THE CRYPTO BROS ARE BACK

Crypto is on the resurgence and its culture gaining converts among fresh grads who might once have gunned for careers in traditional finance or big tech

- Teo Kai Xiang

Ask anyone working or investing in crypto about the industry's outlook in 2022, and he or she would likely have pursed his or her lips.

That year saw a series of headline-grabbing implosions. FTX, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges at the time, filed for bankruptcy. Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital collapsed, owing creditors over US$3 billion (S$3.85 billion). Cryptocurrencies Terra USD and Luna cratered in value, collectively wiping out US$45 billion in market cap.

Cryptocurrency values plummeted as layoffs rocked the sector, with industry watchers heralding the start of a crypto winter.

Three years on, the mood has shifted.

Bitcoin's value has soared to historic highs of over US$100,000 - it topped $140,000 in January buoyed by US President Donald Trump's crypto-friendly administration, and the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies by large financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Black Rock and DBS.

The world's largest crypto conference, Token2049, expects to welcome 25,000 participants to Singapore in October.

When the event first launched here in 2022, it drew around 7,000 attendees spread out across one floor of the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. In 2025, the conference will sprawl across five floors.

The crypto bros (and girls) are back, with a vengeance. Among the 15 who spoke to The Sunday Times, the mood is optimistic, even celebratory.

"Post-Trump's election, crypto has been on a tear upwards," says Mr Kaushik Swaminathan, 29, head of strategy at Web3 security firm Zellic. Web3 is a term used by the industry to refer to a new iteration of the web fuelled by blockchain technology.