Note that forecasts for cryptocurrencies are a thankless topic. In particular, there is a prediction from developer John McAfee, who predicted BTC to grow to a million dollars by the end of 2020. In the end, he said that such a prediction should not have been believed in the first place.

Developer John McAfee

One may also recall the famous trader and founder of crypto exchange BitMEX, Arthur Hayes. Earlier this year, he stated that ETH should be worth $10,000 by the end of 2022 if the transition of the Etherium blockchain to the Proof-of-Stake algorithm is successful. Hayes attributed his version to a significant decline in new Ether issuance, as well as the possibility of this asset becoming a deflationary asset. As we can see, the developers moved the blockchain to PoS without any problems, but it did not save the market from a fall.

In general, rather logical forecasts are irrelevant. For example, at the end of July 2022, US GDP data was released, with the figure turning negative for the second quarter in a row. Officially, this means recession, which is a negative verdict for the economy. However, cryptocurrencies then reacted to the news with a sharp rise. Here are the results of the change in exchange rates that day.

Cryptocurrencies rise on July 28, 2022

Despite this, analysts continue to voice their version of events. And some of them turn out to be quite sensational.

How much will Bitcoin be worth in 2023?

Eric Robertsen, head of research at Standard Chartered, left the following comment in the corporation’s annual analyst report.

Yields are falling along with tech stocks, and while Bitcoin’s “sell-off” is slowing, the damage has already been done.

That is, experts hint that the current collapse of digital assets is already ostensibly enough for the market to never recover. However, it is important to note here that previous bearish trends for digital assets have also resulted in the same BTC collapsing by an estimated 80 percent. And each time, the market not only recovered, but then set new records.

Standard Chartered

According to Decrypt’s sources, this prediction was made as part of Standard Chartered’s annual list of “surprises” that analysts believe markets may miss or underestimate. Other possible shocks for the coming year include falling oil prices, the impeachment of US President Joe Biden and rising food prices.

The list of “surprises” are events that are unlikely to happen, but could still happen and shock the markets. So Bitcoin falling to $5,000 is a possible option for the future of the crypto market among many much more likely events.

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In addition to the bankruptcy of some major platforms, the industry has also seen massive layoffs of employees from both small startups and well-known brands in crypto. For example, just last week crypto exchange Bybit announced a 30 per cent reduction in its staff, while Australian platform Swyftx laid off up to 40 per cent of its staff.

The series of layoffs has sparked mixed reactions from the community. Here’s a tweet from a CryptoChimp user, for example, who claims to have worked with Bybit CEO Ben Zhou. His quote is cited by Cointelegraph.

I have worked with Ben and the team in the past and I can only say good things about Bybit, they are the coolest. You made the right decision, I wish you all the best!

Regarding Swyftx, a user nicknamed McGregor left a pessimistic prediction.

Numerous bankruptcies were bound to happen. We are likely to see many more such events in the coming months.

Note that the most recent list of bankrupt cryptocompanies was added to the list by BlockFi, a blockchain platform. It turned out to be too closely tied to cryptocurrency exchange FTX, so the latter company failed to survive the collapse. As a result, about $250 million of users were stuck on the platform.

BlockFi platform’s unsecured claims data

We believe that Standard Chartered's outlook is the most negative scenario, which is not worth counting on much. The experts themselves acknowledge this, which means investors should not expect this particular price level. Still, as recent years in the cryptocurrency world have shown, people tend to predict multiple market rises near market peaks and predict fatal collapses near local bottoms. So it is possible that this version of events will not end up in anything again.

What do you think about it? Share your opinion in our millionaires cryptochat. There we will discuss other important developments