Decentral Block Post

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.

Bitcoin (BTC) is beating records this Christmas as sub-$17,000 price action sparks unrivaled pain for hodlers.

Data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode shows that both short-term and long-term investors are sitting on more losses than ever before.

New or old, Bitcoin hodlers nurse serious losses

Since the FTX meltdown sent crypto markets tumbling, BTC/USD has failed to recover.

Its descent to levels last seen two years ago has created problems for hodlers who bought in more recently — logically, they are nursing negative returns on their positions.

The pain runs deeper than that, however, and Glassnode now shows the extent of unrealized losses plaguing newcomers and old hands alike.

Cointelegraph looks back on the best and worst-performing cryptocurrencies of 2022 among the top 100 assets by market capitalization. We used the highest and the lowest year-to-date (YTD) returns through the close of Dec. 25, 2022.

Overall, Cryptoindex.com 100 (CIX100), an index that tracks the 100 best-performing cryptocurrencies, fell nearly 68% YTD, suggesting most top coins underperformed in 2022.

Stablecoins are naturalomitted from the list below. Similarly, coins tracking the value of gold and similar mainstream assets have also been ignored.

Instead, the coins mentioned below include decentralized currencies, smart contract tokens, exchange tokens, and others.

Top five crypto of 2022

1. GMX (GMX)

GMX acts as a utility and a governance token within the GMX decentralized exchange (DEX) ecosystem and is the best-performing digital asset among the top 100 coins (excluding stablecoins).

Cointelegraph looks back on the best and worst-performing cryptocurrencies of 2022 among the top 100 assets by market capitalization. We used the highest and the lowest year-to-date (YTD) returns through the close of Dec. 25, 2022.

Overall, Cryptoindex.com 100 (CIX100), an index that tracks the 100 best-performing cryptocurrencies, fell nearly 68% YTD, suggesting most top coins underperformed in 2022.

Stablecoins are naturally omitted from the list below. Similarly, coins tracking the value of gold and similar mainstream assets have also been ignored.

Instead, the coins mentioned below include decentralized currencies, smart contract tokens, exchange tokens and others.

Top five crypto of 2022

1. GMX (GMX)

GMX acts as a utility and a governance token within the GMX decentralized exchange (DEX) ecosystem and is the best-performing digital asset among the top 100 coins (excluding stablecoins).

Nonfungible token (NFT) firm Dust Labs is migrating its two top-performing Solana NFT projects — DeGods and y00ts — onto Ethereum and Polygon in a bid to expand their adoption. 

The news was announced on DeGods and y00ts Twitter page on Dec. 25, with both NFT projects expected to be officially bridged onto Ethereum and Polygon respectively in the first quarter of 2023.

Rohun Vora — the creator of DeGods and y00ts who is known by the alias Frank III — said the decision was made to “explore new opportunities” and to allow for the continued growth of the collection. The move will also see the DUST token — used to buy, sell and mint NFTs on the DeGods ecosystem — also be bridged onto Ethereum and Polygon.

Vora confirmed that two NFT projects will still remain on Solana for the time being, and in a separate post responding to a Twitter user, confirmed that the bridge/migration will be owner "opt-in."

During a Dec. 26 Twitter spaces, Vora explained to 66,000 listeners that it was simply a matter of getting the NFT projects on the platforms that he sees will drive the next wave of NFT adoption.

Kabosu, the Shiba Inu dog behind the face of Dogecoin (DOGE) and the “doge” meme is in a “dangerous position” healthwise, according to her owner.

In a Dec. 26 Instagram post that was then shared on Twitter, Atsuko Satō, a Japanese kindergarten teacher and Kabosu’s owner said the rescue dog was in a "dangerous" state, but assured her followers that she will “absolutely fine” and is “getting power from all over the world” (translated) from supporters.

The news brought an outpouring of support from followers. One Twitter user sending well wishes offered to fully cover “any expenses needed to make sure she gets the best treatment.”

The co-creator of Dogecoin, Billy Markus, in a Dec. 26 tweet asked his two million followers to send “[love] and [prayers] and good vibes” to Satō and Kabosu.

Satō didn’t disclose what health complications Kabosu is facing, but in an earlier post said that Kabosu has been sick since Christmas Eve, refusing to eat or drink.

The cryptocurrency markets are trading at record low volatility as investors have largely stayed away during the holiday season. That could be because investors are unsure about the cryptocurrencies that could lead the next bull run.

Cumberland senior research analyst Steven Goulden said in a “Year in Review” report that he expects four “emerging narratives” to lead the crypto space over the next six to 24 months. Goulden anticipates growth in nonfungible tokens, Web3 apps and games. He expects export-oriented nations to add Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) as reserve assets and if that happens, it could be a huge positive.

Jared Gross, head of institutional portfolio strategy at JPMorgan Asset Management, holds a different view. While speaking to Bloomberg, Gross said that the bear market had broken the notion that Bitcoin could act as a form of digital gold or an inflation hedge. He added that large institutional investors have stayed away from the crypto sector and that approach was unlikely to change anytime soon.

Could the S&P 500 index (SPX) and the cryptocurrency sector witness a recovery in the next few days? Let’s study the charts to find out.

SPX

The S&P 500 index (SPX) turned down sharply from the downtrend line and tumbled below the 50-day simple moving average (3,885) on Dec. 16. Buyers tried to push the price back above the 50-day SMA on Dec. 21 but the bears held their ground.