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In many ways, STEPN (GMT 2.80%) has been one of the standout success stories for the crypto community in 2022. Since its launch in March, STEPN is up roughly 320% for the year. What makes STEPN stand out is that it pioneered an entirely new concept: move-to-earn gaming. Until this year, if you had told someone that you could earn crypto by buying a pair of digital sneakers online and then going out for a walk in your neighborhood, people would have thought you were crazy. But the idea was so novel that investors immediately grasped its significance.

So what might be a similar type of concept that will captivate the crypto community next? This needs to be more than just "the next hot non-fungible token (NFT) project" or the "next big meme coin." This needs to be a huge, macro storyline that impacts the entire blockchain and crypto industry and galvanizes investors to think big about crypto in 2023. One such storyline might be the "Internet of Blockchains" concept from Cosmos (ATOM 4.10%).

One big problem the blockchain and crypto industry faces right now is interoperability, and this is exactly the problem that Cosmos is trying to solve. Quite simply, different blockchains have a hard time talking to each other. Sending digital assets from one blockchain to another blockchain can often be unnecessarily complex or expensive. So Cosmos is trying to become the blockchain that helps cryptos talk to each other. It is calling its approach the "Internet of Blockchains."

Image source: Getty Images.

The concept of interoperability might sound simple and obvious, except that it's not. Most people don't realize how difficult it is to exchange data and digital assets (such as NFTs) across blockchains that are not compatible. It would be as if two people could not communicate because they are using phones with different mobile operating systems. Or think about two people not being able to send email messages to each other because they are using different email clients.

Interoperability is a pressing technological issue right now, and that's why the Internet of Blockchains approach could be so huge for Cosmos if it manages to solve this problem. Using the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, for example, two different blockchains can seamlessly exchange data and assets.Using the Cosmos software development kit (SDK), blockchain developers can easily create app-specific blockchains that plug into the Cosmos ecosystem. Some of the highest-profile blockchains in the world -- including Cronos (CRO 4.61%), which is the blockchain for Crypto.com -- have been built using the Cosmos SDK.

One reason I think the story of move-to-earn gaming took off this year is that it was an easy concept to understand. You didn't have to understand anything about blockchain architecture or crypto governance tokens to understand that a fun gaming experience that can also make you money. This made for an incredibly attractive investment thesis for putting money into STEPN.

So it was interesting that, in August 2022, New York-based investment manager VanEck put out a $140 price target for Cosmos, based largely on the concept of blockchain interoperability. This, of course, raised a lot of eyebrows, given that Cosmos is currently trading at only around $15. What did these money managers in New York know that most retail investors did not? All of a sudden, YouTube crypto influencers started to post videos online about Cosmos getting ready to explode in 2023.

Now, this is not to say that Cosmos is going to become the next STEPN. Cosmos is still relatively tiny, with a market capitalization of a little more than $4 billion, and many people probably have never heard of it. And there are many other developer communities also working on the concept of blockchain interoperability, so there is plenty of competition for Cosmos.

However, based on our collective experience around move-to-earn gaming, it is possible to see how an incredibly high concept crypto can become "sexy" if people are making money from it. Could the same thing happen with Cosmos? Over the past 30 days (about the time of the VanEck report), Cosmos is up about 30%.

For now, I'm taking a wait-and-see approach with Cosmos. I still need to dig more into the technical specifications of Cosmos. But I'm definitely paying attention now that Cosmos ranks as one of the top-performing altcoins of the past month.I'll be checking out the upcoming Cosmoverse 2022 conference in late September and putting Cosmos on my watch list for the remainder of the year.

Dominic Basulto has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Cosmos. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Read more here:
Will This Cryptocurrency Be the STEPN of 2023? - The Motley Fool

Over the past seven years, Ethereum (ETH 2.72%) has been one of the best-performing cryptos in the world. Since its launch back in 2015, Ethereum is up an eye-popping 247,225%.

However, investors are unlikely to ever see those types of returns from Ethereum again. Ethereum has skyrocketed in value to become the No. 2 cryptocurrency in the world, with a total market capitalization of about $200 billion, making it much harder to duplicate those returns in the future.

