CEA Legal | Industry and Legal Trends to Watch in 2022

2022 is here, and hopefully, it will be remembered as the year we put an end to Covid-19. Several industries are poised to complete the economic rebound or even boom. These are sectors that we at Cea Legal will be following closely:

Blockchain, blockchain, blockchain!

2021 was an amazing year for the blockchain industry, as the business world better understood that the magnitude of this technology is much bigger than the pioneer, Bitcoin. Since the iconic sale of Beeple digital art in March 2021, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) became a hot topic. Similarly, following Facebook’s change of name to “Meta”, the word “Metaverse” emerged in day-to-day conversations.

Although a NFT bubble might burst, we will most likely see a significant expansion of uses for NFTs. In addition to the digital world, they will be incorporated in business practices, such as receipts, coupons, tickets, and tags proving authenticity, to name a few.

The Metaverse will turn out to be not only the perfect environment for virtual video games, but also for several business purposes. Large companies are spending millions of dollars to invest in digital land on platforms like Sandbox, Decentraland, and Upland. They will offer digital services and experiences to consumers that will eventually spend so much time on these platforms, they will feel the need to take care of their avatars and virtual spaces by purchasing digital fashion and furniture items.

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) will also proliferate. A DAO is an organization run without central leadership but by its members that buy tokens to express their consents in a transparent manner on a blockchain platform.

New York Commercial Real Estate

While the residential real estate market registered a solid post-lockdown rebound in 2021, commercial spaces remain largely vacant in New York. If the Omicron variant is confirmed as a short-term obstacle, in a few months savvy investors will secure retail and office premises at a bargain. Giant tech companies are investing billions of dollars in large office buildings (for instance, Google’s big investment in Hudson Square), and small businesses will mushroom in the surrounding areas.

The importance of the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) impact of a commercial building in New York City will be a growing trend, and many existing buildings will undergo a cleanup to be compliant with the requirements and policies of the Biden administration and the SEC, thus facilitating access to capital markets.

Business Sectors Set to Grow

• In the food industry, to satisfy the increasing requests of sustainable options, plant-based food companies will thrive, and some of them will establish joint ventures and strategic partnerships, especially with producers of alternative ingredients, such as coconut, sunflower, and oils fortified with vitamins, among others. On the same page, functional food and beverage items supporting immunity and sleep are poised to see great growth.

• As it becomes obvious that cannabis will be (sooner or later) legalized nearly everywhere, the market opportunities in this industry are clearly visible and reliable. We are expected to see a flurry of M&A activities between established players and small businesses operating in this sector across the US.

• Artificial Intelligence is ripening into a more available tool for companies that offer subscription-based automated marketing operations, tedious fraud prevention duties, production of curated content, and healthcare robotics.

• Electric vehicles will come to be more accessible thanks to the wider offerings in different segments provided by traditional automobile companies, such as Ford and GM, and prices will go down, especially if the planned tax credits for EV manufactures are approved by the current US administrations.

• Health wearables will continue its transition from the aisles of hospitals to those of malls and shopping stores. Today, these devices typically monitor heart rhythm, sleep quality, oxygen level, and calories consumption. Scientists and IT specialists are working together to expand the set of functions offered, and some of them are very promising, such as anticipating health emergencies and providing a direct channel of communication between individuals and their physician’s office.

Author:

• Michele Cea, Esq., Founding Member & Managing Attorney, CEA LEGAL P.C.
• Email: info@cealegal.com, Phone: (212) 618 1644

Compliments of CEA Legal P.C. – a member of the EACCNY.