Crypto at a crossroads after its annus horribilis
STORY: Crypto is at a crossroads after a truly annus horribilis.
Crashes, contagion, collapses came in such quick succession that investors were, towards the end of 2022, asking serious existential questions.
Bitcoin has not kept its head above water for more than a week at a time, and is down about three-quarters from November 2021's $69,000 peak.
It's been a brutal year-end reality check for an industry that kicked off 12 months earlier with big dreams.
They included widespread mainstream institutional adoption, bitcoin supplanting gold as the world's inflation hedge, endorsements from the likes of Elon Musk, and billion-dollar NFT valuations.
Instead crypto met with Fed hawkishness, the crash of stablecoin TerraUSD, and fund and broker bankruptcies.
Then came the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX exchange.
-Why it matters-
Unlike after the bitcoin crash in 2017, there are far fewer diehard crypto buffs predicting a bounce this time around.
2022 belongs to the "I-told-you-so" regulators and central bankers.
They've largely either maintained an arm's length from the crypto world or banned trading in cryptocurrencies altogether.
-What it means for 2023-
Some like UBS strategist James Malcolm suggest bitcoin and other tokens could survive - if only on the fringes as a niche, diverse asset in investment portfolios.
But the sort of regulation that investors now need to feel safe dealing with crypto brokers and exchanges could take years to implement.
Instead, 2023 could see the traditional financial world and central banks using the crypto malaise to up their own game.
They might snap up platforms and assets in the blockchain world, or issue tokenized bonds and stocks.
Or maybe even roll out more of their own digital currencies.
相關影片推薦
1:10
東港線湧遊客 估暑假首日小琉球登島人數破萬民視影音31,937 次觀看・23 小時前1:57
自助餐「鱈魚+2菜」要120元 記者回店買變200元更貴!東森新聞影音51,092 次觀看・20 小時前1:07
金曲35/孫盛希一塊布搶下紅毯最辣 大哥大忍不住紅毯要求合照Yahoo奇摩娛樂 音樂影音47,719 次觀看・18 小時前4:34
華為開發者大會自嗨 鴻蒙星河版HarmonyOS NEXT應用程式少安卓700倍 標榜「一個系統」走蘋果過去的路 中國網友質疑鴻蒙不可能「純血」|全球聊天室 #鏡新聞鏡新聞5,926 次觀看・20 小時前1:49
彰化保險員無罩趴趴走 害一家16口染疫免賠償定讞民視影音32,251 次觀看・2 天前1:39
網紅號召畢業生騎車上武嶺 遇砂石車惡意逼車民視影音15,970 次觀看・5 小時前2:01
台中彩虹眷村走味?夾雜動漫風 遊客再訪意願低華視影音3,012 次觀看・22 小時前3:10
新科歌王熱狗上工被男粉熊抱!「台上嗨聞原味內衣」曝婚禮進度娛樂星聞2,833 次觀看・12 小時前0:49
一分鐘報天氣 / 週一 (07/01) 今明日西南風悶熱天氣 留意午後熱對流雷雨及中南部迎風地形雨Yahoo奇摩新聞(報氣象)707 次觀看・6 小時前1:25
金曲獎麥克風出包 熱狗唱一半被消音下跪道歉救場民視影音10,912 次觀看・8 小時前