Unpacking Crypto's All-Time High Drop: A Surprising Market Analysis

The Harsh Reality: Most Crypto Assets Still Struggling

Imagine throwing a party where 83% of your guests leave early, and the rest are just sitting on the couch, staring at the wall. That’s essentially the state of many crypto assets that hit their all-time highs (ATHs) back in January 2018. According to data from Messari, only a handful of the 410 assets that reached record prices are thriving, while a staggering majority have plummeted by at least 90% since then.

CMT Digital Analyst’s Insight

Matt Casto, a sharp-eyed analyst at CMT Digital, took to Twitter to share the grim stats, showcasing the average return-on-investment (ROI) for these assets sorted by the year of their price peaks. It’s a sobering reminder that holding onto those high-flying assets has turned into a game of lost opportunity cost, akin to waiting for your friend who said they’d be right back… three years ago. Spoiler alert: They didn’t come back.

The Data Breakdown

Drilling down into the numbers shows just how poorly 2018’s crypto created a crater:

2018’s 157 assets: Averaged a shocking drop of -90.71% since peak.
2017 stars: Downgraded by 82% on average.
2019 batch: Felt a loss of 72%.
2020 highlights: Down by 53%.

It’s a catastrophic slide for a sector once buzzing with optimism, now akin to a rollercoaster ride with nobody interested in getting back on.

The Great Repricing Theory

Market analysts suggest that the large amounts of capital that once flowed into the so-called “ghost-chain” layer-one blockchains are now being rerouted towards the burgeoning DeFi sector. Think of it like an affectionate puppy that finally found a more playful home. This shift hints at the ‘great repricing’ theory where investors are more discerning about where they park their money.

Trading Strategies in a Turbulent Market

The market’s volatility has birthed some intriguing trading strategies, with investors like the dHedge pool manager Wangarian, who has adopted an approach of longing “tokens that obtain direct value accrual (DeFi)” while shorting “dogs**t L1s that have no value accrual whatsoever.” It’s like many old-school lovers, longing for something substantial to hold on to rather than the fleeting thrill of a summer crush.

Survivors of the Crash

Despite the overall gloom, some assets have made impressive recoveries. Since hitting local lows during the “Black Thursday” market crash in March 2020:

Cardano (ADA): Up nearly 1,700%!
Zilliqa (ZIL): A whopping 2,670% increase!
Decred (DCR): An astonishing gain of 14,130% from their price floors!

While many assets wallow in regret, these overachievers serve as a beacon of hope, proving that even in the wild crypto jungle, survival of the fittest can yield jaw-dropping results.