Speed, scaling, regulation to play key role for crypto in 2022: FTX CEO

Published at: Dec. 28, 2021

FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried rounded off 2021 on an optimistic note. SBF waxed lyrical about the crypto market’s state in 2021 while revealing the roadmap for FTX in 2022 in a Twitter flood.

In his view, there are three keystones to industry progress in 2022: regulation, scaling, and transaction speeds. He proposes solutions to each puzzle piece, referencing his exchange's involvement.

On regulation, SBF states stablecoins could be better reported and audited. In line with FTX stablecoin policies, he says more transparency would solve “80% of the problems while allowing stablecoins to thrive onshore.” Meanwhile, better markets oversight and an anti-fraud-based regime for token issuances could address other regulatory gaps.

Secondly, while crypto users number somewhere in 200 million, “punching way above their weight,” more blockchain network effects are needed to achieve wider mainstream adoption.

Fortunately, FTX is leading the charge. They doubled their user count in quarter 4, cementing themselves as one of the top exchanges in crypto at a $25 billion valuation. SBF explains that while smart contracts have paved the way for Metaverse, decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 developments, video games could be the path to massive scaling:

“Tapping into the existing userbase of video games could be huge–billions of users and hundreds of billions of dollars each year.”

However, he goes on to say, “this only makes sense if it makes the virtual worlds more engaging, not less.” Blockchain integrations in games, such as NFTs, only work i they improve an already great game or virtual experience.

Finally, cryptocurrency transactions must change gears. Levels of 50,000 transactions per second are not enough to satisfy industrial-scale applications. Without high speeds, the other two issues cannot execute well. He jokes:

“I always laugh when a blockchain says they're already fast. None are! (...) Fast means millions of TPS. No one is there yet.”

As the wealthiest person in crypto according to Forbes, SBF’s net worth of $26.5 billion puts the 29-year-old just outside of the world’s top 100 people. He’s no stranger to the limelight and a highly regarded figure, sharing Twitter spaces with Tom Brady and reaching Cointelegraph’s third most notable person in blockchain in 2021.