Crypto's Very Bad, No Good Year

It’s safe to say that 2022 wasn’t the best year for crypto. By late January, Bitcoin had already shed half its value from its all-time high set the previously November - nearly $69,000. And Bitcoin prices stayed on a downward trend that only accelerated after the first major crisis of 2022, the collapse of an algorithmic stablecoin called TerraUSD. The implosion of what was once considered an ambitious experiment for DeFi sent shockwaves through the industry, ultimately triggering the collapse of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and bankruptcies at crypto lenders Voyager Digital and Celsius. It started to feel a bit like the Hunger Games - crypto CEOs and other senior executives racing for the exit, true believers getting into Twitter fights about whether centralisation was the real enemy, all against a backdrop of conferences and parties where people tried to rekindle enthusiasm for their Bored Ape collections. Then - most recently of course - the stunning collapse of one of the most significant crypto exchanges in the sector, FTX and the resignation of its 30-year-old CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Quite the year. And it isn’t over yet. In this episode - a breakdown of the year’s biggest stories with Bloomberg reporters Vildana Hajric and Emily Nicolle, with key takeaways and a look ahead to next year. Subscribe to the Bloomberg Crypto Newsletter at https://bloom.bg/cryptonewsletter

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