Dan Held: “The current crypto winter is not as severe as the previous ones”

At The Capital Conference CoinMarketCap, Business Development Director of the Kraken crypto exchange, Dan Held, compared the mood in the crypto market with those that were ten years ago.

Dan Held became a crypto enthusiast in 2012, when people treated bitcoin as an unusual phenomenon, since in that “early era” there were no alternative coins. Judging by Held’s observations, despite the large number of discussions about the “crypto winter” of 2022, the mood of traders and their reaction to the market decline now and a few years ago are very different from each other.

“Previously, only retail investors invested in bitcoin, and in 2019-2020, institutional players began to appear on the market. Now it seems almost unreal how big financial giants like JPMorgan are talking positively about bitcoin, because back in 2013 they thought we were crazy, ”says Held.

Kraken’s top manager added that there have been major changes in the macroeconomic environment in recent weeks that have affected digital assets. Now people are trying to hedge risks, so they are selling bitcoin and other crypto assets. However, this “bear cycle” is different from the previous one, as there are now thousands of companies willing to become participants in the crypto market. A large number of venture capital funds are raising billions of dollars to expand the cryptocurrency ecosystem and create products that will bring value.

“Those who are now criticizing bitcoin are simply showing their dislike for what they personally do not use. It goes something like this: I don’t crochet, so it has no value. Although there are people who consider it a necessary and useful occupation. So everything is subjective,” added the business development director.

Some industry participants believe that periods of bearish trends make room for stronger and more sustainable cryptocurrency projects, thereby strengthening the market. This opinion is shared by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. DAppRadar analysts believe that in the event of a protracted crypto winter, 80% of DeFi projects may “go overboard.”