Verdict lists the top five terms tweeted on blockchain in Q1 2021, based on data from GlobalData’s Influencer Platform. The top tweeted terms are the trending industry discussions happening on Twitter by key individuals (influencers) as tracked by the platform.

1. Crypto and cryptocurrency – 3,610 mentions

The prospects of crypto in fixing government overspending, crypto application programming interfaces (APIs) as a replacement for open source software, and funding raised by MobileCoin were the most popular topics of discussion in Q1 2021. Laura Shin, a crypto journalist, shared an excerpt from her interview with the Mayor of Miami Francis Suarez over how the integration of digital currencies in government processes can address the issue of government overspending and their manipulative tactics through policies.

The government can print their own money whenever required and establish interest rates according to the need under the conventional financial system.  A government tethered to non-governmental decentralised cryptocurrency will have to borrow money at a specified interest rate and failing to perform fiscally will pressurise them to borrow at much higher rates. This may eliminate the government deficit spending and may potentially remove the market manipulation, according to Shin.

Balaji S. Srinivasan, an angel investor and entrepreneur, further tweeted about how governments that subsidise the production and use of open source software to encourage its usage over commercial proprietary software code, will prefer crypto APIs in future to improve the transparency in the Open Banking ecosystem and other government processes.

The terms were also discussed by Michael Arrington, the founder of Arrington XRP Capital, a  crypto-centric venture fund, in relation to the $11.35m venture funding raised by MobileCoin, a cryptocurrency platform, across two funding rounds from Future Ventures and General Catalyst. Moxie Marlinspike, the creator of Signal, a private messaging app, had earlier acted as an advisor to MobileCoin implying that crypto currency may likely be integrated on the Signal platform when available.

2. Bitcoin – 905 mentions

The need for regulating Bitcoin, the utility of Bitcoin in eliminating political corruption, and the hiccups in Bitcoin valuation since 2017 were popularly discussed in the first quarter of 2021. William Mougayar, an early blockchain tech investor, shared an article mentioning Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank, who called for the regulation of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies globally as they had been misused for money laundering activities by exploiting the regulatory loopholes. Cryptocurrencies are still largely unregulated despite the presence of global standards in few areas such as anti-money laundering (AML), raising concerns over their possible use in various illegal activities.

Charlie Shrem, the founder of Bitcoin Foundation & BitInstant, further tweeted that Bitcoin is gradually developing into a new political model for potentially replacing the corrupt political system with a more transparent and unbiased system alongside playing the role of a universal currency and asset.

Bitcoin was also discussed by Balaji S. Srinivasan through an article highlighting Bitcoin trading. China’s check on Bitcoin trading in 2017 led to a probe on market manipulation, money laundering, and other illegal activities that devalued the cryptocurrency by more than 16%. Likewise, the cryptocurrency has survived several setbacks, including the Bitcoin civil war, Mt Gox Bitcoin exchange bankruptcy, and decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) hack. The article highlighted that healthy regulation that addresses the issues in the crypto ecosystem will make it more valuable including Bitcoin.

3. Ethereum – 213 mentions

Development of new Ethereum blockchain, reduction of the cryptocurrency mining efficiency of GeForce graphics processing units and improving the design of transition fee mechanism for the Ethereum blockchain were popular topics of discussion in Q1. Fabian Vogelsteller, the founder of LUKSO, a digital economy blockchain, tweeted that LUKSO is an Ethereum clone completely compatible with user-facing tools such as MetaMask, and expected to become the first ETH 2.0 Blockchain to execute smart contracts. LUKSO will be developed into a broader ecosystem of several Ethereum-compatible blockchains, thereby decentralising the infrastructure for the internet.

Nishant Sharma, the founder of BlocksBridge Consulting, further shared an article that mentioned the launch of GeForce RTX 3060 software drivers by NVIDIA, a technology company. The new drivers will reduce the cryptocurrency mining efficiency of GeForce graphics processing units (GPUs) by 50% to preserve its use for gamers. They are designed to detect specific attributes of the Ethereum cryptocurrency mining algorithm. The company launched NVIDIA cryptocurrency mining processor (CMP) meeting the requirement of Ethereum mining for professional mining.

Ethereum was also discussed by Chris Dixon, a programmer, who shared an article proposing EIP-1559 for improving the transaction fee mechanism of Ethereum. the mechanism may help reduce the average transaction fees, variance in transaction fees, and the rate of ETH inflation, while enhancing the user experience by easy fee estimation and incentivising the miners to abide by the protocols.

4. Fintech – 87 mentions

An overview of Switzerland’s blockchain fintech industry in 2021, Mastercard’s cryptocurrency payment offering, and Bank of New York Mellon’s plan on digital currencies were popular topics discussed during the first quarter of 2021. Oliver Bussman, a fintech executive, shared an article showcasing how Switzerland that houses 130 start-ups is increasingly applying blockchain and distributed ledger technology to its financial operations. Approximately 48% of these companies operate in the banking system, followed by 24% in investment management and 21% in payments. Blockchain-based fintech companies significantly increased in Switzerland, particularly in 2017 and 2018.

Chris Gledhill, an independent fintech advisor, shared an article on how Mastercard is offering cryptocurrency payment options on its network in 2021, signalling the growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies in the traditional payment systems. The selection of the cryptocurrency offered by Mastercard will be based on the reliability and security features of the digital currency to ensure consumer protection and compliance.

Fintech was also discussed by Warren Whitlock, CEO and founder of Stirling Corp, a company offering eBooks and audiobooks for digital download, through an article on Bank of New York Mellon’s plan to treat Bitcoin as any other asset. The bank will hold, transfer and issue Bitcoin and other digital currencies on behalf of its asset-management clients. The traditional banking system has been reluctant towards the acceptance of cryptocurrency due to the regulatory, legal and stability risks, however, the rising prices of Bitcoin and other digital assets have attracted asset managers, hedge funds and other institutional investors.

5. Wallets – 86 mentions

Blockchain Commons’ Gordian crypto wallet architecture for advancing the cryptocurrency user community’s interest and introduction of Brosispay’s decentralised wallet were widely discussed in Q1 2021. Christopher Allen, a blockchain and decentralised identity architect, discussed the Gordian mobile Bitcoin wallet that supports Smart Custody features such as multi-sigs. These advanced cryptographic tools enhance the maintenance, control, and security of digital assets.

Gordian crypto wallet architecture has been designed to increase the independence and resilience of an individual in managing their finances with more control over their keys in the security model and in interacting with the other Bitcoin network, Allen added. The crypto wallet architecture supports open infrastructure allowing developers to develop their own applications.

Joshuwa Roomsburg, founder and CEO of ChainLeak and JaxonMarketing, tweeted that Brosispay has listed its digital currency Bspay on Bilaxy exchange, a crypto asset trading platform. The completely decentralised finance uses smart contracts on blockchains. The allocation of the company’s digital currency will lead to its stacking in a cryptocurrency wallet, while supporting the operations of a blockchain network. The Bspay coin can be used at the Brosispay marketplace for buying and selling products. Further, the decentralised Brosispay wallet will support the secured storing and stacking of multiple cryptocurrencies.