As we wrap up another exciting year in cryptocurrency, it's time to look back on some of the defining moments of this turbulent market in 2022.
With just hours to go until another year and 2022 is out of sight, there's no better opportunity than now to take a look at all the cryptocurrency highlights from the past year.
10. โThe Wall Street Crocodileโ is arrested (February)
In February, the US Department of Justice revealed its largest ever seizure of financial assets after arresting two people who conspired to launder $5.1 billion in Bitcoin stolen during a 2016 hack of the Bitfinex exchange. Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan were arrested by federal agents in New York City. Morgan, who is believed to have used the pseudonym "razzlekhan" on social media, promoted herself as an aspiring rapper, businesswoman and Forbes contributor before her arrest. She referred to herself as "the infamous Wall Street crocodile."
9. Joe Biden's executive order brings more clarity (March)
In March, US President Joe Biden issued an executive order on government oversight of cryptocurrencies. He mentioned that this measure aims to protect the nation's financial system from threats such as illicit financing and also increase equity, efficiency and inclusion. EO was generally praised within the cryptocurrency community as a welcome step forward.
8. Shiba Inu enters the metaverse (April)
The Shiba Inu team unveiled a virtual world they dubbed SHIB: The Metaverse in April. It promises to give land owners the opportunity to earn passive income and generate various rewards. Throughout the year, the meme coin also secured various associations related to the metaverse.
7. The EU is close to banning Bitcoin (March)
A proposed ban, if adopted, would have effectively prohibited the mining of new Bitcoins via proof-of-work (PoW) consensus in the EU.
However, after further deliberation, European regulators decided to scrap it as part of a review of the MiCA legislation.
6. North Korean hackers drain the Ronin network (March)
The Ronin Network, which is tied to the popular blockchain gaming title Axie Infinity, had $615 million worth of Ether and USDC tokens stolen in March.
The infamous Lazarus Group, which is linked to the North Korean government, was later determined by US authorities to be responsible for the unprecedented heist.
5. Ethereum Merge upgrade and Cardano Vasil hard fork go live (September)
The main update, dubbed Merge, was completed in September with much fanfare. The end result of this upgrade changed the popular blockchain from a proof-of-work system to a proof-of-stake system, thus eliminating the energy-consuming mining process previously associated with Ethereum.
In the same month, Cardano released its Vasil update after facing delays and technical hurdles. It came a year after the Alonzo hard fork.
4. Bitcoin falls to a new two-year low (November)
On November 21, Bitcoin extended its year-long slide, falling to a new yearly low of $15,479. The cryptocurrency is down more than 77% from its recent peak, with aggressive policy from the Federal Reserve and a series of bankruptcies contributing to to liquidation.
3. Celsius is submerged in water (July)
The cryptocurrency lending sector was shaken to its core when the Celsius Network filed for bankruptcy, becoming the latest victim of a massive liquidity crunch. This came after Celsius unexpectedly suspended withdrawals for its clients, causing a sell-off in the market.
2. Terra implodes, Do Kwon flees (May)
The cryptocurrency market experienced huge losses in value after Luna and its sister stable TerraUSD collapsed. TerraUSD lost its peg, undermining faith in the centralized stablecoin.
In the midst of all this, there has been even more controversy as Interpol has issued a Red Notice for Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs. Since then, Kwon's location has been unknown, but he is rumored to be hiding in Serbia.
1. FTX files for bankruptcy, SBF ends up behind bars (November)
Cryptocurrency exchange FTX has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after losing nearly $32 billion in value in just days. US authorities also accused Sam Bankman-Fried of defrauding investors. He was arrested in the Bahamas, extradited to the US, and released on $250 million bail. The shocking fall of the wild-haired crypto tycoon, who is comparable to that of Enron's Jeffrey Skilling and Theranos's Elizabeth Holmes, is undoubtedly the biggest crypto story of the year. The FTX saga is already getting the Hollywood treatment, with streaming giants vying for the rights.
