Are we still early?

This is an everlasting debate on Crypto Twitter and there seems to be no satisfactory answer yet. The question is; “Are we still early to crypto”? Those for the argument believe that with the adoption already happening there’s definitely still more to come and that can only positively affect the price. Last year we saw the first country in the world accept Bitcoin as legal tender (El Salvador), we saw another country just this year (Tonga) accept donations in Bitcoin. We have seen some of the biggest brands and companies like Pepsi, Nike, Adidas, Rakuten and so many others all exploring with blockchain, crypto, NFTs and the Metaverse. We’ve seen some of the biggest hedge funds and institutional investors pivot on their stands on cryptocurrency and add crypto to their investments and balance sheets. All of this feels some market players with confidence that we are still early and there is still more upward movement to be attained.

These signs however to some mean that we are no longer as early as we think. With more institutional investors and big-name brands coming into the space, it means that there will be more regulations and maybe we’re really not as early as we think. To these people, before these brands come into the industry they must be convinced that it is in their best interest and they are not staunch believers in the technology. There has been an enormous growth of Venture Capitalists in the space, and it’s easier now more than ever for projects to raise funds. To this set of people, this sort of culture is not sustainable it is definitely going to implode and the entire crypto market will be worse for it, to this set we are setting up for an extended bear market the likes of what was seen between 2018/2019.

In deciding what side to pitch my tent with, I believe that we must assess both arguments and they are both sensible and logical arguments. While there has been an influx of institutional investors and some of the biggest brands in the world has been something to celebrate as a crypto enthusiast, it also raises concerns. The fact that these ‘smart investors’ are pivoting to crypto and see blockchain technology as one that has a future is something that anyone who has been in the space is most definitely happy for.

However, there are also alarm bells as every day we see more and more reasons why there might in fact be a very extended bear market. The market has proven that it goes in cycles and we just witnessed the greatest bull run ever. We watched Bitcoin grow from $20,000 to over $69,000 in just over a year, we saw alts go ballistic and make so many people life-changing money, we saw 6 figure airdrops, we saw projects raise insane amounts of money, we saw an influx of so many noobs, we saw some of the biggest scams and rug pulls in the industry. It all begs the question that when does this end? The market has been choppy for a while now and to many, this might be the signal to an upcoming bear market. I for one do not think we are going into a bear market, but it does call for caution, the market is just unreal right now and it calls for caution and a bit of worry.