An Investor’s Guide to Crypto Bear Market in 2022

It’s been a roller coaster ride in the crypto world these past months and the market is yet to recover from the tragic effects of the tumults. While most cryptocurrencies are witnessing epic price tanks, many projects have spun off the wheel and are barely standing. Here’s why the market is in its current state and some other exciting developments that have erupted in spite of the chaos.

The downward move started with a regulatory crackdown on Celsius which caused the lending network to suspend withdrawals from US accounts. This was followed by the UST and Luna crash in May 2022, leading to a $300 billion dollar loss altogether in the crypto market of just over a billion dollars in market capitalization at the time. Celsius claims its eventual crash was the “domino effect” of the Luna collapse which reduced optimism in the market.

All the events which were to unfold were roused by the Ukrainian war in February 2022. The global markets were punctured and had much blood (dollars) to shed. Over $9 trillion has been wiped out of the US stock market this year alone. As customary, the stock markets moved, and the crypto market followed. Ukraine and Russia are powerful contenders in the global markets. As the two shook, the world had some vibrations to endure.

Federal interest rates have been spiking up the inspired party by the war. Amongst numerous factors affecting the crypto market, interest rates have a very direct and almost immediate impact. On January 26, when the Federal Reserve first met in 2022, BTC fell 6%. A lot more increase in interest rates has occurred all having negative impacts on the high-risk crypto market.

China and Russia also induced negative sentiments with plans to abolish the use of crypto. But away from these crypto-costly events. Some amazing developments have sprung up even in these dark times. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Interesting Developments In this Crypto Bear Market

The bear market births projects, adoptions, initiatives, partnerships, and seeds prosperity for those who make use of it. These developments will prove that.

Soulbound Token

Amidst the heat of decline and market-unfriendly events, Ethereum co-founder, Vitalki Buterin has proposed non-transferrable NFTs linked to human identities. With Soulbound tokens, every human has an indelible record of achievements and identity etched on the blockchain.

According to CoinDesk.com, It will “help navigate the trustless and largely pseudonymous nature of Web3 by creating socially verifiable reputations.” amongst many other advantages.

OpenSea and Warner Music Group

Any development tied to NFT or other aspects of the blockchain world is inadvertently tied to cryptocurrencies. WMG has partnered with OpenSea to allow select artists on its platform to go Web3 on OpenSea with their customizable landing pages. They can roll out limited edition NFTs, tell their stories uniquely with tailored templates and enjoy other features. According to WMG, their “collaboration with OpenSea helps to facilitate these communities by unlocking Web3 tools and resources to build opportunities for artists to establish deeper engagement, access, and ownership.”

RobinHood

RobinHood has opened up its stock investment platform and drifted away from its “walled garden” approach to accommodate cryptocurrencies. It launched its “RobinHood wallet” built on the Polygon blockchain which accepts no fee for transactions and allows you to swap trade, and even import previous wallets. It currently has 11 cryptocurrencies listed on it.

Walmart—Metaverse

Walmart steps into the crypto world with a form of indirect acceptance. You can use crypto to purchase Bitrefill and Coinsbee and then buy items at Walmart with gift cards.

Walmart also dives head-on into the metaverse with the launch of Walmart Land on the Roblox platform. It features a “physics-defying Ferris wheel, unlockable tokens and badges, an interactive piano walkway, and a D.J. booth for users.” It has many fests in its lineup of events with artists like YUNGBLUD, Madison Beer, and Kane Brown performing. It offers an “immersive experience” that integrates characters from Jurassic World, Magic Mixes, Paw Patrol, etc.

Fundings

Despite the bear market sending investors back to the base, we’ve witnessed immense funding rounds in the different quarters. A teenage founder has raised $30 million for his crypto start-up. The most iconic is Epic Games which raised $2 billion through a round led by Sony and Kirkbit. Other noteworthy funding rounds include Circle and Lithosphere - $400 million each,  Crusoe and Near - $350 million each. Other smaller investments include $20 million raised by the Solana Coral platform and $200 million by LootMogul.

National Adoption

Russia, against its initial stance, has come to accept crypto as favorable and has approved it for cross-border payments. It’ll have anti-money laundering eyes on guard and require proper KYC from exchanges and wallets that’ll operate within its borders.  Kazakhstan, due to the influx of Russians into the country is also set to legalize crypto.

France on the other hand just permitted the operation of Crypto.com, a major crypto marketplace. A lot of countries are adopting crypto and others are speaking about CBDCs as a step to getting digital with currencies in these past months.

Other Crypto Partnerships

Partnerships are important to crypto going mainstream. This is because it takes the familiar to introduce the unfamiliar. IRL brands and other traditional businesses teaming up with Web3 brands are essential. Binance has partnered with Christiano Ronaldo to create NFTs. Along the lines of sports, FIFA has also partnered with Algorand to provide a “blockchain-supported wallet solution”. Other major partnerships include Reddit—FTX, Virtuozone—Binance, and Ripple—Travelex.

The Ethereum Merge

Ethereum set the major stage for environmental sustainability in crypto by moving from the proof of work consensus mechanism to proof of stake. The move will drain its energy use by over 95% and potentially inspire other blockchains to make a similar move as well. The merge as it was dubbed didn’t save the market as many envisaged. Nature definitely has it to thank, saving it a great deal of decline.

Starbucks

One of the most profound moves into crypto by traditional brands is that of Starbucks. On the Polygon blockchain, Starbucks has launched its NFT as an extension of its loyalty program. Starbuck’s Odyssey as it’s called will offer stamps in form of NFTs that’ll give customers access to rewards and other immersive experiences. From its web app, users can purchase collectibles with no cryptocurrencies necessarily required.

Shardeum

Shardeum is a new blockchain that allows lower transactions per second through a linearly scalable blockchain. One of its most iconic perks is the low gas fees that it sustainably offers. It is fast and energy-efficient and permits Ethereum-built dApp.

Conclusion

The crypto world is extremely fast-evolving and every hour come with numerous headlines of news hard to comprehensively track or note. Adoption is speeding up and the industry keeps opening even despite the adverse market conditions. Blockchain and its extensions have definitely come to stay and so is the Web3 movement it has heralded.

Also published here.