The cryptocurrency market as a whole has recently gone through a major drop; the biggest player in the market, Bitcoin, has gone from a high in November 2021 of $67,582 USD for one coin to $19,762 USD in July 2022.
Significant price drops similar to Bitcoin can be seen across most of the major crypto currencies, and many speculate that cryptocurrency as a whole may be dying, and it’s time for investors to jump ship and go back to traditional investment options.
If you’re a crypto investor, then you need to understand whether cryptocurrency is dead or if there is a possibility for it to make a comeback.
Is Cryptocurrency Dead?
Cryptocurrency can be broken into different types of crypto; it all depends on its purpose. There are pure investment cryptos, utility coins, privacy coins, Metaverse coins, and a range of others. So it’s unlikely that cryptocurrency as a whole will ever die as there are many cryptos that are serving specific purposes.
What has been seen in the first half of 2022 and potentially through the end of the year is a major dip or market correction in the price of most cryptocurrencies.
Almost all cryptos had a huge increase in price leading up to highs in November 2021, but after that, the market couldn’t sustain those high prices.
Often during a major correction, as we’re seeing now, many investors will panic and dump their crypto rather than holding it and waiting for a rebound in price.
Are Any Cryptocurrencies Dead?
There are over 19,000 different cryptocurrencies, with many dying and new cryptos emerging constantly. Some cryptocurrencies are set up as pure investment coins, so there is nothing backing them aside from speculation that they can make investors money.
With the huge interest in cryptocurrencies in the past few years, many cryptos have emerged to take advantage of speculation and investors attempting to find the next big crypto to make money .
However, with a significant drop in the cryptocurrency market, many of the smaller cryptos have likely died as the price has dropped to $0, and there is no interest in purchasing more of them.
Without a strong community, a real purpose, or a high enough price, no cryptocurrency will survive for long, and when there are major market dips, as we’re seeing now, that’s when many of these smaller cryptos do die.
Cryptocurrency Prices
Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency, and with such high prices, you can see a significant change from July 2021 to July 2022. Most other cryptocurrencies follow suit with major price changes of Bitcoin, which you see in the table below.
| Crypto | July 2021 | November 2021 | July 2022 |
| Bitcoin | $35,312.80 | $67,582.60 | $19,744.50 |
| Ethereum | $2,323.15 | $4,818.97 | $1,118.21 |
| Monero | $219.93 | $267.93 | $120.40 |
| Litecoin | $144.94 | $279.36 | $51.13 |
| Decentraland | $0.58 | $5.22 | $0.89 |
The potential is there that crypto investors that have been dumping Bitcoin are also dumping other coins.
It may also be that with the huge amount of mainstream news around the Bitcoin price drop that anybody with any crypto may be panicked overall and dump whatever crypto they have.
However, you can see that Decentraland (MANA) did go significantly up in November 2021 with the rest of the cryptocurrencies, and it has dropped back down, but not below its previous year’s price. MANA is a Metaverse utility coin, and it’s had a significant interest as more people move into the Metaverse.
Historical Cryptocurrency Prices
Looking at historical cryptocurrency prices, you see there is a general market trend sometimes, the peaks and dips take a little time to propagate out from major Bitcoin changes, but overall you see the same changes in price around the same time.
| Bitcoin | Ethereum | Monero | |
| May 2017 | $925.06 | $10.58 | N/A |
| Dec 2017 | $19,650.01 | $710.58 | $189.34 |
| Dec 2018 | $3,183.51 | $83.03 | $46.86 |
| August 2019 | $11,237.70 | $317.00 | $94.47 |
| May 2020 | $5,165.25 | $122.17 | $65.75 |
| March 2021 | $61,283.80 | $1,924.40 | $238.44 |
| July 2021 | $31,576.20 | $2,540.12 | $239.51 |
| November 2021 | $67,582.60 | $4,416.18 | $270.56 |
| July 2022 | $19,855.30 | $1,129.65 | $120.93 |
What you should be looking at is the general flow of prices as the years tick along, you have a high as the crypto is created, it may dip as it tries to find a place in the crypto world, and then it falls into the peaks and dips of the market, but overall prices keep going up.
Will Cryptocurrency Prices Bounce Back?
The cryptocurrency market has ongoing but somewhat predictable flows of price fluctuations, and part of the major fluctuations is that many non-investors want some crypto and buy-in when things are going well but then dump everything when prices appear to be headed down.
However, after each dip, most established cryptocurrencies bounce back and hit a new all-time high, which gets more media attention, and more non-investors put money into cryptocurrencies until there is a market correction and another dip in price.
If the current dip follows previous price dips, it could be expected that November 2022 or July 2023 may see a huge increase in crypto prices across the board and may even see all-time highs for some cryptocurrencies.
Why Are Cryptocurrencies Fluctuating?
