The evolution of blockchain and digital assets can be contextualized through the lens of historical technology adoption trends, reminiscent of pivotal moments like the dot-com bubble. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the internet, much like today’s blockchain technology, was a groundbreaking innovation that led to a surge in investor interest and a subsequent market bubble. Regardless of market sentiment at their low-points, both the internet and blockchain remained steadfast because of their ability to solve fundamental problems at the core of commerce. The internet connected us across distances, and blockchain bridged the internet’s trust gap. 2024 is less than two weeks old and yet it will already be forever seen as the year that permanently legitimized the innovations of “Satoshi Nakamoto” 15 years ago this January.
Thomas Carter, blockchain services pioneer, founder of Deal Box and Nostradamus-like figure in the digital asset space, recently laid out his web3 market predictions for 2024 and the reasons behind them. Carter previously accurately predicted the timing of crypto’s first arrival at a $1T market cap. He now predicts that the total crypto market cap will hit $10T in 2024-2025. We will go through his predictions and then dive further into a few of them.
He states his reasons for this 10x predicted run:
Carter remarks, “With the SEC’s recent landmark approval of multiple Wall Street Bitcoin ETFs, institutions will finally be given the thumbs up to participate in this asset class. This means more exposure, knowledge and capital flowing into innovation and more services in Web3 in the near future. Seamless transaction experiences and secure identities will be the next big transformations in this space because of how necessary they are to usher in the inevitable retail market.”
The digital asset space has witnessed a paradigm shift with the emergence of Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization, a move Carter believes will play a pivotal role in the sector’s growth. This innovative approach, blending traditional asset classes with the digital world, is increasingly seen as a critical narrative driving the next bull market in cryptocurrencies. By enabling the conversion of tangible assets like real estate, art, or commodities into digital tokens on a blockchain, RWA tokenization not only democratizes investment opportunities but also brings enhanced liquidity and transparency to markets traditionally perceived as opaque or inaccessible.
Recent data suggests that the market cap of tokenized assets alone could reach up to $10T by 2030 according to a study done by a Boston consulting group. This trend, coupled with regulatory advancements and technological innovations, underscores the transformative impact of RWA tokenization in reshaping the landscape of “on-chain” digital investments.
Furthermore, on the topic of digital identity, Carter comments, “Potentially the most socially impactful innovations in this space will come in the form of identity, allowing users to easily and securely transact with sovereignty.” It stands to reason that the more retail adoption and awareness increases, so will the need for personal transactions to occur. Innovations like Digital Names that streamline trusted interactions on-chain easier will be crucial in 2024. For context, crypto naming service Unstoppable Domains raised a $65M Series A at a $1B valuation in 2022 . It is hard to imagine a 2024 where this market segment doesn’t continue to have explosive growth.
Looking beyond the initial crypto splash of 2024, the ripple effects down the line are even more exciting. “All the while crypto figures out what it’s doing, tokenized securities will swoop in to steal the web3 spotlight by being easy to access, participate, settle, manage, and report than traditional securities done on paper. I predict by 2030 we will see security token issuance volumes in the trillions with a huge uptick coming after 2025 due to global regulatory pressures.”
Carter isn’t the only person who feels this way. DTCC, the largest clearing and settlement entity in the world, responsible for processing 2.5 Quadrillion in 2022 alone has embarked on its own journey into tokenized securities. In preparation for the inevitable expansion of the STO market, DTCC began work on two internal projects, “Whitney” and “Ion”. They are making developments in minting, distribution, chain-agnostic record keeping, STO marketplace compliance API calls, and settlement. These projects have now been in progress for over two years and have made significant progress. In case DTCC wasn’t enough to convince you, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink himself said that “the next generation for markets, the next generation for securities, will be tokenization of securities.”
2024 has already proven itself to be the year that blockchain and tokenization starts to fully realize its early 2010s dreams of becoming an undeniable force in modern commerce and society. The headlines are saying it today, but for the few like Thomas Carter, it is all falling into place as expected.
About Thomas Carter:
Thomas Carter is a leader and evangelist for enterprise-grade FinTech and blockchain technology adoption.
He was an early pioneer of Security Token technology and brings 30+ years of proven traditional capital markets acumen to the nascent field of tokenization.
He is the founder and Chairman of Deal Box, a capital markets consulting firm focused on helping entrepreneurs and investors by leveraging automation, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technologies.
Carter is also the CEO of True I/O, whose mission is to help traditional financial and capital services realize the promise of transparency, universal access, and reduced costs that blockchain tech offers.
CONTACT:
