Cryptocurrencies can be volatile and chaotic, but they reflect the continued strong long-term growth of an industry that is in the middle of its fourth price-innovation cycle. Analysts Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) writes about it.

1️⃣ Crypto is in the middle of the 4th “price-innovation” cycle.

Crypto can be volatile and seem chaotic, but there is an underlying logic. @cdixon & @eddylazzarin first mentioned in 2020: https://t.co/g8OriZSgSt pic.twitter.com/ukS0MXhh8y

– a16z (@a16z) 17 May 2022

Experts attributed further market growth to the move to Web 3.0, which “will create the best opportunities in a decade.” They referred to the fact that currently the OpenSea audience is no more than 2.5% of Internet users. It is 45% for YouTube and close to 100% for Meta platforms.

Experts believe that the implementation of the Web 3.0 concept will create a fairer economic environment for content creators compared to the current Web 2.0 era.

Analysts calculated that Spotify, YouTube and Meta paid $636, $2.47 and $0.1 per artist, channel and user, respectively. Concerning NFTs, the same metric, using the OpenSea example, averages $174,000 when royalties are taken into account.

The impact of cryptocurrencies on the world is also evident in DeFi, which was mentioned in a16z. In less than two years TVL With the help of a smartphone, protocols can close gaps for the 1 billion people who do not have access to financial services. To them you can add many people who do not receive the full range of services.

Experts emphasized that there are also projects in the sector that destroy existing monopolies or solve important social problems, using the example of goldfinches, spruce, helium, sound, Flowcarbon and others.

a16z believes that several networks will create Web 3.0. Besides Ethereum, which is clearly the leader, Solana, Polygon, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and Fantom are also trying to repeat their success.

Experts emphasized that cryptocurrencies are still taking the first steps in their development.

“We estimate there are between 7 and 50 million active Ethereum users today. Compared to the Internet, this is the situation in 1995. Cryptocurrencies are much more than just a financial innovation – they are also social, cultural and technological.” they came to the conclusion.

Recall that in April a16z opened a section for research in the field of cryptocurrencies and other technologies related to Web 3.0.

Chris Dixon, a16z partner who previously focused on crypto projects, has topped the Forbes VC rankings.