As the market continues to move monotonously, the crypto community is now left with folks who are 'in it for the tech' - or who are plain obstinate. As a result of the lack of bull market grifters and noisy individuals, debates right now are largely centered on technology. There are meaningful big brains talks everywhere, and with them, we can envision where the industry may go from here. These trends feel different from conventional crypto trends since, in most cases, not only are they hardly investable unless you're a venture capital, but they are also likely to materialize in two, five, or even ten years. We're in for a lengthy road trip.<h2>Modular blockchains are the future</h2>A popular notion in the community is that the blockchain people will use in the future will be radically different from the blockchain and smart contract technology we know now. With the emergence of modular blockchain design, this might be true.Today's prominent public blockchains employ an architecture known as a monolithic design. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche are all monolithic. Even those that strive for modularity, such as Cosmos, are not entirely modular, but rather use a mixed approach. Layer 2 will not, in reality, make Ethereum completely modular. Avalanche subnets, which are effectively monolithic chains on top of another monolithic chain, work similarly.In a monolithic architecture, one 'layer' handles all sorts of transactions. The Ethereum mainnet, for example, is where execution, data availability, settlement, and consensus take place. As a result, when activity is strong, Ethereum might get clogged. Users notice an increase in petrol prices, a slowing of the network, and a failure to complete transactions. All of them are undesirable if a public blockchain intends for widespread and global adoption.A modular smart contract network, on the other hand, is made up of several chains, each of which handles a specialized purpose. Layers are classified as follows:<ul><li>Data availability layer: where the chain stores and handle all transactional data and ensures that the users can always access the data.</li><li>Consensus layer:&nbsp; where decentralization takes place. the level of security.</li><li>Execution layer:&nbsp; a location where transactions are collected and processed.</li></ul>The infamous blockchain trilemma has an answer: modular blockchain. A network can become scalable while still being secure and decentralized by assigning particular jobs to particular chains.The route to the modular future is still very far off, though. It resembles assembling a puzzle piece by piece. To create a single, large system that is completely functioning, each "layer" or "stack" must be carefully developed. Celestia, which bills itself as the first totally modular structure in the area, is now a well-known project in this category.<img src="https://cdn.builder.news/news/11ed4b91ad82e730a8e6023f659fee92.jpg" alt="Celestia modular structure" title="Celestia modular structure" width="600" height="563" class="lykafe0">Celestia modular structure. Source: jumpcrypto<h2>The middleware</h2>Think of crypto middleware as the adhesive that binds chains and dapps. Some claim that middleware serves as the dapps for dapps. In reality, middleware may just be a new layer in a modular world. They serve as the foundation of cryptography.According to the number of builders working particularly on it, the projects that have been established, and the amount of venture capital money being directed at them, this industry is growing stronger every day.&nbsp;Middleware falls within a broad category. The projects included here include node infrastructure, multichain bridges, smart contract automation, decentralized cloud storage, and a lot more.The crypto infrastructure sub-sector has enormous potential. Web3 is still significantly reliant on web2 incumbents (such as Amazon's AWS). We are in desperate need of web3 solutions for a variety of issues, all while keeping economic incentives for decentralization. The TAM (total addressable market) for a middleware product might be unlimited. (After all, AWS, not the marketplace, is what makes Amazon lucrative.) It now makes obvious why venture capitals are pouring money into this area.However, middleware, although necessary, is tedious. That is one of the shortcomings of infrastructure play in the perspective of investors, particularly retailers. This industry provides nothing in the way of hype and storylines. For normal people to invest in infrastructure, a thorough technical understanding is required.Furthermore, a middleware project is strongly reliant on the network on which it runs. For example, an Ethereum-focused startup would have to rely on Ethereum's success in order to be successful. It is difficult to evaluate and invest in middleware. There is a lot of ambiguity about which project will be the web3 tech giant. It also explains why this industry appears to be dominated by venture capital at the time.At the very least, as a common pleb, you now know where the smart money is betting. This expertise can help you identify chances that the general public overlooks since they don't appear as appealing as an image of monkeys.<h2>Fat protocols and Fat applications thesis</h2><img src="https://cdn.builder.news/news/11ed4b91ad82ee14a8e6023f659fee92.jpg" alt="Fat app thesis" title="Fat app thesis" width="591" height="761" class="lykafe1">Fat app thesis. Source: usv.com<img src="https://cdn.builder.news/news/11ed4b91ad82f23ba8e6023f659fee92.jpg" alt="Fat protocol thesis" title="Fat protocol thesis" width="600" height="718" class="lykafe2"> Fat protocol thesis. Source: usv.comA 2016 article titled Fat Protocols popularized the Fat Protocols idea. Values are typically concentrated at the base layer in the region where protocols are fat and applications are thin. Investing in the foundation is more lucrative than investing in applications. Here is a brief of the fat protocol thesis<ul><li>The previous generation of common protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP, SMTP, and so on) generated enormous quantities of value, but the vast majority of it was collected and re-aggregated on top of the applications layer, mostly in the form of data (Google, Facebook and so on).