In 2022, the crypto neighborhood rose to new heights — after which it crashed. We famous this as early as June 2022, earlier than the FTX fiasco (which we’re utilizing because the catchall time period for the crash, alleged fraud, bankruptcy, congressional hearing, Sam Bankman-Fried‘s arrest in the Bahamas, the decision for his extradition, and so on.).
Nonetheless, this isn’t imagined to be an article chronicling FTX’s downfall from the past year — it’s a recap of our 2022 crypto protection, which is also seen as a Jacquelyn Melinek highlights reel with a characteristic from Alex Wilhelm.
Right here’s a few of our high 2022 crypto protection:
Terra community passes proposal to revive LUNA cryptocurrency following stablecoin-led implosion
In Might, LUNA nosedived, and the market adopted swimsuit. Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon shared a plan to revive the Terra Ecosystem, together with the formation of a brand new blockchain. Jacquelyn famous: “The launch of LUNA 2.0 might be a check of whether or not the neighborhood is as sturdy because it says it’s. However many are cautious of trusting Kwon and the Terra group once more after the LUNA and UST downfall.”
Ethereum drops more than 17% after ‘way overhyped’ Merge
In early to mid-September, whispers of “the Merge” have been in all places we turned an ear. A fast refresher: The Merge was a extremely anticipated occasion the place Ethereum shifted from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. It could have been overhyped.
Blue-chip NFT owners explore alternative uses as sales decline
Throughout the latest crypto bull market, the NFT subsector additionally rose to new heights. As NFT gross sales slowed, blue-chip NFT holders started on the lookout for new methods to revenue. For the uninitiated: The time period “blue-chip NFTs” derives from “blue-chip shares,” which frequently consult with essentially the most invaluable corporations in the marketplace. On this case, they’re essentially the most fascinating or high-value NFTs. What are they value amid crypto winter?
Terra’s UST crash will make life harder for crypto as regulation looms
In Might 2022, Terra UST crashed, which led to a push for crypto regulation. “UST is an algorithmic stablecoin primarily backed by its sister cryptocurrency, LUNA, however was additionally backed by bitcoin. Founder Do Kwon beforehand advised TechCrunch that plans have been in place to again it with different cryptocurrencies over time. It’s unclear if that street map continues to be in place for UST because it tries to recuperate from its downfall,” Jacquelyn wrote. To regain the belief of merchants and holders, the subsequent transfer could be regulation … proper?
Making sense of OpenSea at a $13B valuation
Initially of 2022, OpenSea raised a $300 million round at a $13.3 billion valuation. Alex did a deep dive to determine how the brand new (in January 2022) OpenSea valuation squared up with its revenues. You possibly can comply with together with Alex’s assortment of information and computations to find out whether or not the corporate is underpriced or overpriced.
