The crypto industry has come a long way from its early days as a wild west for tech and financial enthusiasts. The last bear market, which put crypto in a deep freeze, has led to a shake-up of the industry, forcing projects to mature and become more responsible. The result is a more stable and sustainable industry, with institutions playing a key role in its growth.

Institutional interest in crypto has been sparked by the US Securities and Exchange Commission's approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs at the beginning of the year. This move has led to traditional financial giants taking notice and offering crypto services and investment vehicles to their clients.

The crypto industry has been evolving over the years, with new technologies and use cases emerging that push its capabilities forward. However, the last bear market has seen a concerted effort by projects to clean up their act, going beyond a superficial rebrand. This has been driven in part by regulatory clarity, which has given blockchain projects more defined guidelines to ensure their development doesn't happen illegally.

Regulatory clarity has also opened the door for traditional institutions to enter the blockchain arena, knowing they are not embracing a pariah industry. Crypto projects are now more willing to put compliance at the forefront of their operations, mimicking the way banks and other major financial institutions work.

This maturation of the crypto industry has led to a rise in popularity of blockchain projects that are focused on business and institutional usage. For example, Ripple has been a long-time go-to network and protocol for enterprise use, and startups like Coreum are taking this enterprise-level cooperation one step further by creating a bridge to its network from Ripple's XRP Ledger.

Institutions are taking blockchain seriously, and this has led to a debate over whether they should develop proprietary products in-house or partner with established companies within the space. The answer depends on the budget and technical feasibility of what they want to achieve. If it's something simple like offering a spot ETF, they can likely do it in-house. However, more complex offerings like tokenizing real-world assets require a more robust infrastructure to ensure everything runs smoothly and securely.

The crypto industry's efforts to attain institutional acceptance have not gone unnoticed and have reinvigorated its potential as a mature and viable industry. NFTs, for example, have gone through the wringer of public perception but are now being utilized by major companies like EA Sports and Nike in gaming and loyalty programs. Startups like ChainGPT are also implementing generative AI technology to make NFT creation more accessible, demonstrating how projects can legitimize themselves by being more willing to evolve.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the crypto industry's maturation has led to a more stable and sustainable industry, with institutions playing a key role in its growth. By tailoring their technology to function in areas that people genuinely need it for, blockchain projects have the opportunity to cement themselves as infrastructural pillars for a new financial and technological reality.