So what should you do if you missed out on Ethereum? One option is to search out other Layer 1 blockchains that could eventually take over from Ethereum during the next crypto bull market. And surely one of the top prospects in this regard is Solana (SOL 290.43%). Even though Solana is now trading at a more than 85% less than its all-time-high back in 2021, it has the type of unlimited upside that could make it the next Ethereum.

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In terms of overall performance, Solana is already far superior to Ethereum. Take transaction processing speed, which is often considered to be one of the most important metrics for measuring the performance of a blockchain. Solana can theoretically process 65,000 transactions per second. Ethereum, on the other hand, can still only process 15 to 20 transactions per second.

Moreover, Ethereum is still plagued by high transaction fees, known as gas fees. Even after The Merge, a much-anticipated system upgrade scheduled for this week, it is unclear how much of a performance boost Ethereum will really get. Meanwhile, Solana continues to earn props as a potential Ethereum killer.

Performance metrics matter, because they are what can attract users, developers, and investors. In turn, this critical mass of users and developers is what leads to a strong, vibrant ecosystem. Simply stated, users migrate to a particular blockchain if it is cheaper and easier to use.

And developers will also move if it offers superior scalability and performance. For this reason, we are already starting to see a strong influx of developers into Solana.

In fact, Helium, one of the biggest blockchains in the world is now voting to migrate its entire technological infrastructure over to Solana.As a result, Solana's ecosystem is growing faster than Ethereum's, and this has important implications for growth projections we use to model Solana in the future.

In the last crypto bull market, Ethereum led the way, thanks to all of the innovations it introduced in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), smart contracts, and decentralized applications (dApps). By nearly any metric, Ethereum is still the leader in overall blockchain activity. However, it's no longer necessarily the case that Ethereum has the most innovative blockchain ecosystem.

Just consider all of the innovation coming out of Solana over the past 12 months. There has been the launch of the Phantom digital wallet, the launch of the new Solana Pay payment network, the introduction of entirely new genres of blockchain gaming, and the launch of Saga, the world's first-ever "crypto phone." On top of that, Solana has now emerged as the primary rival to Ethereum in the NFT market, thanks to the success of projects such as the Magic Eden NFT marketplace.

There's reason to think that Solana has really only scratched the surface of what is possible with mobile crypto. Solana, for example, has already released a software development kit (SDK) for mobile crypto, so it clearly believes that this could be a future, high-growth category.What other blockchain has its own mobile phone and SDK?

And don't forget about the metaverse and blockchain gaming. Over the past 12 months, we've seen Solana announce major new future opportunities in these areas in major tech hubs like Dubai.

During the peak of the last crypto bull market, analysts were putting out some incredibly aggressive price targets for Solana. While those numbers now seem, in hindsight, to be remarkably optimistic, there is still a lot of upside potential to Solana.

Given that Solana is currently trading at about $35 right now, even if it just retraces its path back to an all-time high of $260 from almost 12 months ago, that would still be a sevenfold return on investment. But some analysts have suggested that Solana could eventually hit $1,000, creating even more upside potential for investors who get in now.

The really exciting part about Solana is that it is continuing to build during a down market. At the same time, the Solana brand is continuing to gain traction with young users.There are also a number of exciting catalysts coming in 2023, including the new Saga crypto phone.All of this leads me to think that Solana could be a no-brainer way to profit in the next crypto boom if you missed out on the initial stratospheric returns of Ethereum.

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Missed Out on Ethereum? Buy This Cryptocurrency Now - The Motley Fool

In recent years, Africa has been one of the most active regions in the cryptocurrency industry. The continent is home to several exchanges, startups, and initiatives pushing cryptocurrency innovation forward.

Most of sub-Saharan Africas population is relatively young, 70% under 30 years old, which is critical for cryptocurrency and blockchain innovation in Africa. It makes Africa an ideal birthplace for innovative technologies, including cryptocurrencies. Africa has a history of embracing new technologies, with mobile money being used across the continent.

