The news is filled with cryptocurrency hacks and rug pulls virtually every day. But what about those legitimate crypto coins that have been around for a while? Even without the intervention of hackers, they’re not doing so hot these days.
Over the weekend, bitcoin slumped below $34,000 for the first time since January. In fact, it was six months ago today that bitcoin hit an all-time high of $68,990. And it’s not just bitcoin. Almost every cryptocurrency has been struggling in 2022, as has the entire stock market.
What if you bought your crypto on November 9, when bitcoin hit a record high and many evangelists seemed convinced the world’s most popular cryptocurrency was heading to $100,000 or even higher very soon? We did the math for the most popular coins, and it’s not a pretty picture, with just one exception.
- If you bought $100 of bitcoin six months ago, you have $50.65 of bitcoin right now.
- If you bought $100 of ethereum six months ago, you have $51.74 of ethereum right now.
- If you bought $100 of BNB six months ago, you have $53.73 of BNB right now.
- If you bought $100 of XRP (Ripple) six months ago, you have $43.13 of XRP right now.
- If you bought $100 of Solana six months ago, you have $30.46 of Solana right now.
- If you bought $100 of Cardano six months ago, you have $33.82 of Cardano right now.
- If you bought $100 of Terra Luna six months ago, you have $119.49 of Terra Luna right now.
- If you bought $100 of Dogecoin six months ago, you have $40.82 of Dogecoin right now.
Where did all of that lost money go? It was cashed out for real money by people who purchased the cryptocurrency earlier than you and sold earlier than you.
Again, there are a lot of other cryptocurrency projects out there in the world. And if you were lucky enough to find one and make money, good for you. But you’re definitely in the minority, as most retail investors lost money to cryptocurrency in 2022.
But not everyone has been suffering. The Ethereum Foundation sold 20,000 ether at a price of $4,722.68 per ether on November 11, 2021, raking in over $94.4 million. That was almost Ethereum’s all-time high, $4,891.70, achieved just a couple of days earlier on November 9.
Even gamblers know you’re never going to beat the house. But that’s not going to stop people from trying.