According to David Marcus, CEO, and founder of Bitcoin firm Lightspark, the "crypto winter" will likely last until 2025. In a blog post released on December 30th, Marcus stated that it would take a couple of years for the market to recover from the actions of unscrupulous players and for responsible regulation to come through. He also noted that it would take a few years to rebuild consumer trust but ultimately believes this will be a beneficial reset for legitimate industry players over the long run. Marcus reserved special attention for the Bitcoin Lightning Network, stating that it.
"will start to show promise as the world's most effective open, interoperable, cheap, real-time payments protocol."
The Impacts of the FTX Scandal on the Crypto Market
Less than two months after the FTX meltdown, the repercussions continue to unsettle sentiment and price performance. Marcus referenced "unscrupulous players" dragging out market underperformance beyond next year. The event has led to decreased optimism in the crypto market as we approach the end of the year.
However, other big names in the industry have come out supporting crypto's long-term prospects post-FTX. Investment giant ARK Invest and its CEO, Cathie Wood, have been particularly vocal in supporting decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Wood stated in a widely-circulated tweet,
"The Bitcoin blockchain didn't skip a beat during the crisis caused by opaque centralized players. No wonder Sam Bankman Fried didn't like Bitcoin: it's transparent and decentralized. He couldn't control it."
The Future of Bitcoin and Crypto Prices
Opinions on the future of Bitcoin and crypto prices continue to diverge. Some believe that the worst of Bitcoin's latest bear market is already over, while others continue to warn of a deeper BTC price dive to $10,000 or lower. BTC/USD traded at around $16,500 on December 31st, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, continuing to shun significant volatility with hours to go until the end of the year.
The potential impact of the "crypto winter" on Bitcoin's four-year halving cycles, which tend to produce growth in specific years, is also a point of discussion. 2024, the year of the next halving, is increasingly being tipped as a period of bullish price action, with some predicting the uptrend starting a year earlier in Q2 2023.
Real-World Applications and Solving Real-World Problems
Despite the uncertain market outlook, Marcus remains optimistic about the future of crypto. He stated that "in crypto, years of greed will make room for real-world applications" and that;
"the years of creating a token out of thin air and making millions are over. The music has stopped. We're back to our regular programming of having to create real value and solving real-world problems."
