“The reality is that like stock, with crypto, everyone is a genius in a bull market,' said Mark Cuban, who became a billionaire during the dot-com boom in the ’90s and has more recently invested in a number of crypto projects. When the dust settles, some crypto products and companies may no longer exist. The crypto world is no stranger to booms and busts, which many in the industry refer to as “winters.' But many investors and workers are feeling this crypto crash more acutely than previous ones. Crypto exchanges are bleeding users, crypto companies are laying off workers with at least one contemplating restructuring.

Bitcoin itself has plunged to $21,206, roughly 69% off its all-time high of $67,802.30. Since bitcoin hit an all-time high in November, roughly $2 trillion of cryptocurrency value-more than two-thirds of all the crypto that existed-has been erased. Now, with markets sliding and inflation plaguing the global economy, cryptocurrencies have been among the first assets sold. It has also shared characteristics with other bubbles throughout history, marked by speculation bordering on delusion, disregard and disrespect for risk, and greed. At times, crypto has looked like a combination of Beanie Babies, dot-com stocks and the Velvet Underground: It is manic, it is money, and all the cool people are into it.

Fortune favors the brave sheet music