After a year of collapses, cryptocurrency’s future in the balance

In the past year, crypto values halved - and then halved again, hitting investors with more than US$2tril (RM8.6tril) in combined losses. And yet analysts don't think the Bitcoin roller coaster ride is over just yet. — Photo: Marijan Murat/dpa

WASHINGTON: Spectacular cryptocurrency failures in 2022 have raised the stakes for the industry amid questions about the enduring viability of a technology that advocates say has the potential to revolutionize finance.

The crypto market lost trillions in valuation last year, spurred by the crash of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD in May and the failure of FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges, in November. With a total global market cap once put at close to US$3tril (RM13tril), the industry now has a value that CoinMarketCap, a site that tracks prices, puts closer to US$800bil (RM3.46tril).