Even though Africa gets just 2% of the global cryptocurrency market, its rapid growth will revolutionize finance in a more digital and urban sub-Saharan continent. Africans received $105.6 billion in cryptocurrency during the one year from July 2020 through June 2021, according to Chainalysis, a blockchain data firm. According to Chainalysis, Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria are among the top ten countries for cryptocurrency usage.

The beauty of cryptocurrency is that it permits decentralized P2P lending, allowing everyone from all economic strata to succeed by providing more financial alternatives to underserved consumer demographics. Cryptocurrencies have the potential to address several economic issues in developing countries, including expanding access to finance for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), making remittance sending easier, and providing an alternative currency.

According to Chainalysis, in 2020, $562 million worth of cryptocurrency was utilized for remittance payments in Sub-Saharan Africaor 14% of the overall $48 billion sent. Because cryptocurrencies have made low-cost mortgages feasible, people who couldnt get credit because of irregular income sources can now access it.

To accept Bitcoin as a viable currency, one must recognize its value worldwide, a truly decentralized asset that populations may utilize to move and store value securely. Because of a lack of regulation, trust, big regulatory agencies restricting digital currencies, and a scarcity of cryptocurrency education, many African nations are lagging behind, despite the aforementioned booming adoption rates in some others.

There is currently no formal educational institution for cryptocurrencies in Africa. A few key players, such as foundations and individuals, have emerged to offer training, but it isnt nearly enough to place Africa on the international map as a cryptocurrency leader.

Africans use popular social networking sites such as YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook to learn about digital currencies like Bitcoin. They may also find helpful information on the subject from books, blog articles, or materials provided by crypto platforms such as Binance, Coinbase, and Coinmarketcap, which require an internet connection. Because of the threat of central bank regulation or bans, most African media firms have avoided promoting crypto awareness.

With the internet becoming a primary source of information for many individuals on the continent, the internet connection rate must improve dramatically if cryptocurrency businesses develop in Africa, which is far from true now. Only 22% of the continent has access to high-speed internet, which is a significant problem considering how much African countries rely on mobile towers. 91% of mobile users need to use 2G or 3G networks, which are outdated by todays standards. One blockchain startup, 3air, is working on a solution to the continents internet problem.

The African continent is home to many internet users who cannot access the web due to a lack of broadband connectivity. By leveraging blockchain technology, 3air has ambitious plans to provide fault-free connections in Africa.

In late 2021, 3air partnered with K3 Telecom to provide people in Africa with easy access to broadband. The partnership allows the telecommunications operator to expand its K3 Last Mile initiative, which provides internet connectivity for regions with low coverage. 3air promises a blockchain-based internet software interface. The physical infrastructure would include mobile base stations with the capacity to provide 15,000 users at super-speeds of 1Gbps per user, more than a hundred times faster than what current mobile internet providers offer.

Cities will feature connected base stations, with at least one station linked to the internet. Users will connect via transceivers that may find in homes and structures. These transceivers are tiny, highly effective, sturdy, and simple to install, making them cost-effective and practical for citywide usage, according to 3air. Each base station consumes 500W of power, which wont affect the local environment.

With increased access to high-speed internet, 3air hopes more people will have the opportunity to learn about and adopt cryptocurrency. 3air hopes that increased access to the internet will close the digital divide and allow for a more level playing field regarding economic opportunities. Africans who are unbanked or underbanked have flocked to cryptocurrency since it is decentralized and can keep value. 3air aims to provide everyone in Africa with access to the internet so that they may take advantage of the benefits that digital currencies provide.

Africa presents a unique opportunity for new technologies and innovations, including cryptocurrencies. The continent has a young and growing population that is increasingly tech-savvy. With the proper infrastructure and education, there is excellent potential for cryptocurrency adoption in Africa.Cryptocurrencies would be enormously beneficial for Africans. They are decentralized and perfect for countries with unstable economies or currencies. In addition, cryptocurrency can be used to send money overseas with no fees.

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How to fast-track the future of the African cryptocurrency market - Cryptopolitan