Mark Grubski isn't a crypto bro, he's a crypto grandpa.
"I'm not supposed to get involved in cryptocurrencies because I'm a baby boomer," he says.
"I have to say I love it."
But it's a strained relationship, as Mark invests at "the totally wrong time," when the prices of these decentralized currencies were at their last peak in mid-2021.
"I was a typical over-the-top investor," he admits.
The price of the most well-known cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, began to fall from its all-time high of around $65,000 ($102,000) in late 2021.
Finally, it crashed spectacularly. Other cryptocurrencies generally followed this trend.
"I was about to cry. Obviously it wasn't a good feeling," Mark recalls.
Now there is a glimmer of hope for Mark's savings, which today include around 20 different cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin, one of the "big daddies" as Mark calls it, has risen back to more than half of its peak, trading around $34,000 this week.
Others like Ethereum, Solana, and the much-derided Dogecoin are also rising.
The question is whether this is just another boom-and-bust cycle or the latest cryptocurrency moon landing.
Charging...
Why are prices currently rising?
As one local fund that helps retail investors enter the world of cryptocurrencies says: โmarket sentiment is everything.โ
"It seems like we're glossing over some of the negative news," says Lisa Wade, CEO of Digital X.
This includes Sam Bankman-Fried appearing in US court as the former industry darling grapples with the reckoning of the fallout for his fund, FTX.
