Brian Flynn is a product designer and writer, who publishes NIFTY News, a newsletter on crypto collectables.

The following is an exclusive contribution to CoinDesk’s 2018 Year in Review.

While the digital asset market has been volatile this year, a new set of digital assets emerged: non-fungible tokens.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital sound goods that are unique and openly programmable by nature. Here’s a list of the top headlines and stories affecting non-fungible tokens this year, followed by a list of predictions for 2019.

2019 Predictions

Stablecoins will hide the blockchain – Next year is shaping up to be a battle between centralized and decentralized players. It’s going to be more than likely that stablecoins like the CENTRE Foundation’s USD-C and MakerDAO’s Dai become fundamental to the Ethereum blockchain gaming ecosystem.As users start to earn in platforms, users will cash out in stablecoins. All digital goods will be priced in US dollars instead of ETH or other currencies for easier conversion. Intersection of Play and Work – Consumer mining and staking services will blur the lines between play and labor. Users will know how much they can earn within a specific time frame. As liquidity starts to build in blockchain games, users will exactly know how much they can earn for playing a game for a specific amount of time. Celebrities and digital merchandise – The consumer tech space has seen an influx of avatar apps this year. Snapchat doubled down on Bitmoji, Genies raises $10 million, and Zepeto reached the top of the app store. Celebrities and sports players will issue their own digital merchandise to fans which will grant VIP access and feature discounts.

It may be a while before digital merchandise lives on a blockchain — but it shouldn’t be long from now.

Have an opinionated take on 2018? CoinDesk is seeking submissions for our 2018 in Review. Email news [at] to learn how to get involved.

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