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Following the significant de-valuation of the virtual currency market, the New York Times has published a piece documenting the unfortunates who betted almost everything on the crypto surge and now potentially face financial disaster. Financial analyst Tony Yoo gambled with a $100,000 contribution last fall, but his investment has already lost 70 percent of its value, while Englishman Pete Robert’s $23,000 toward digital tokens is now worth about $4,000. In another example, teacher Kim Hyon-jeong raised $90,000 by getting a loan and drawing from her savings and insurance policy, but barely 10 percent of that now remains.
The virtual currency markets have been through booms and busts before — and recovered to boom again. But this bust could have a more lasting impact on the technology’s adoption because of the sheer number of ordinary people who invested in digital tokens over the last year, and who are likely to associate cryptocurrencies with financial ruin for a very long time. Almost all of the new customers on Coinbase and Square would be in the red if they bought cryptocurrencies at almost any point over the last nine months and held on to them.
The virtual currency markets have been through booms and busts before — and recovered to boom again. But this bust could have a more lasting impact on the technology’s adoption because of the sheer number of ordinary people who invested in digital tokens over the last year, and who are likely to associate cryptocurrencies with financial ruin for a very long time. Almost all of the new customers on Coinbase and Square would be in the red if they bought cryptocurrencies at almost any point over the last nine months and held on to them.