Crypto Market Sees Uncertain Future as Investors Look to 2023
• Bitcoin prices remain in a narrow range as investors prepare for the new year.
• Crypto exchange tokens are responding more to news developments than what regulators might be contemplating.
• Analysts believe the crypto community will be looking for a more positive year in 2023, but that may be difficult in the short term.
As the New Year’s holiday weekend came to a close, the outlook for the crypto market was uncertain. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was trading at roughly $16,700, up 0.6% over the past 24 hours. For the last 15 days of the year, BTC had been hovering between $16,400 and $17,000. Other major cryptos, such as Ethereum, had also seen some gains.
In spite of the slight uptick in prices, the crypto market has seen a turbulent year in 2022. Fears of inflation and a sharp recession have put a strain on the industry, and the fallout from the November failure of crypto exchange giant FTX has done little to reassure investors. Analysts seem to agree that the crypto community won’t be sorry to see the back of 2022, and will be hoping for a more positive year in 2023.
However, the future is still far from certain. Crypto exchange tokens have been responding more to news developments than what regulators might be contemplating, making it difficult to predict where the market will go in the coming months. Craig Erlam, senior analyst at foreign exchange market maker Oanda, noted that there might be a lot to ask of the crypto community in the short term. He said: “Who knows what’s to come in 2023 but at the very least, they’ll be hoping to put the FTX scandal behind them and focus once more on innovation and adoption.”
Time will tell if the crypto market will find any reprieve in 2023. The New Year holiday weekend may have brought temporary solace, but investors are still unsure of what the future holds.