As The Crypto Market Bleeds, The Polkadot Ecosystem Doubles Down On Development

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Following a meteoric digital asset boom in 2021, the crypto market has dramatically changed course this year. The top cryptocurrencies have all been on a downward slide as investors cashed out of their positions in digital tokens and NFTs. 

The economy has been in a downward trend for some time now, not helped by the enduring COVID-19 pandemic and the outbreak of war in Ukraine. As well as crypto, stock markets have also taken a hit as bearish sentiment grips the financial markets. 

To date, the cryptocurrency market has plummeted from a peak valuation of USD 3 trillion in November to just USD 1.3 trillion this week. Bitcoin, the world’s most valuable crypto, has seen its price fall by almost 40% in the year to date, while other tokens have lost even more. Ethereum, the second-biggest crypto by market capitalization, is down 53%. Meanwhile NFT sales have dropped by 80% from a January high of almost USD 1 billion. 

It has been a brutal run for investors, particularly “HODLERS” who’ve seen the value of their portfolios bleed, and many are having a hard time keeping their emotions in check. Yet for all the turmoil seen so far this year, it’s still not clear if we’re entering the next “crypto winter”, a term for a multiyear bear market that seems to occur on a cyclical basis in the crypto space. The last one lasted from 2018 until the end of 2020 and saw Bitcoin tumble from its previous all-time high of just under USD 20,000 to around USD 3,600. 

What does seem clear is that not every crypto project will survive the current downturn. With more than 19,000 cryptocurrencies in existence