, and
many organizations have raced to invest, offering for nearly any need. Chief inno- to be a need for experts in a variety of methods of value creation evolve. Orga-
purchasing digital land or assets on which vation officers should work within their fields to experiment with decentralized nizations must begin now to evaluate the
they cannot easily calculate their return. organization to identify capability gaps. Is solutions and identify current problem various business practices that could be
Disorganized experimentation without more, and more efficient, data collection areas for which these technologies could most disrupted by this shift, and identify
strategic positioning jeopardizes positive needed? Are consumers demanding new be a good fit. Focused investment and ways to begin their transition and trans-
outcomes and returns on investment. Chief ways of interacting? Or does the organi- experimentation in this space to validate formation, in order to be prepared for the
strategy officers should take the time to zation need a new way to deliver value to potential success could help companies changing dynamics as they emerge.
evaluate current internal needs and iden- the market? Once a set of strategic needs both learn more about this evolving space
tify areas of potential investment in block- has been addressed, a blockchain or de- and become the first beneficiaries of their
chain or NFTs that will help them achieve centralized solution likely exists that can own exploration.
their near- and mid-term goals. be smartly leveraged to help the compa-
ny see the benefits of such innovation in
the near term.

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain KEY QUESTIONS
Key Questions
We recommend using this report

1 2 3
to support your strategic foresight
activity in the coming year. Every  How will blockchain and  What new systems or data  What parts of our business are the
executive team should begin by decentralized finance change the collection mechanisms would we most ripe for disruption brought
asking these questions: way we conduct transactions with need to implement to succeed in about by NFTs, cryptocurrency,
our customers, employees, and this new paradigm? digital currency, and decentralized
supply chain? technology?
 What new types of data might we

 How could blockchain-based be able to collect on our business  What can we do today to begin
assets such as cryptocurrency and our customers using these preparing for this new way of doing
and NFTs be used to create new solutions, which could be converted business?
or added value from our existing into deeper insights about our
business offerings? operations and offerings?

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain TRENDS IN ACTION
Trends in Action
Benefits of Strategic Foresight The Future Today Institute Supports Executive Leaders and Their Teams
33% Higher Profitability The Future Today Institute works closely with executive leadership and management
Companies using a dedicated strategic foresight process outperformed the average teams to transform their strategic thinking on the future.
by a 33% higher profitability.
We leverage these and other trends and use applied foresight to develop deep (20+
200% Growth years), long-range (10+ years) and near-term (2+ years) scenarios and strategic plans.
Companies using a dedicated strategic foresight process outgrew their competitors by
200% in desired areas.
FTI’s advisory services include signal mapping, trend identification, scenario
development, risk modeling, visioning, and strategic planning.
25% Improvement
Companies say that strategic foresight improves business objectives and planning,
helps define new markets, and builds flexible mindsets among executives, even in
times of deep uncertainty.

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain SOURCES
Selected Sources
https://home.treasury.gov/system/ https://cointelegraph.com/news/new- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/

files/136/StableCoinReport_Nov1_508. consensys-mesh-nft-marketplace- articles/2021-11-04/nyc-mayor-elect-
pdf pays-royalties-to-creators-and-collec- eric-adams-sayshe-ll-take-paycheck-
tors in-bitcoin
https://doi.org/10.3390/comput-
ers10080090 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/ https://financialservices.house.
data/1830214/000119312521275407/ gov/events/eventsingle.aspx?Even-
https://web3.foundation d172577d424b3.htm tID=408111
https://c2pa.org Ethereum.org. “Ethereum Whitepaper.” https://www.sec.gov/news/pub-

