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• Arcane Research analysts consider one of many strongest crypto narratives over the following twelve months would be the efficiency of the so-called “ETH killers.”

• They additionally predict Bitcoin will outperform the S&P 500 

Crypto analysis platform Arcane Research says that 2022 will see layer-1 platforms proceed to outperform Ethereum, primarily based on evaluation of the crypto market and different developments throughout the crypto area in 2021.

Other than its predictions for layer-1s in opposition to Ethereum, the ultimate report of 2021 from the corporate touched on Bitcoin vs. the S&P 500, DeFi, the NFTs market, the outlook for Cardano and XRP, meme coin mania as exacerbated by the “dog coin wars”, and derivatives.

2022 prediction: Layer-1s to outperform ETH

In a report launched on 28 December by way of the blockchain information evaluation and analysis agency’s The Weekly Update, Solana, Avalanche, Terra Luna, and Fantom are all poised for additional features in the following yr, with the native tokens on these standalone sensible contract networks persevering with to outpace ETH in the market.

The agency says that it expects Solana and the opposite top-performing layer-1 networks to keep up the upward development over the following yr, with worth upsides buoyed by elevated utilization and capital inflows.

“These networks have thriving and fast-growing ecosystems that continuously drive the price performances of their native tokens,” the agency famous in the report.

A have a look at the person returns for a number of the sensible contract platforms anticipated to proceed outpacing ETH, we see Terra Luna (LUNA) is up 14,823% in 2021, with Fantom (FTM) and Solana (SOL) each seeing a 100x or more in price growth at 13,549% and 10,907% respectively.

While Ethereum’s native coin Ether (ETH) has jumped 460% in 2021 to outpace Bitcoin (BTC) at 73%, sensible contract platforms Harmony (ONE) and Avalanche (AVAX) have returned 60 occasions over the yr. Harmony is about to shut the yr with worth features of greater than 6,400% for the yr and Avalanche is up over 3,150%.

On Bitcoin vs. S&P 500 and gold

Bitcoin is up round 73% in the yr, whereas the S&P 500 has additionally edged increased to file closes because it eyes a 28% return for the calendar yr. Meanwhile gold, regardless of being the standard inflation hedge, has unfavorable returns at -7% in a yr the inflation narrative has dominated sentiment.

Arcane Research says that Bitcoin will nonetheless beat each the S&P 500 and gold, having achieved so this yr to notch a 3rd straight yr of outperformance in opposition to the inventory market and the safe-haven asset.

#Bitcoin beats each the inventory market and gold for the third yr in a row.

Will #Bitcoin beat the inventory market and gold subsequent yr as nicely?

From our weekly market report: https://t.co/1BRmx043AV pic.twitter.com/Qe5gHnia6i

— Arcane Research (@ArcaneResearch) December 29, 2021

But the researchers additionally notice that “Bitcoin has increasingly behaved like a risk-on asset,” somewhat than the digital gold it’s been tagged to be. 

It means buyers would possibly subsequently need to watch the inventory market efficiency. Upward momentum for shares may additionally see BTC worth outperform, whereas “a red year” for the S&P 500 will see the cryptocurrency underperform, the analysts wrote. 

On altseason, NFTs and metaverse

Although Bitcoin’s run in 2021 has been astonishing, the bespoke analysis agency says the yr just about belonged to altcoins. 

They notice in their report summarizing the yr in crypto that this “has been a flying year for most altcoins,” with capital inflows into the section contributing to the dip in Bitcoin’s dominance in the primary half of the yr.

As famous earlier, ETH has outperformed BTC and so have most different altcoins. For instance, Binance Coin (BNB) has gained over 1,340% in the yr to see it beat each Bitcoin and Ethereum among the many prime three by market cap.

The agency can also be bullish on NFTs and metaverse, noting that the 2 narratives dominated market engagements in 2021. However, they are saying that it’s the “NFT craze” that has resulted in spiking gasoline charges on the Ethereum community, with reactions being elevated curiosity in layer-1 tokens.