Cryptocurrencies are the big new deal. People are pouring in millions of dollars on digital assets that only exist on the web. For instance, Bitcoin went from as low as $20,000 in 2020 to an all-time high of nearly $69,000 in November 2021. But what's so interesting about cryptos?

Bitcoin, and altcoins (alternative coins) have attracted millions of internet users. The new technology was first introduced by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamato in 2009. In his whitepaper, Satoshi explained that Bitcoin is a new way of doing transactions, a private one to be more exact.

All of this happens on blockchains. A set of blocks that record transactions and other information. All people need to send money is to have a digital wallet, and they're able to exchange cryptocurrencies in-between them. This happens without the interference of anyone, including banks. Actually, not even the central bank (Federal Reserve in the U.S.) could have a say, when it comes to cryptocurrencies. That's the power of decentralization.

The emergence of blockchain-based Metaverses

But it didn't stop there. At first, the most interesting thing about cryptocurrencies was people could send digital coins anonymously, and quickly. But, new blockchains emerged like Ethereum for instance. With the appearance of Ethereum, people were able to build apps on top of the decentralized network.

As more and more blockchains were developed, companies started making games, and metaverses. What attracted many people to blockchain-based games and metaverses, is that people were able to earn. As you'll play in a blockchain game, you'll be rewarded with cryptocurrencies in return for your skills. And that's how the new term "play-to-earn" was coined.

People started buying plots of land for millions of dollars in the blockchain-based Metaverses. Digital parcels of land were represented by NFTs (non-fungible tokens). A fungible token is one that has another similar to it. Take Bitcoin for example. Meanwhile, a nonfungible token is a digital asset like no other. You and only you can own that NFT, and it's all registered on the blockchain.

I personally think ( and this is not financial advice) that cryptocurrencies will see light in 2022. I mean, they even secured a spot in the most important sports event in the United States the NFL.

The interest in cryptocurrencies doesn't seem like it's fading out soon, and the fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) around the blockchain space is here to stay ... at least for the upcoming years.