There are two primary theories around the fluctuations of the cryptocurrency market, and it’s no different from other investment markets around the world. However, one big difference with crypto is that many aren’t backed by a tangible product or service, so simply follow the overall crypto market very closely.
Non-Investors Help Push the Price of Crypto Up And Down
First off, cryptocurrency is a hot topic for the media to report on, any big fluctuations are heavily reported around the world and drum up excitement or fear depending on which way the price is going.
As prices go up, more non-investors jump on board for a quick payout without fully understanding the market or what cryptos really are. When prices dip slightly, the majority of non-investors dump their crypto, which has a snowball effect.
Major Investors Manipulate the Crypto Market
The second component in crypto price fluctuations is market manipulation by big investors who many people suggest are buying huge amounts of crypto to help push the price up and garner media attention.
It’s believed big investors wait for a high enough price peak, and then perform a significant sell-off through multiple accounts to incite fear into the non-investors who help drop the price even further.
This type of manipulation isn’t only seen in crypto, and the somewhat predictable changes in the price of the overall crypto market suggest a design or purpose with it, rather than random fluctuations.
Are Crypto Investors The Only Reason For Price Changes?
Bitcoin and investors are significant reasons for major fluctuations in the overall crypto market, and that may never change. People will always get excited to purchase a good thing, but when fear strikes, they will dump their investment quickly.
You’re also going to constantly have people trying to introduce new investment cryptos for the sole purpose of making money, and those will always go with the market peaks and dips, and if they’re not marketed well enough, they will become dead during major dips.
There are other cryptocurrencies that serve a real purpose, and while their overall price is impacted by the crypto market and investors, their utility function keeps them alive and helps push their prices up as the component that backs those gains in popularity.
Cryptocurrencies and the Dark Web
The Dark Web is a part of the Internet not easily accessible to everybody; it provides a place to anonymously share information, and buy products and services which may be illegal or at least in the gray area of the law.
It’s estimated that 1 Billion USD worth of sales happens on the Dark Web each year, and that requires some type of payment system, which is a number of cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrency provides a secure online payment system that doesn’t need to be linked to a bank account or your identity. So if you’re buying illegal things, your bank account doesn’t need to be linked, and the same is true if you’re selling illegal products and services.
The crypto used on the Dark Web has a specific purpose that is required. So even if there are market fluctuations and price changes. There is still a requirement or demand for the crypto being used. So it’s unlikely that this type of crypto would die.
Is Bitcoin Used On The Dark Web?
Historically Bitcoin was the crypto of choice on the Dark Web; it is the most popular crypto and is the easiest for most people to purchase. It’s still significantly used on many marketplaces or for individuals, but it’s no longer the defacto standard on the Darknet.
There are significant issues with Bitcoin when used on the Dark Web regarding the privacy of your transactions. It’s possible to trace your Bitcoin transactions back to the source, which is you and your bank account.
Privacy issues resulted in Dark Web marketplaces introducing Bitcoin mixers, which help to obfuscate whose Bitcoins are being used for which transactions. But, Bitcoin mixers have been found to be traceable with some additional effort.
Which Crypto Is Used On The Dark Web?
Monero (XMR) is becoming the de facto standard for transactions on the Dark Web due to it being a privacy coin. Transactions using XMR can’t be traced, and IP addresses aren’t tracked. And even the amount being used in the transaction isn’t possible to see.
With Monero becoming the standard crypto used in a 1 Billion dollar industry. It isn’t going anywhere, and as it becomes more popular and more people get introduced to the Dark Web, its demand and price will go up.
Price fluctuations are expected for Monero, but because there is a specific reason for its existence now, it won’t disappear based on market fluctuations.
Cryptocurrencies and the Metaverse
The Metaverse or Web 3.0 is expected to become the next evolution of the Internet. And cryptocurrencies are a significant component of the Metaverse. Allowing people to buy and sell anything without the need for payment processors that plague Web 2.0.
With demand increasing for MANA and other utility cryptos. They may see fluctuations in price from the overall crypto market. But with a real and increasing need for their existence. They won’t become dead, and their price should continue upwards.
You can even see that as the crypto market dips and peaks, MANA and other utility cryptos can increase in price during the dip. Because demand is increasing as more users join the platforms.
Is Cryptocurrency Really Dead?
Cryptocurrency as a whole is not dead. Here is no expectation that crypto will disappear from usage or investment portfolios. In fact, there is an expectation that most established cryptos will bounce back from the current dip. And prices will continue upwards.
Utility cryptos like MANA and XMR are impacted by market fluctuations. But the demand for these cryptos is more than the investment requirements. So they won’t disappear or die unless their platforms fail to succeed.
The only cryptocurrencies expected to die are those that fail to capture a community of investors. Or have no real purpose to exist and simply fade away with a $0 price.