NB: It is not a question here of predicting the commercial success of a particular project, and even less of providing investment advice. Financial speculation does not interest me and I am focusing here on uses.

The famous Libra digital currency, announced by Facebook in June 2019, developed in Switzerland in Geneva and renamed “Diem” In December 2020, should see the light of day at the start of 2021. We know that it will be a stable coin indexed to the dollar but we still do not know the details of its operation and its positioning in terms of use. initial steal of greenwood, especially in the United States from the legislator, will this new currency be countered again by the regulatory authorities? If it sees the light of day, will it be able to impose itself on the crypto scene, where dozens of stable coins already coexist, including three appearing in the Top 25 of the largest crypto-currencies in capitalization? A project in the uncertain future but which will make a great noise anyway. Carpe Diem - or not. More generally, the subject of stable coins, some of which are issued by nations, should be very much in the news this year.

Coinbase, one of the largest crypto exchange bureaus, has announced its intention to go public (IPO) in 2021. It would not be the first publicly traded blockchain/crypto company, but its weight in the market (some analysts cite a capitalization of $ 28 billion) makes this possible IPO if not a symbol, at least a key event in the months to come.

Strive is a notable 2020 start-up for at least two reasons: the personality of its founder (Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple) and its business model (basically, using blockchains and cryptocurrencies to boost investment in sustainable energy sources, allowing citizens to benefit from energy savings). Without prejudging its success, the idea is original and deserves to be followed. Beyond this one company, several other initiatives go in the same direction and it seems to me likely that the use of blockchains to fight against global warming climate, better optimize energy resources or better manage the carbon market will be a big topic in 2021.

2020 will have been a very busy year for Atari, a French company that seems to be firing on all cylinders to once again become the world leader in the gaming industry it once was. A strategy to win back the market through the launch last October of the Atari Token, an Ethereum token intended to establish itself as the preferred currency in the world of video games. Will the oldest and most legendary brand in the gaming industry be able to reinvent itself in the light of tokens and cryptocurrencies? Beyond the case of Atari, blockchain games, or cryptos and tokens (NFT ) devoted to gaming will remain big topics in 2021 (and well beyond).

Filecoin offers an innovative, peer-to-peer (P2P) digital data storage solution, fully decentralized and based on blockchains. Although there are similar and older solutions, Filecoin was eagerly awaited, after fundraising that was as substantial as it was rapid (more than $ 200 million raised in about thirty minutes, in 2017). The project seems to have successfully launched in 2020 and made a remarkable entry into the crypto scene: in November, the network reached a rather impressive storage capacity, one million gigabytes (GB)It remains to be seen whether the solution will be successful for professional and general public use. With big subjects in the background: can we still develop viable alternatives to cloud storage offered by digital giants (Google, Apple, Amazon, Dropbox and others) and can we develop the cloud into “dCloud” ( decentralized cloud), which would be a real paradigm shift.
Bitcoin, towards mass adoption?

2020 will have been a historic year for Bitcoin, which has just celebrated its 12th anniversary. Despite (or “because of”?) In the global crisis, Bitcoin smashed all records: the value of a bitcoin reached $ 40,000 at the very beginning of 2021 (10,000 times more than 10 years ago) and Bitcoin globally weighs more than 600 billion dollars - (150 times more than six years ago). The year was notably marked by the possibility (in the United States) of purchasing cryptocurrencies via PayPal, the world's main payment processor, and by strong institutional interest. Many large companies have invested heavily in Bitcoin, while prominent public players sang the praises of the world's first cryptocurrency, so Bitcoin is now a fixture on Wall Street and in the institutional world. Moreover, the online gambling industry is also focused on Bitcoin implementation as a payment method. It's already not a problem to play casino with BTC. It remains to be seen whether it will impose itself in practice and with the general public, beyond simple speculation and the logic of investment. Either way, Bitcoin will be on every radar in 2021.

I spoke at length about the “tokenization of everything” As one of the most important developments of the crypto era, and I also touched on the emergence of one-person tokens, created in their name by Internet users. PersonalTokens, one of the platforms allowing you to create your cryptocurrency, was a bit dormant in recent months but announced in December an ambitious development plan. In particular, it plans to offer the creation of its personal token to 10,000 people free of charge, while facilitating inter-personal financial exchanges. Roll, which should be out of beta this year) and I see a big potential topic for 2021, with the possible emergence of thousands of “personal currencies”.

TON, an independent blockchain with its cryptocurrency (GRAM), is a special case in the crypto universe. First supported by the founder of Telegram messaging, the project was characterized by an impressive fundraiser(nearly $ 2 billion), before being abruptly stopped in March 2020 by the intervention of the American justice. But the project is not dead for all that and seems to have started again, this time in the form of a community development firm focused on decentralization, including decision-making processes. Free TON could therefore be the first example of a “corporate” cryptocurrency project that has become free and now managed by the users themselves. 

IATA, the professional body that unites more than 80% of airlines, works to develop a mobile app intended to facilitate the return to normalcy in air transport in the Covid era. The solution, Travel Pass, is already tested in Singapore. In particular, it should be based on a blockchain to store health data relating to Covid-19 tests and vaccines in a decentralized manner, and thus serve to “show off” to travel safely. The subject is likely to generate a strong debate, but this could be the first example of a massively used mainstream, non-financial blockchain app. And it's also a potential example of decentralized identification logic, another big blockchain topic.

December 2020 marked the start of the most important transition in the history of Ethereum: a major evolution towards “Ethereum 2”, which promises in particular a more efficient network and much faster transactions. There is little chance that this transition will end in 2021, but the passage of the other intermediate stages will still be followed, an opportunity to also say a word about the competing projects of Ethereum. If I do not believe in the theory of “Ethereum Killers” which could dethrone (or even “kill”) the 2nd largest cryptocurrency, several projects deserve to be followed: Cardano, Algorand, Elrond or Lisk, for example. These are all serious projects that will participate in the decentralization of systems, services and applications. In my opinion, 2021 is a bit of the last chance year for these projects.