Crypto Forecast for 2022 ⛈️

I updated the PayPal app this morning, and I was surprised to see the option to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency. PayPal added the feature back in October 2020, but I had not noticed, telling you something about how much I track crypto-investment opportunities. Sitting on the sidelines and avoiding investments that fluctuate when Elon Musk tweets, I have to rely on others’ accounts of buying and selling crypto. Doing so, I am certain of two things: mainstream adoption is happening, and market volatility is commonplace. 

By the Numbers
Crypto startups raised $25BN in funding last year, smashing the previous record of $4.7BN in 2018. This year is already off to a great start, with several of the largest crypto players raising mega-rounds just in the last few weeks. FTX Exchange raised $400MM last week for its crypto exchange platform. Fireblocks, which builds crypto infrastructure for financial institutions, raised $550MM.

                                               FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried
Crypto Winter
Still, it’s not all sunshine for digital currency startups. Prices of cryptocurrencies are dropping, and experts speculate that we’re entering a "crypto winter," the worst we’ve seen since price declines in 2018. Moreover, public crypto startups are feeling the icy cold staredown from regulators. Coinbase’s stock price is down nearly 50% since its public debut. 

Regardless, founders are optimistic that building the infrastructure around crypto is good business, and that current market volatility need not affect them as they delay plans to go public.

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