Only one in 10 to survive biggest crash in Bitcoin history, analyst predicts

The biggest crash in crypto history, which has seen Bitcoin dramatically shed two-thirds of its value this year, was inevitable, a financial analyst has insisted.

Louis Schoeman, managing director at broker comparison site Forex Suggest, predicted the punishing downturn would kill off up to 90 per cent of all crypto projects.

By November last year, following a nine-month period of meteoric growth, Bitcoin had hit an all-time high of US $68,000.

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Since that peak it has crumbled, losing $900 billion in value.

At 9.30 AEST today, Bitcoin was trading at just under $20,000.

"This is a cleansing process," Schoeman said.

"But it also serves as a massive opportunity for many no-coiners to enter the crypto market for the first time.

"Fortune favours the brave in crypto right now."

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Despite Schoeman's optimism, the jury is out on where cryptocurrencies go from here.

Bitcoin slumped more than 37 per cent last month, its biggest one-month drop since 2011, but Ethereum was pummelled even harder, with its token Ether falling 45 per cent.

"We are currently experiencing the biggest crypto crash in history," Schoeman said.

"It's worth noting that various coins including Bitcoin were heavily inflated in a bubble over the last two years, so a crash of this enormity was bound to happen."

Only the most fundamentally strong crypto projects will survive this bloody bear market, he said.

Many key figures in the space are bracing for what is now being termed a long crypto winter, as companies lay off hundreds of workers and impose hiring freezes.

Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com recently made 260 workers redundant, while Gemini Exchange and BlockFi have also announced major cuts.

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It's not unusual for crypto bear markets to siphon off up to 90 per cent of a coin's value.

In the last decade, two prolonged crypto downturns saw Bitcoin lose more than 80 per cent of its value.

But the coin bounced back - and then some.

During the 2017 to 2018 crypto bear market, Bitcoin plummeted 83 per cent, from $19,423 to $3217.

That slide preceded a time of remarkable growth.

The current meltdown is part of a larger market downturn brought on by elevated inflation, rising interest rates, war in Ukraine and coronavirus lockdowns.

With agencies