Welcome to 2022, Data Sheet readers. Let’s hope it’s better than 2021.

At a minimum, the new year figures to bring big changes to the tech world, with the pandemic, manufacturing challenges, and looming business battles.

As the markets open for the first time this year, here are the key topics we’ll be watching over the next 12 months:

Supply chain challenges

While some experts are hopeful that the global supply chain squeeze will ease in 2022, the new year brings many of the same production challenges. Big Tech companies must overcome huge hurdles if they are to emerge relatively unscathed.

Keep a particular eye on Amazon, which undoubtedly learned important logistics and supplier relations lessons from the billions of additional dollars it spent during the holiday season to facilitate timely delivery. Apple, which cut production targets in 2021 amid widespread chip shortages, will also be a barometer as it prepares to roll out a slate of new products this year.

Rising economic nationalism

Several political winds blew in favor of economic nationalism in 2021:

The COVID-19 pandemic illustrated the perils of relying on overseas semiconductor manufacturers.

President Joe Biden pushed for hundreds of billions in government subsidies for American-made products via his Build Back Better agenda.

We could see a quick return to an embrace of free trade as the pandemic (hopefully) subsides—especially if Congress fails to pass Biden’s spending package and inflation keeps rising. But for now, economic nationalists are having a moment.

Cryptocurrency’s coming of age

Expect another busy year in cryptocurrency. While crypto went mainstream last year, with the value of all coins combined tripling, big questions about its future loom in 2022.

Chief among them:

How does inflation impact an already up-and-down market?

How much do regulators and legislators step up their oversight?

Are big businesses ready to dip their toes into crypto transactions?

Do stablecoins gain more traction as a happy medium for those concerned about crypto’s volatility?

Antitrust onslaught

Antitrust advocates laid groundwork in 2021 for an assault on Big Tech. Now, we’ll see the fruits of that labor.

European lawmakers are on the precipice of landmark legislation forcing unprecedented regulation of social media platforms.

Biden’s Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department antitrust division are primed to stall mergers, limit the power of Silicon Valley giants, and foster greater competition in tech.

And who knows what Congress may cook up (my prediction: probably not much).

Satellite wars ramp up

The prospect of high-speed Internet blanketing the globe figures to draw nearer in 2022, as more companies and countries expect to launch hundreds of low-Earth orbit satellites.

SpaceX, the leader in the field, continues to build on its roughly 1,500 satellites in orbit toward a goal of 12,000. British competitor OneWeb projects to reach its goal this year of nearly 650 satellites in orbit. And Amazon is set to join the crowd, with plans to send up its first Project Kuiper satellites in late 2022.

Donald Trump, social media mogul?

For better or worse, you can’t not watch Trump’s planned debut of Truth Social, his promised Twitter and Facebook competitor.

The company behind the would-be service already faces a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry, and the platform appears behind schedule. Will Trump eventually take a bite out of his hated social media rivals in 2022? As with so much about the former president, who the heck knows.