The World Economic Forum (WEF) has said that crypto and blockchain technology will continue to be an integral component of the modern economy.  WEF Talks Crypto ‘Ice Age’ On Monday, the WEF published a blog detailing what the future holds for the crypto industry. The blog covered points about how the industry has already established itself as a key player in the financial sector and summed up how the industry will be moving forward in light of the catastrophic events of 2022.  The blog detailed how 2022 turned out to be way worse than a mere “crypto winter” for most investors, as not one but three major catastrophic crashes wiped out nearly $2 trillion worth of assets from the speculative market. The international organization acknowledged that the year had proven right most policymakers, who had repeatedly issued warnings about the high-risk nature of the industry. WEF opined that the end of 2022 probably marked the end of crypto speculation due to the multiple hits the industry took this year. An excerpt from the blog reads,  “To the diehard crypto utopians (and some crypto-anarchists), 2022 was not just another “crypto winter,” but more of an ice age. Along with a broad loss of confidence, economic value and a market littered with the tombstones of failed firms and projects, perhaps the era of crypto speculation will remain frozen in ice.” Web2 vs. Web3 The WEF also talked about the future of crypto while comparing it with the internet and the dot-com bubble burst of the early 2000s. That incident famously wiped out more speculative companies and pushed a more stable and durable version of the internet to the forefront. Similarly, the organization believes that the struggles of 2022 could open gates for “responsible, always-on internet finance,” claiming that countries that enforce responsible regulation of the sector will emerge as future leaders.  WEF wrote,  “Just as it took the dot-com bubble bursting in the early 2000s to hand over the future of the internet to more durable companies, business models, and use cases, perhaps 2022 marks a handover of crypto technology and blockchain infrastructure to steadier hands.” Staying Power Of Blockchain The blog also pointed out the positives of the large-scale institutional adoption of crypto and blockchain technology that happened in 2022. It mentioned, by name, JPMorgan and the aggressively pro-crypto business strategy the financial giant adopted this year. According to the organization, crypto technology will become an inevitable part of innovation and business models, similar to cybersecurity and digital transformation mandates for major companies.  WEF wrote,  “Indeed, as a test of the staying power of digital assets and blockchains at the core of financial services (and other areas of the global economy), watch what the big banks and mature financial services firms do, not what they say.” Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.