What a year it’s been in crypto
Welcome to my last weekly update of 2022, and what a year it’s been.
As ever, we forget just how much changes in a year as we’re constantly distracted by our own pre-occupations, but let me remind you that on this date last year:
Bitcoin was at $47,641, UK interest rates were at 0.25%, inflation was at 5.13%, Ukraine was, like all other countries, preparing for Christmas blissfully unaware of what was about to happen and it was easy to secure a two year electricity deal at just a few pence per KwH.
We also had a thriving crypto industry with companies like FTX and Celsius ruling the roost and spending fortunes on Super Bowl ads, the likes of Mike Novogratz getting so over excited about Luna he got it tattooed on his arm and NFTs selling for eye watering prices over a pre Proof-of-Stake and heavily congested Ethereum network on which the fees to buy those NFTs often matched the price they were selling at in the first place.
Just a few short months later and it’s all gone. Apart from Mike Novogratz’s tattoo of course.
So what did we learn?
We probably don’t want to admit it to ourselves but the harsh truth is, probably nothing – at least from an investing point of view. I may not be talking about you and I individually, but collectively we know we’ll follow the exact same cycle as soon as the opportunity presents itself. That is, we’ll get completely over excited by the new thing, over commit, push the boundaries and the Sam Bankman-Frieds among us will find loopholes that allow fortunes to be created from nothing – for as long as it lasts at least.
But that’s only one side of the story. The ruins of what came before are always fertile grounds for the next generation of ideas and this time is no exception. This fledgling industry is SO young that we don’t even know what we don’t know yet. Sometimes we forget that. We’ve simply worked out a few more ways that don’t work and, that, ladies and gentlemen, is part of the process.
And let’s not forget we’ve been here before – dozens of times in fact – with every new technology and idea, most recently with the internet. This very subject was the focus of my most recent podcast with a young and extremely bright economist at Cowshed a couple of weeks ago. If you weren’t around when the internet first came about, you might be interested to hear about some of the issues of the time. Some may sound very familiar.
Of course, none of this affects Bitcoin itself, sitting, as it does, firmly outside of the industry that has built up around it, despite what mainstream media attempts to portray. While you and I are snuffling down the turkey (or nut roast in my case case) and over indulging in, well, everything over the next two weeks, it’ll still be ticking away, block by block; unmoved, unaffected and uninterested in anything except the next hash.
And while I have no idea what I’ll be writing about this time next year or where exactly the industry will be, I find that permanency of Bitcoin incredibly reassuring.
Mike Novogratz’s tattoo less so.
Have a great Christmas!
Thank you for reading my Friday summary over the last year, it has been a privilege sharing the journey and learning with you. I’d personally like to thank my editor, Darren Parkin, for his corrections and guidance over the last twelve months as well as his patience with train wi-fi systems when trying to publish to deadline. Last, but not least, thanks to James Bowater for putting the whole darn thing together in the first place.
Crypto AM be back with on-line editorial on (insert date here) so, in the meantime, have a fabulous Christmas break and we look forward to continuing to build the future with you in 2023!
This is your last chance in 2022 to grab £10’s worth of Bitcoin FREE from Luno*! Simply download the app, verify and enter code BPJDEANE *18+, UK resident, new to Luno
Yesterday’s Crypto AM Daily in association with Luno
In the markets
The Bitcoin Economy
*Data can be found at https://terminal.bytetree.com/
Total crypto market cap
The total capitalisation of the entire cryptocurrency market at time of writing is currently $827.344 billion.
What Bitcoin did yesterday
We closed yesterday, 15 December 2022, at a price of $17,364.86. The daily high yesterday was $17,846.74, and the daily low was $17,322.59.
Bitcoin market capitalisation
Bitcoin’s market capitalisation at time of writing is $327.32 billion. To put it into context, the market cap of gold is $11.939 trillion and Tesla is $497.88 billion.
Bitcoin volume
The total spot trading volume reported by all exchanges over the last 24 hours was $23.32 billion. High volumes can indicate that a significant price movement has stronger support and is more likely to be sustained.
Volatility
The price volatility of Bitcoin over the last 30 days is 29.08%.
Fear and Greed Index
Market sentiment today is 29, in Fear.
Bitcoin’s market dominance
Bitcoin’s market dominance today is 41.62. Its lowest ever recorded dominance was 37.09 on January 1 2018.
Relative Strength Index (RSI)
The daily RSI is currently 46.73. Values of 70 or above indicate that an asset is becoming overbought and may be primed for a trend reversal or experience a correction in price – an RSI reading of 30 or below indicates an oversold or undervalued condition.
Convince your Nan: Soundbite of the day
- “Every informed person needs to know about Bitcoin because it might be one of the world’s most important developments.”
— Leon Luow, Nobel Peace Prize nominee
What they said yesterday
Patience
Generational
Punny
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All feedback on Crypto AM Daily in association with Luno is welcome via email to James.Bowater@cityam.com 🙏🏻
Crypto AM: Editor’s picks
Sam Bankman-Fried: A tissue of lies soaked with fake tears?
Three-in-four wealth managers are gearing up for more cryptocurrency exposure
Crypto.com granted FCA licence to operate in UK
Q&A with Duncan Coutts, Principal Technical Architect at IO Global
Jamie Bartlett – on the trail of the missing ‘Cryptoqueen’
MPs are falling silent over potential of cryptocurrency
Erica’s ‘Crypto Wars’ handed honours in Business Book Awards
‘Let people invest’: Matt Hancock makes case for liberal crypto rules
Explained: Why the Treasury is so sold on stablecoins
Fears crypto is used to avoid sanctions ‘misplaced,’ says Matt Hancock
The cryptocurrency fundraisers behind Ukraine’s military effort
Crypto AM: Features
Crypto AM: Founders Series
Crypto AM: Industry Voices
Crypto AM: Contributors
Crypto AM: In Conversation with James Bowater
Crypto AM: Tomorrow’s Money with Gavin S Brown
Crypto AM: Mixing in the Metaverse with Dr Chris Kacher
Crypto AM: Visions of the Future, Past & Present with Alex Lightman
Crypto AM: Tiptoe through the Crypto with Monty Munford
Crypto AM: Taking a Byte out of Digital Assets with Jonny Fry
Crypto on the catwalk
Crypto AM: Events
For those of you who missed the Crypto AM DeFi & Digital Inclusion online summit 2021 – you can now watch the event in two parts via YouTube
Part One
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvqNMNZTIDE
Part Two
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXhX_-Tr5j0
Cautionary Notes
It’s definitely tempting to get swept up in the excitement, but please heed these words of caution: Do your own research, only invest what you can afford, and make good decisions. The indicators contained in this article will hopefully help in this. Remember though, the content of this article is for information purposes only and is not investment advice or any form of recommendation or invitation. City AM, Crypto AM and Luno always advise you to obtain your own independent financial advice before investing or trading in cryptocurrency.
All information is correct as of 08:00 BST