2022 was one of the most turbulent years in history for cryptocurrency enthusiasts: Bitcoin opened January at R$266,000 and ended December at just under R$90,000, with the coin depreciating nearly 67%, according to recent data from CoinGecko. .
For other cryptocurrencies, the scenario is no different; Most of them, such as Ether, Cardano, Solana, and Dogecoin, have experienced losses similar to or greater than Bitcoin. Added to this are the bankruptcies of companies in this sector such as FTX brokerages, Celsius, Voyager and BlockFi platforms.
In this context, given the difficulties that cryptocurrency enthusiasts will face in 2022, the question remains: What can be expected from the coming year? If you want to know what will happen in the crypto market in 2023, just stay tuned!
Investors and companies are accumulating bitcoins
Bitcoin’s devaluation cannot be seen as something irreversible: just as it has happened many other times, the cryptocurrency has to recover at some point. Although it is not possible to say when this will happen, one of the best alternatives to understanding market expectations about an asset is to observe the behavior of investors and companies.
Thus, 72% of the total supply of bitcoin is in the hands of long-term investors, according to December data from Glassnode, which researches the blockchain. Moreover, 17% of the current total bitcoin supply is owned by companies. This suggests that there are many companies betting their own money – and the future of the business – on the success of cryptocurrency, even after many falls.
All in all, both stats show that there are many investors and companies who are “ignoring” the bad moment that Bitcoin is going through because they believe that the cryptocurrency will continue to do well in the medium and long term, even if the current moment seems uncertain.
There is life outside of bitcoin
The DeFi, or decentralized finance, sector has been hit hard by falling prices in recent months. Because of this, many investors have pulled money out of decentralized protocols to leave them invested in larger projects – such as bitcoin itself.
The reasoning also applies to other sectors of the crypto world, such as NFTs, blockchain games, and the metaverse, for example. If, in 2021, money invests millions in projects of this kind, most of the interest and money will be gone in 2022.
However, there is still a market demand for various solutions in the field of crypto assets. NFTs, for example, are a technology that should take off in the coming years, as they act as an immutable record of ownership on the blockchain, which is useful for notary activity, the art industry, intellectual property, ticketing and other applications.
The metaverse, in turn, is one of those innovations that is here to stay, as it allows for intense interaction between people from all over the planet. There are already many companies – such as Coca-Cola and Adidas – betting on this technology, in addition to Facebook itself, which has become a “meta” to focus on the sector.
In this way, even with the difficulties, there are a lot of important events in the cryptocurrency market; In other words, the industry is far from dead, despite the fear some catastrophic cryptocurrency coverage headlines instill in investors.
Strong organization
The tragedies that marked the cryptocurrency market in 2022 did not go unnoticed by the authorities: in the United States, the regulation of crypto assets has been discussed several times in Congress and the process should pass into law in the coming months.
The expectation, for the US, is that strong law will be passed to require brokers to maintain adequate liquidity conditions, i.e. to allow users to withdraw their funds without facing delays or obstructions. The country should also require companies to identify users in order to avoid scams and money laundering with cryptocurrency.
In Brazil, the situation is much more predictable: the regulatory framework for crypto assets was published on December 22 and will enter into force in six months – that is, in the middle of the following year. The law obliges brokerage firms that wish to operate in the country to register, which should provide security for investors.
Given all these factors, there are reasons for optimism for 2023: the cryptocurrency market will be more regulated and safer and many projects that were out of the limelight will be back in the spotlight!
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