Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Apr 24, 2025

0:00
0:00

The Crypto Bear Market Could Last Two Years, Top Investors Say

Cryptocurrencies are famous for their wild price swings, and in their short history, they’ve gone through multiple cycles of scorching-hot summers followed by frigid, long winters. The last downturn began in early 2018 and lasted about two and a half years.
Over the past three months, with inflation spiking and recession concerns spreading, bitcoin has dropped from a high of $48,000 to roughly $21,000. Today, some top investors think we’re in for another painful, extended period of low prices.

“The next two years are going to be really rough,” says Avichal Garg, a managing partner at Electrical Capital, a crypto investment fund with more than $1 billion in assets. His fundamental views on the industry’s promise haven’t changed. “New software developers are coming in, and we're seeing more and more high-quality founders. We see Web2 executives from Facebook and Google coming in at a faster clip,” he says. But one big factor has backers particularly nervous: “It's the first time that crypto and Web3 has existed in a macroeconomic bear-market environment, where there's potentially a recession happening next year,” Garg says. (Bitcoin was created in early 2009, shortly before the Financial Crisis ended.)

Alex Pack, a managing partner at Hack VC, a $200 million (assets) crypto venture fund, agrees. “One to two years is what everyone is saying ... And that's what we are telling our portfolio companies–make sure you have two years of runway.”

Beyond broader economic worries and the recent collapse of “stable coin” TerraUSD, major doubts have spread about crypto lending platform Celsius. After it recently froze withdrawals, many are questioning its solvency. “Always be skeptical, even in a bull market, when any of these platforms are promising really high interest rates,” says Linda Xie, co-head of crypto fund Scalar Capital. “Sometimes this sounds too good to be true, and that's because it is. There may be a lot of leverage and high-risk activity going on behind the scenes.”

Despite the many reasons for apprehension, crypto investors seem to be more optimistic so far than they were during the last downturn of 2018 to 2019. “There was a genuine worry among many investors and builders that crypto as an asset class wouldn’t come back from its 2017 highs,” Pack says. That fear evaporated in December 2020, when bitcoin topped $20,000. Pack and Xie think the industry is in a stronger place now because there are more cryptocurrency use cases and users. For example, digital art NFTs (nonfungible tokens) have attracted millions of buyers. “Decentralized finance” applications, such as software that lets people earn interest on deposits, have grown steadily, although some have also flamed out in a spectacular fashion.

What needs to happen for prices to bounce back? The stock market needs to recover, some say. “We would need to see equities turn around before real capital flows back to bitcoin,” says Joshua Lim, a managing director and head of derivatives at crypto prime brokerage Genesis. Tarun Chitra, a digital asset investor and the CEO of crypto risk-modeling startup Gauntlet, has a similar view: “I expect crypto and growth equities to continue to be correlated for 12 to 18 months.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump administration moves to BAN essentially ALL artificial food dyes in the USA food supply at RFK Jr.'s direction
Woman slaps man at sports game and gets herself and husband beat up
Pope Francis: head of the Catholic church who pushed for social and economic justice
China do not pay these tariffs - you pay it. This is new 145% tax you pay to the US government.
Nightlife in the streets of Manchester
In God We Profit
Cultural Battles in the Vatican: The Candidates in the Battle for the Holy See and Pope Francis's Testament
Global Leaders Pay Tribute to Pope Francis Following His Death
Wild Chimpanzees Observed Bonding Over Alcoholic Fruit
US Federal Reserve Chair Issues Warning on Tariff Impact
UK Prison Officers Demand Electric Stun Guns Amid Safety Concerns
China, China, China!
Australian National Charged as Mercenary for Fighting in Ukraine
Israel Considers Limited Strikes on Iran's Nuclear Facilities Amid Diplomatic Efforts
Prince Andrew Joins Royal Family Attends Easter Sunday Service at Windsor Castle
Saudi Arabia Offers Max Verstappen Unprecedented Deal to Join Aston Martin
Global Pistachio Shortage Amid Rising Demand for 'Dubai Chocolate'
Trump is assembling a coalition of Western leaders aligned with the MAGA vision, strengthening a unified front for global change
IMF Predicts No Global Recession Amid Trade Tensions
Here’s a police officer with a brilliant gift for swift education
"Some complain that we put thousands in prison. In reality, we set millions free."
This is Vienna, Austria in 2025.
Boeing Jet Returns to US from China Amid Tariff War
Canadian Federal Election: Candidates' Positions on US-Canada Relations and Donald Trump
Resentencing Hearing for Menendez Brothers Who Killed Their Parents Delayed Amid Legal Disputes
Australian Woman Gives Birth To Stranger's Baby In IVF Mix-up
US Sets Deadline for Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal Brokerage
Italy Introduces 'Sex Rooms' in Prisons for Inmates
California Launches Legal Challenge Against Trump Administration's Tariffs
"Groundless": China Dismisses Zelensky's Claims It's Supplying Arms To Russia
UK Psytrance Festival Cancelled Amid Local Protests Over Noise Concerns
French Far-Right Writer Renaud Camus Denied Entry to UK
UK Police Force Updates Search Policy for Trans Individuals in Custody
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Meets with Donald Trump to Discuss EU-US Trade Tensions
Canada's Federal Party Leaders Engage in Final Debate Ahead of General Election
Ukraine and US Sign Outline of Minerals Deal
Fast Food Chain Refuses to Apologize for Online Comment About Katy Perry's Space Voyage
New York Attorney General Letitia James Faces Criminal Referral for Alleged Mortgage Fraud
Mark Cuban admits support for Trump executive order: ‘Gotta be honest’
US Senator Meets with Deported Immigrant in El Salvador Amid Custody Dispute
U.S. State Department Raises El Salvador’s Safety Ranking, Making It Safer Than France and Other European Nations
UK Government Assumes Control of British Steel's Scunthorpe Plant Amid Shutdown Threat
UK MP Wera Hobhouse Denied Entry to Hong Kong During Family Visit
Bangladesh Issues Arrest Warrant for UK MP Tulip Siddiq
China Urges United States to Cancel Tariffs Amid Escalating Trade Tensions
The Empire’s USD Pyramid Scheme Is Working Brilliantly—So Why ‘Fix’ It?
China Raises Tariffs on U.S. Goods to 125% Amid Escalating Trade Dispute
Elon Musk Reports $150 Billion in Projected Government Savings Amid Fraud Investigations
U.S. and Panama Finalize Defense Agreements Amid Canal Access and Chinese Influence Concerns
China Stands Firm Amidst Trade Disputes with the US: A Factual Analysis
×