Accessed Feb. 19, 2022, https://ethere- lic-statement/gensler-aspen-securi-
um.org. ty-forum-2021-08-03
https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/
cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1044&con-
text=jetlaw https://github.com/mit-dci/opencb- https://www.reuters.com/world/china/
dc-tx china-central-bank-vows-crack-
down-cryptocurrency-trad-
https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/
https://static1.squarespace.com/ ing-2021-09-24
adopting-alternative-data-credit-scor-
ing-would-allow-millions-consum- static/59aae5e9a803bb10be-
ers-access-credit deb03e/t/61fc25f91a0d-
f9037488eb7d/1643914745989/Ham-
ilton.Whitepaper-2022-02-02-FINAL2.
https://www.natlawreview.com/
pdf
article/tech-transactions-data-pri-
vacy-2022-report-content-dis-
tribution-blockchain-case https://dci.mit.edu/opencbdc
https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/2613656 “Venture Capital, Private Equity, and

M&A Database | PitchBook.” Accessed
Dec.22, 2021, https://pitchbook.com.
https://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain AUTHORS
Authors
ELENA GIRALT MELANIE SUBIN NICK BARTLETT KRISTOFER “KRIFFY” PEREZ

Foresight Affiliate Director of Consulting Senior Foresight Associate Foresight Affiliate
egiralt@futuretodayinstitute.com msubin@futuretodayinstitute.com nbartlett@futuretodayinstitute.com kperez@futuretodayinstitute.com
Elena Giralt is a Foresight Affiliate at the Melanie Subin is the Director of Consulting Nick Bartlett is a Senior Foresight Asso- Kristofer “Kriffy” Perez specializes in fin-
Future Today Institute, where she leads for Future Today Institute, with concentra- ciate at the Future Today Institute and tech, banking, financial services, trans-
research in blockchain, cryptocurrencies, tions in the metaverse and decentralization a coach in the strategic foresight MBA portation, product innovation, and long-
decentralized media and technology. She and expertise in risk, consumer insights, and course at the NYU Stern School of Busi- term strategy. Previously as a Director of
holds an MBA from New York University’s scenario planning. She co-teaches the MBA ness. Prior to FTI, he held positions in cor- North American Product Innovation and
Stern School of Business and a BA/BS in course in strategic foresight at the New porate strategy and insights generation Design at Visa, he led product and design
Political Science, French and Middle East- York University Stern School of Business. roles, serving as a partner to senior lead- teams to deliver new product solutions
ern Studies from Santa Clara University. Previously, Melanie served in insights and ership at multiple Fortune 100 financial and best-in-class customer-centric expe-
foresight leadership roles at Travelers Insur- services companies. Nick specializes in riences to market-leading financial insti-
ance. She has specializations in strategic insights development, framework design, tutions. Kriffy has also worked for Mas-
management, insights development, and corporate innovation, strategic manage- terCard Advisors, the Boston Consulting
financial services. Melanie holds a Bach- ment, and financial services. He holds an Group, IBM, and co-founded a paytech
elor of Science in Finance from Central MBA and a bachelor’s degree in Public startup. Kriffy has played an integral role
Connecticut State University and a Certi- Relations from Quinnipiac University. in more than 120 strategic projects across
fication in FinTech from the Massachusetts 8 countries and has filed 15+ patents.
Institute of Technology.

Authors
AMY WEBB EMILY CAUFIELD ERICA GRAU

CEO Creative Director Designer
awebb@futuretodayinstitute.com ecaufield@futuretodayinstitute.com egrau@futuretodayinstitute.com
Founder of the Future Today Institute, Amy Webb pioneered a data-driven, technology-led fore- Emily Caufield has served as Creative Di- Erica Grau is a freelance graphic design-
sight methodology practiced by FTI and used within hundreds of organizations worldwide. She rector for the Future Today Institute for the er with over a decade of experience. She
leads FTI’s technology research initiatives on artificial intelligence, synthetic biology and genet- past decade. She uses her graphic design grew up in Atlanta, Georgia where she
ic engineering, next-generation networks, and quantum technologies. Webb is a professor of skills to communicate complex ideas, visu- graduated with a degree in advertising
strategic foresight at the New York University Stern School of Business, where she developed and alize data, and develop frameworks for use from The University of Georgia and then
teaches the MBA course on strategic foresight. She is a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University’s Säid in strategic foresight and futures activities. furthered her education at The Creative
School of Business, a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center and a Circus in graphic design. She then moved
Fellow in the United States-Japan Leadership Program. She was elected a life member to the to New York City where she has worked
Council on Foreign Relations. Webb was named by Forbes as one of the five women changing with many clients including The United
the world, listed as the BBC’s 100 Women of 2020, ranked on the Thinkers50 list of the 50 most Nations, The Bronx Zoo, Weight Watch-
influential management thinkers globally. A lifelong science fiction fan, she collaborates closely ers and many more. From print to digital
with writers and producers on films, TV shows and commercials about science, technology and design, she enjoys working on a variety
the future. Her newest book, The Genesis Machine, explores the futures of synthetic biology and of different types of projects to continue
the bioeconomy. growing her skillset.

