According to the Activate Technology and Media 2022 Outlook, cryptocurrency and the metaverse are among the disruptive technologies that will drive innovation and growth in the coming years.

Additionally, the report identified gaming and esports, streaming, next-generation transport systems, and ecommerce as additional technologies to monitor over the next five years.

Globally, Activate anticipates that technology and media spending will surpass US$2 trillion in 2021 and reach US$2.5 trillion by 2025.

The report, now in its seventh year, predicts that cryptocurrencies will disrupt consumer finance and gaming, though numerous barriers remain to widespread adoption.

In Australia, cryptocurrency made headlines last week following the release of a Senate enquiry report calling for tax reform and the establishment of an exchange licensing scheme to facilitate business and investor transactions in digital assets.

In other predictions, gaming could emerge as an industry powerhouse, with the industry expected to grow at an annual rate of 8% and reach a value of more than US$220 billion in the next few years.

Additionally, significant gaming acquisitions are likely in 2022 as 'Big Tech' recognises the need to bolster its gaming strategy in order to remain competitive and will look to integrate gaming services into existing platforms.

With the continued growth of gaming, the sale of virtual goods and skins is expected to increase as well, serving as a significant driver of cryptocurrency and NFT innovation and proliferation.

Reform is required to fully realise the potential of cryptocurrency.

According to the report, one in every six people in the United States has already transacted with cryptocurrency for investment or speculation purposes.

While consumers have primarily used cryptocurrency for trading rather than payments or other cryptocurrency use cases, many of the cryptocurrency's promised use cases have encountered barriers to adoption.

Australia may not yet be in this position, but we have an opportunity to compete with the United States, Singapore, and Switzerland, according to associate professor Chris Berg, co-founder of RMIT University's Blockchain Innovation Hub.

Berg stated that policy changes are critical to establishing regulatory clarity in the industry and that regulating crypto assets presents an opportunity to attract jobs, investment, and innovation to the country. According to Berg, the Senate report is a "persuasive roadmap for how Australia can lead the global blockchain industry."

Bringing the hype surrounding the metaverse to a halt

The metaverse is one of the most hyped new technology trends right now, with Facebook expanding into this space and even considering rebranding to reflect its new priorities.

According to the Activate report, conversations – and claims about potential opportunities – are at an all-time high.

Locally, tech analyst Paul Budde has expressed reservations about the metaverse, arguing that we cannot be technology neutral and must address issues already evident in social media (disinformation, hyper-partisanship, algorithmic bias) before moving forwards with the creation of a virtual internet that will be far more intrusive into people's lives.

"As we gain a better understanding of the dangers associated with certain technologies, it is up to us to ensure that these advancements continue in the right direction," he said.

Despite the hype surrounding the metaverse, the report stated that the only companies that can succeed in it are gaming companies.

"The only path to the metaverse that is viable is via gaming platforms. Anyone betting on a metaverse platform other than gaming is "backing the wrong horse," the statement stated.

This means that the true potential exists where gaming meets the metaverse; specifically, where multi-platform gaming franchises dominate and gamers engage in non-gaming activities within games, which will serve as the metaverse's foundation.

According to Activate, gaming's massive engaged user base, the fact that gamers are already participating in some of these virtual events, and the existing technology requirements for developing metaverse applications (AR/VR integration and game mechanics) put it in the driver's seat for metaverse adoption.

Despite Facebook's grandiose plans, no single company will dominate the metaverse, and indeed, no single metaverse platform will exist.

One of the impediments to dominance and widespread adoption will be interoperability, which "will not be resolved anytime soon," the report stated, "although third-party applications (messaging, payments, and audio) will provide functionality and experiences across metaverse platforms."

The report concluded that the development of digital twins, or virtual replicas of physical objects and spaces, is well underway. While many of the metaverse's foundational elements are already in place, achieving a complete digital twin of the physical world will take many years.

Furthermore, NFTs will be critical in metaverse economies as a means of establishing ownership of digital goods.

"Purchases made in the physical world, such as a designer handbag, will include a digital twin for your virtual avatar to wear, while purchases made in the digital world will result in a tangible item being delivered to the physical world," the report stated.

Hyperscaling, edge computing, 5G, quantum computing, open source hardware and software, and public cloud services will drive innovation and usher in the "next wave of user experience and productivity improvements" across the enterprise, it said.

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