FX.co ★ Five frightening predictions that fail to meet reality

Collapse of Binance

In 2022, the better part of concerns was associated with large crypto exchange Binance. According to preliminary estimates, a collapse of such a massive project may put the crypto industry in long-lasting depression. Concerns about Binance occurred after the total collapse of big crypto exchange FTX. What is more, in December 2022, the US Justice Department was planning to charge Binance with money laundering, but the situation was resolved in favor of the latter. In this light, crypto traders got worried about the transparency of Binance reserves. For your reference, last year, the crypto exchange avoided accusations from US regulators, whereas the massive outflow of funds from its accounts did not shake the platform's position. However, analysts have different views on the situation. Some of them suppose that the exchange may flourish, while others predict difficulties in the new year. Ignoring all the forecasts, Binance is still afloat.

BTC sell-off by MicroStrategy

Crypto investors were also frightened by the actions of MicroStrategy, a US provider of analytical software and the largest bitcoin investor. At the moment, the company owns 132,500 BTC, which accounts for 0.631% of all the mined coins. In late 2022, traders in the crypto sphere were actively discussing the upcoming crypto winter. Against this background, MicroStrategy faced an increase in unrealized losses, whereas traders seriously feared a possible collapse of the company. If these gloomy predictions came true, the management of MicroStrategy would have launched a massive sell-off of BTC. Earlier, in September 2022, Michael Taylor, the founder of the company, was suspected of fraud with bitcoins. Despite all the concerns, MicroStrategy withstood all the difficulties and continued to buy BTC. According to analysts, the company is unlikely to go bankrupt.

Triumphant appearance of Satoshi Nakamoto

Satoshi Nakamoto is known as the founder of the world’s first cryptocurrency. Notably, his real name and location are still unknown. In 2022, those involved in the crypto industry were waiting for the appearance of the legendary man, which might have led to drastic changes in the whole sphere. However, the fact that the bitcoin developer really exists is posing a threat to most big investors. According to some sources, Satoshi Nakamoto owns a large sum of BTC. If he starts selling off bitcoins, the market will see a dramatic slump.

Deflationary Ethereum

One more fear of crypto investors that did not come true at the end of 2022 was concern about the near-term prospects of the Ethereum cryptocurrency. Notably, the second largest digital asset has switched to an eco-friendly and efficient PoS algorithm. IT specialists worked on the platform for a long time. Previously, the ecosystem used the PoW algorithm, which is considered more energy intensive. Many representatives of the crypto community feared that the transition process would dramatically reduce the project's capabilities, but this did not happen. Currently, Ethereum continues to develop. Moreover, last year's technical changes made ETH stronger, one of the most prominent Bitcoin mining moguls of mainland China, Jiang Zhuo'er, said. He believes that the changes will help the second cryptocurrency launch a new growth cycle in the digital market.

Sell-off of BTC by Mt. Gox

Experts associate one of the largest hacks in the crypto industry with the Mt. Gox crypto exchange. In 2014, unknown scammers withdrew 850,000 BTC worth $500 million from the trading platform. This provoked a collapse of the project and its closure. At that time, the crypto exchange accounted for about 70% of the trading volume of all the cryptocurrencies. The management of Mt. Gox has not yet paid compensation to the affected depositors. For several years, they have been waiting for the promised payments. It is expected that the victims will get their money in September 2023. Currently, there are 142,000 bitcoins on the account of the platform’s management. These funds could be given to the victims. However, if former depositors of Mt. Gox launch a massive sell-off of BTC, Mt. Gox crypto market may collapse. In 2022, this prediction did not come true but the expected events may take place in 2023. According to analysts, a sell-off of BTC by Mt. Gox in 2023 will be less traumatic for the market, since it has time to recover.