Authors
JENNIFER ALSEVER CHERYL COONEY MEL BLAKE TOM FOSTER

Editorial Director Director of Operations Business Development Editor
jalsever@futuretodayinstitute.com ccooney@futuretodayinstitute.com mblake@futuretodayinstitute.com
SARAH JOHNSON
Editor
Jennifer Alsever led editorial production For over a decade, Cheryl Cooney has Mel Blake handles commercial develop-
for the 2022 FTI Tech Trends Report. She served as the Future Today Institute’s ment and client relations for FTI. He was
has been a journalist for more than two director of operations, where she manages formerly founder and managing director
decades covering tech, biotech, startups workflows, planning and logistics. Cooney of Monitor Talent, a speaker agency he
and business for such publications as For- is a published poet, with works appearing founded at the Monitor Group, a global
tune Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, in American and Australian anthologies. consulting firm. He is a board member
the New York Times, Wired and Fast Com- of The Yale Center for Customer Insights.
pany. A popular young adult fiction writer, He holds an MBA from the Yale School of
Alsever has won multiple YA awards for Management and a BA in Economics from
her Trinity Forest Series. Wesleyan University.

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain ABOUT FTI
About the Future Today Institute
Founded in 2006, the Future Today

Contact Us
Institute researches, models, and
prototypes future risk and opportuni-
ty. As the leading strategic foresight hello@futuretodayinstitute.com
and futures management consul- 267-342-4300
tants to executive leadership teams www.futuretodayinstitute.com
worldwide, FTI’s data-driven applied
research reveals trends and calcu-
lates how they will disrupt business,
government, and society.
Social
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Together with our clients and part-
@FTI
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odology and tools empower leaders
to make better decisions about the
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00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain DISCLAIMER
Disclaimer
The views expressed herein are the FTI’s reports are occasionally updat-
authors’ own and are not represen- ed on the FTI website.
tative of the greater organizations in
which they have been employed. The FTI advises hundreds of companies
names of companies, services, and and organizations, some of which are
products mentioned in this report are referenced in this report. FTI does not
not necessarily intended as endorse- own any equity position in any of the
ments by the Future Today Institute or entities listed in this presentation.
this report’s authors.
Any trademarks or service marks used
The Future Today Institute’s 2022 Tech in this report are the marks of their re-
Trends Report relies on data, anal- spective owners, who do not endorse
ysis, and modeling from a number the statements in this report. All rights
of sources, which includes sources in marks are reserved by their respec-
within public and private companies, tive owners. We disclaim any and all
securities filings, patents, academ- warranties, expressed or implied, with
ic research, government agencies, respect to this report.
market research firms, conference
presentations and papers, and news
media stories. Additionally, this report
draws from the Future Today Insti-
tute’s previous EMT Trends Reports,
FTI Trend Reports, and newsletters.

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain USING THE REPORT
Using and Sharing the Material in this Report
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15th Edition • 2022 Tech Trends Report Vol.

03 Macro Forces and Emerging Trends 34 Self-Finding Digital

2 © 2022 Future Today Institute

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain 6 Watch Closely Informs Strategy Act Now

Macro Forces and Emerging Trends 13TH YEAR ON THE LIST 1

Social and Digital

Each trend offers six important insights.

3 © 2022 Future Today Institute

Scenarios Describe 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Decentralization & Blockchain SCENARIO

You will find scenarios imagining future worlds as trends evolve

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To find additional volumes, visit

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