Decentral Block Post

Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and the crypto market had a rough 2022 from a price perspective, but traders are hopeful that 2023 will include bullish developments that push crypto prices higher. 

Despite the market-wide downturn, a handful of altcoins continued to make a positive contribution to the crypto space and thanks to Ethereum, the term altcoin is no longer a derogatory term.

Let’s explore the top altcoins that made a difference in 2022.

Ethereum fundamentals shone in 2022

Ether’s price hit a yearly high at $3,835 on Jan. 2 and has struggled to regain footing amidst the bear market and other macro factors. The Ethereum network is the top project in 2022 not because of Ether’s price action, but for its fundamentals and for completing the long-awaited mainnet upgrade. The Ethereum merge was completed on Sept. 15, 2022 and while many feared the merge to proof-of-stake (PoS) could cause issues, the transition was flawless.

The main advantage of PoS is that it is much more energy-efficient than proof-of-work (PoW) because it does not require expensive and energy-intensive hardware to validate transactions. This reduces usage costs for the end user and makes it a more sustainable and scalable solution for Ethereum's long-term growth. The Merge also reduced the Ethereum network’s energy consumption by over 99.9%.

Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and the crypto market had a rough 2022 from a price perspective, but traders are hopeful that 2023 will include bullish developments that push crypto prices higher. 

Despite the market-wide downturn, a handful of altcoins continued to make a positive contribution to the crypto space and thanks to Ethereum, the term altcoin is no longer a derogatory term.

Let’s explore the top altcoins that made a difference in 2022.

Ethereum fundamentals shone in 2022

Ether’s price hit a yearly high at $3,835 on Jan. 2 and has struggled to regain footing amidst the bear market and other macro factors. The Ethereum network is the top project in 2022 not because of Ether’s price action, but for its fundamentals and for completing the long-awaited mainnet upgrade. The Ethereum merge was completed on Sept. 15, 2022 and while many feared the merge to proof-of-stake (PoS) could cause issues, the transition was flawless.

The main advantage of PoS is that it is much more energy-efficient than proof-of-work (PoW) because it does not require expensive and energy-intensive hardware to validate transactions. This reduces usage costs for the end user and makes it a more sustainable and scalable solution for Ethereum's long-term growth. The Merge also reduced the Ethereum network’s energy consumption by over 99.9%.

This week on The Market Report, the resident experts at Cointelegraph discuss what investors can expect from the cryptocurrency market in 2023. Will this bear market carry on, or will we see the beginning of the bull market? Also up for discussion is what projects have the potential to make a splash in 2023.

We start off this week’s show with the latest news in the markets:

4 ‘emerging narratives’ in crypto to watch for: Trading firm

Despite an eventful year fraught with crypto collapses and price drops, Steven Goulden, a senior research analyst at crypto trading firm Cumberland, has pointed to several “green shoots” to break the surface in crypto in 2023. Make sure to listen as our experts go over which industries have the potential to break out in 2023.

Crypto community expresses Christmas market sentiments: ‘No Santa rally’

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a fresh hint of volatility at the Dec. 27 Wall Street open as United States equities began the final trading week of the year.

Bitcoin ekes out fresh volatility 

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it dropped around 1% at the opening bell.

Despite involving a move of only $150, the event was still noticeable on lower timeframes, Bitcoin having shunned any form of volatility for multiple days.

The move came in response to a 0.6% drop in the S&P 500 at the open, with the Nasdaq Composite Index dropping 1.4%.

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) responded in kind, making up for ground lost earlier to return to its position from Dec. 25.

The word volatility is typically received as a negative by financial circles just the same way the name Lionel Messi is received in Brazilian favelas, yet volatility historically presents some of the greatest opportunities for gains, especially in the crypto markets. 

The crypto market experiences much greater price oscillations on average when compared to traditional markets, such as equities, bonds and Treasury bills. In 2021, the benefits of volatility were on full display:

Market proxies like the S&P 500 exchange-traded fund trust (SPY) climbed 27%, while Bitcoin (BTC) rose a whopping 140%!

Of course, the story is darker in 2022, but veteran Bitcoin investors did not find Bitcoin’s unceremonious drop from its high to be a surprise; in fact, crypto winters have historically seen Bitcoin’s value drop by over 60% at least three different times in the past, before rising again to see new highs.

The nature of volatility is that the highs are very high, and the lows are very low. However, in many financial circles, they only focus on half the sentence — the latter part is highlighted, and the former is tucked under a blanket and hidden in the back of a dusty cabinet.