Offchain: Crypto's Biggest Moments of 2022
Last year saw few positive cryptocurrency headlines. Was there even a glimmer of hope?
The end of 2021 felt like a hangover after all time highs. We soberly asked ourselves back in January last year: everyone’s lining up to dunk on crypto. Are we the bad guys? As early as May 2022, there were already some strong contenders for villain of the year. By the end of the year, the votes would have been unanimous. Outside of crypto, a weak economy and war piled on the bad news. With few green candlestick days last year, the saving grace once again was technology.
Story One
Galaxy Digital CEO's infamous Luna tattoo ends in tragedy as ecosystem implodes
The 2022 year started off with Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novagratz showing off his fresh LUNA ink on Twitter. In the now infamous tweet, the then self-described "Lunatic", thanked Terra founder Do Kwon for his algorithmic stablecoin project. Not long after we wondered aloud: Terra is buying billions in Bitcoin and the price is surging. Is it just a Ponzi primed to collapse? By May, the LUNA-UST ecosystem had imploded. Do Kwon continues to be on the run, only making a rare appearance online. As for the tattoo, Novagratz would go on to say: “My tattoo will be a constant reminder that venture investing requires humility.”
Story Two
The downfall of 3AC, Voyager Digital, and Celsius
By the middle of the year, the crypto credit bubble had started to come off the boil. It doesn't really matter in which order who went down first. Three Arrows Capital, Voyager Digital and Celsius would all soon be in administration. Amidst an industry beginning to show signs of strife, we mused that crypto was no longer a trillion dollar asset class.
Story Three
Ethereum merge signals end of miners, decreases energy, detractors still complain
A bright spot in the calendar, Ethereum’s upgrade to Proof-of-Stake decreased the energy required to power the network by more than 99 percent. This move away from Proof-of-Work to 'validators' which stake ETH, signalled the end of miners on the Ethereum blockchain. The transition has been smooth and could not have been better timed for some with volatile energy and crypto prices forcing many crypto miners to struggle. Detractors who point to increased centralisation in Ethereum as a result are still able to enjoy the reduced emissions in the atmosphere while whinging.
Story Four
FTX dies as industry giants' tug-of-war leads to consolidation of crypto exchange volumes
An event so big it takes spots 4 AND 5. The year will undoubtedly be remembered as the year FTX died. But before words like 'polycule' entered our vocabulary, a tug of war between two industry giants who go by their initials set the scene for the downfall of one of them. Exchange volumes have since consolidated to CZ's operation but there are always other choices of exchanges and apps to trade cryptocurrency.
Story Five
Former crypto poster boy SBF arrested in damning criminal comedy of errors
In our final edition of the year, we watched in real time the potentially criminal comedy of errors that led to SBF's arrest. In the weeks leading to him walking out of his home in cuffs, the evidence had grown to a damning extent. And while entertaining at the time, the crypto community had enough of his attempts to resuscitate the company. The former poster boy of the last bull run had finally united the crypto community - even if it is to loathe him.
Amy from CoinJar
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