Laughing Through Tears: Crypto Memes of the Year

[ad_1]

The year produced tons of memorable material for crypto experts.

First, there were the prices. If 2021 were the proverbial good days, then 2022 was a sobering correction. Bitcoin more than halved over the year, while its closest competitor, Ethereum, fell three-fold.

There was also the wild implosion of Terras’ dollar-pegged UST in May, a so-called algorithmic stablecoin (meaning it claimed not to need cash backing), an event so monumental that it sparked a wave of high-profile bankruptcies among cryptocurrencies. companies, such as lenders Celsius, Vauld, Voyager and hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC).

The fourth quarter introduced us to the historic final act of the biting drama of 2022: the collapse of FTX, possibly the most memorable event in crypto history.

So, without further ado, Decipher presents our memes of the year.

The year in crypto memes

Looking back, there were signs in late January that crypto fans would potentially be in for a troubling year ahead, when the market shaved nearly half a trillion dollars off the global market capitalization in 24 hours.

Matthew Graham, CEO of crypto-native venture capital firm Sino Global Capital, spoke about the furor he saw on Crypto Twitter.

Source: Twitter.

A few days later, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned El Salvador to stop using bitcoin as legal tender, arguing that as the country’s economy contracted, public debt grew and the use of bitcoin involved significant risks that could bring the country to a standstill. recovery.

El Salvador’s authoritarian president, Nayyib Bukele, had none of that.

Source: Twitter.

That same month, we declared a meme our Meme Of The Week in a Decrypt weekend debrief email. The subject was Ethereum inventor and Foundation co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who was easily one of the most memorable characters in the industry this year, as you can see from his original post that baited the meme. .

Source: Twitter.

In February, crypto investor Lark Davis shared a very popular meme that now sheds a bittersweet light on people’s optimism in these days of innocence.

Source: Twitter.

In May, Do Kwon, the CEO of Singapore-based Terraform Labs, the parent company of the Terra blockchain and UST and LUNA tokens, tried to play down rumors that UST was about to lose its dollar with a meme. .

Looking back, he didn’t quite know how much he was roasting his future self at the time.

Source: Twitter.

Prior to its release, the new Aptos blockchain touted itself as the most secure and scalable layer-1 blockchain and was dubbed by some as a Solana killer. However, the October launch was chaotic to say the least.

Investors were put off by a large token allocation (49%) given to developers and private investors, prompting jokes that Aptos was not for the common retail investor.

Source: Twitter.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving, and the crypto brethren had finished shilling their next layer-1 blockchain and had jumped in to tout inflation-protecting I bonds issued by none other than Uncle Sam.

Source: Twitter. FTX’s downfall (and downfall) in memes

By far the most memorable event on Crypto Twitter this year (and perhaps all time) was the collapse of centralized crypto exchange FTX.

It was all the more surprising because when the contagion of Terras’ collapse began to spread, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was the first billionaire to open his purse strings to bail out businesses.

In early November, it became clear to everyone that FTX was having liquidity issues. Memes began flooding the day competitor Changpeng CZ Zhao, CEO of Binance, offered to acquire the beleaguered exchange.

Source: Twitter.

Cardano creator Charles Hoskinson shared a popular meme about the proposed bailout. Can you guess the reference?

Source: Twitter.

Many thought the offering would be historic in the making, including the Magic Eden multi-channel NFT platform.

Source: Twitter.

Bitcoin analyst Dylan LeClair got several thousand laughs for his meme:

Source: https://twitter.com/DylanLeClair/status/1590013774735740930″>Twitter.

On the same day, Bitcoin investor Shaan Puri posted a long and popular deep dive into the FTX situation. In the midst of that, he shared an image of the crypto-themed pearly gates waiting for Bankman-Fried.

Source: Twitter.

A BNB investor has shared a poster mockup for a movie about three of the year’s biggest disasters and CZ.

Picture: Twitter.

Sam Bankman-Fried finally broke his silence in several Twitter threads, repeatedly apologizing for the mass calamity he caused by his epic mismanagement of what was at its peak a pretty humiliating crypto empire. Sometimes sorry just isn’t enough, Sam.

Picture: Twitter.

A simple “sorry” was not enough to turn authorities away from Bankman-Fried, however, as the disgraced founder faces eight criminal charges for his role in the stock market crashes and his close ties to trading firm Alameda. .

Still, he managed to enjoy the holiday season with his family on $250 million bail. He is due back in court in early January.

Stay up to date with crypto news, get daily updates in your inbox.

[ad_2]