It’s the first Friday of the year and it’s also the moment you’ve all been waiting for: a new weekly crypto-news recap. The year 2022 was undoubtedly one of the worst in the short but intense history of cryptocurrencies. With all digital currencies plummeting and companies in the industry going bankrupt, taking users’ money with them, it stands to reason that last year represented a major setback in investor confidence.
2023 looks to be a year of great challenges, but also opportunities for the industry. After all, the market cannot continue to fall indefinitely… or can it? Clearly, the events of the past year have put cryptocurrencies in the crosshairs of regulators around the world, who are sure to move on the industry this year. However, it may also be a key time for adoption, which can definitely boost the value of many cryptos.
Luckily for investors, the year as started with marked rises and widespread optimism in the market, something not seen in a long time. Ethereum was up 17%, although it encountered resistance at the $1,350 mark, as our trading expert explains. Bitcoin has also been showing positive signs, up 8% in a month, and with volatility at record lows. Will that be the indicator of an imminent rise?
There is so much optimism in the market that even two cryptocurrencies that have been going from bad to worse have made good gains. We are of course talking about Cardano and Solana, two coins that had a disastrous 2022, being the great disappointments of the sector. It seems that SOL wants to redeem itself and had a good rise of almost 50% in just 7 days, with the launch of BONK. While ADA showed a slightly more discreet increase of 6%, driven by the growth of activity in its DeFi network.
However, it’s not all laughter in the sector this start of the year. The FTX crash brought serious fallout that is still being felt across the market. Many cryptocurrency companies and Exchanges seem unable to recover from the crisis of confidence that marked the end of 2022, and have to resort to drastic measures to try to stay afloat. Such is the case of Huobi and Genesis, which had to make brutal cuts in their staffs during this week. Something similar happened with Silvergate, a cryptobank that had to mis-sell assets to cope with the current crisis.
And who is the cause of the current crisis in these companies? Who else but Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, who swindled users out of billions of dollars. Before his trial begins, scheduled for October, SBF started the year with one of the best jokes we have heard in recent years. He said that he is not guilty of the fraud charges against him. Laugh-out-loud (if it weren’t for the fact that he said it in the context of a formal hearing).