&nbsp;</li><li>In terms of how value is delivered, the Internet stack is made up of "thin" protocols and "fat" applications. As the market evolved, we discovered that investment in applications yielded great returns while investing directly in protocol technology yielded low profits.</li><li>&nbsp;In the blockchain application stack, the connection between protocols and apps is inverted. The shared protocol layer concentrates value, and only a part of that value is dispersed over the applications layer. It's a stack that includes "fat" protocols as well as "thin" applications.</li></ul>In many respects, the crypto sector is still protocol-centric right now. Ethereum is the most profitable cryptocurrency. Another sign is that non-L1 altcoins took a beating compared to Layer 1s. People will still tell you that you are better off holding BTC or ETH rather than investing in app tokens.It's debatable if the inverse — where the protocol is thin and the apps are fat — is better. Nowadays, the internet is highly app-centric, and it does not appear appealing. Power and values are being concentrated in what is now known as "Big Tech," which is not desirable in a decentralized environment.However, in the crypto sector, we need values to cascade more to the application level. Perhaps in the decentralized environment, business models and profit-sharing are more equitable than in traditional tech. Recently, Hasu, a notable crypto researcher, started a conversation in his article in which he stated that we are overly involved in layer 1s. He is not mistaken.<iframe width="550" height="400" src="data:text/html;charset=utf-8,%3Cblockquote%20class%3D%22twitter-tweet%22%3E%3Cp%20lang%3D%22en%22%20dir%3D%22ltr%22%3ESometime%20in%20the%20next%201-2%20years%2C%20there%20will%20be%20a%20flippening%20from%20%26quot%3Bfat%20protocol%20thesis%26quot%3B%20to%20%26quot%3Bfat%20application%20thesis%26quot%3B.%20The%20space%20is%20way%20overinvested%20in%20L1%20copycats%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A//t.co/gR1bV3qpgP%22%3Ehttps%3A//t.co/gR1bV3qpgP%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%26mdash%3B%20Hasu%u26A1%uFE0F%uD83E%uDD16%20%28@hasufl%29%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A//twitter.com/hasufl/status/1531204918304022528%3Fref_src%3Dtwsrc%255Etfw%22%3EMay%2030%2C%202022%3C/a%3E%3C/blockquote%3E%0A%3Cscript%20async%20src%3D%22https%3A//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js%22%20charset%3D%22utf-8%22%3E%3C/script%3E%0A"></iframe> In our ideal crypto world, users would utilize a dApp without thinking about which chain they were linked to. Based on certain conditions, the app will smoothly send users to the most efficient network (best yield, least congestion, smallest fee, etc.) On the UX level, a 'fat' app would appear like that. The programs would be multichain on the backend, maybe with their own chain - a stack chain in a modular design rather than a totally sovereign layer 1. If it's a DeFi, their liquidity is huge for any pair. The protocol produces profit from every area of web3 and is the crypto space's big tech.Some current DeFi protocols, such as AVEE, are working on this road. They establish themselves in several chains, continually reinvent various parts of their products, establish trust by enduring various market turmoils or security crises, and regularly profit. They want to become well-known.The idea of fat application flipping has enticed retailers to revisit briefly neglected DeFi boomer programs like AAVE, UniSwap, or Curve. DeFi 1.0 protocols are finally regaining interest after being mostly overlooked during the honeymoon era. However, this trend isn't restricted to older dapps, some of the younger projects are as ambitious and have the ability to create a moat around themselves.If the apps-layer 1s split occurs, we will witness a growth standstill in layer 1s in terms of investment return — not technology or innovation — as money floods into the app layer. This might take some time to play out. However, like with anything in the crypto sector, it might be exponentially fast.Bottom linesAs you read about these tendencies, you may get a sense of how early crypto is since there are so many challenges to answer. Or perhaps future technological solutions. The industry has a long way to go before attaining the widespread adoption that we all hope for. It will be an interesting journey. Opportunities are available for both builders and investors in the industry.As previously noted, most investments in these trends are speculative. There's no need to rush. Allow the area to grow organically while keeping an eye on things, all while using these tendencies as a foundation for your due diligence. You will identify an excellent chance when it appears.<div class="pr-block-special">Disclaimer: This article is intended for and only to be used for reference purposes only. No such information provided constitutes advice or a recommendation that any investment or trading strategy is suitable for any specific name.</div>

The recent cryptocurrency market is in need of a good crypto trend to lead the market recovery and take the belief of the user back.

The next 3 main crypto trends: Chances to find the next x100 cryptocurrencies