It would be an understatement to say crypto is going through a rough time. Since bitcoin reached its all-time high of almost $70,000 last year, it has lost 70 per cent of its value. The entire market has shrunk by trillions of dollars.
Travelling to Amsterdam last month for the FT’s The Next Web (TNW) conference, a gathering of tech leaders, developers and investors, I was curious about the mood of attendees. I wondered how many would champion crypto; how many hardcore believers were left to preach using acronyms like “HODL”, short for “hold on for dear life”. To my surprise, folks were far from shy about discussing the industry. If anything, there was renewed enthusiasm for proclaiming crypto’s long-term value. As the saying goes, in the midst of a downturn, “now is the time to build”.
The topic of the day was non-fungible tokens (NFTs), digital collectibles whose buyers get ownership certificates on the blockchain. They’re usually bought with cryptocurrency. Like the broader community, their biggest believers remained confident. Perhaps because the tokens are associated with the optimistic notion of the Web3 internet, supposedly powered by forces of social connection and decentralisation. But also because last year, sales of NFTs totalled almost $41bn, sparking a gold rush that brought companies and artists piling into the market, hurrying to release their own versions.