No matter how hard it’s knocked down, crypto tends to float back up like a tenacious balloon. This resilience has been evident throughout my years covering the decentralized market and economy since 2013.
However, the current crypto downturn is showing some noticeable differences.
The Exchange explores startups, markets, and money. Read it every morning on TechCrunch+ or get The Exchange newsletter every Saturday.
After a prolonged period of decline, known as the “crypto winter,” blockchains and their constituent tokens and services are starting to rebound. The data paints a clear picture: Spot trading volumes hit a 12-month high earlier this month, the total value of crypto tokens has significantly appreciated in recent months, and even NFTs are showing signs of life.
In addition to these positive indicators, the recent launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs shows that the legal system in the critical United States technology market may remain more crypto-positive than in other parts of the world, such as China and India.
Despite this string of good news, venture capitalists’ interest in web3 startups continued to decline in Q4 2023, dropping even further below the severely depressed figures seen in the third quarter. This raises the question: when will VCs resume investing in the space?