Pro explains why current crypto winter is different than prior bear cycles

Pro explains why current crypto winter is different than prior bear cycles

By Benson Toti - min read

Bloomberg’s Emily Nicolle says that the current bear market has some market differences to what was observed in 2018-2019 and early 2020- something that might help it going forward.

The cryptocurrency market remains in the throes of an extended downturn, with the risk-of sentiment hitting extreme levels in a recent sell-off exacerbated by strain for several top projects and companies.

Bitcoin trades around $20,400 after dipping to levels last seen in November 2020, while the total market capitalization currently stands around $976 billion. The global crypto market cap was above $3 trillion in November 2021.

Crypto winter slightly different from previous cycles

Emily Nicolle, a crypto analyst at Bloomberg says the crypto is firmly in crypto winter, with the market’s dalliance with leverage hurting investors and projects big time. Notably, liquidations due to price going down exposes the whole market to contagion.

However, she suggests the current crypto winter, which has the industry on the cusp of its own “Lehman moment” after a $2 trillion shake down, is slightly different from previous bear markets.

She told Bloomberg Television’s “Big Take” on Monday that one of these is the increased backing projects are getting from venture capital funding.

This, she notes, has several projects having access to “cash that can rely on during the market downturn rather than being at the whim of the crypto market itself.”

On what might happen next in the market, she notes, will be some kind of “seismic” shift in the way crypto companies operate.

Apart from companies adopting a slimmer staff, many will likely look to significantly tone down on spending – no more splashes on sponsorships and such other deals as was seen during the bull market.