Ex-Meta Crypto Head David Marcus Predicts “Crypto Winter” Will Continue Beyond 2023

The crypto crash of 2022 ended spectacularly, leaving many investors with huge losses in the cryptocurrency. Major companies like FTX and Terraform Labs have collapsed, leaving a bitter taste in the crypto space. The vision of crypto investment as a potential “get rich quick” scheme has dimmed by 2022, and the predictions for 2023 are just as bleak.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to tighten the regulations of crypto exchanges, and the “crypto winter” of 2022 will last until 2025, so many crypto experts are not optimistic about the coming years.

We won’t get out of this “crypto winter” in 2023, maybe not even in 2024. It will take years for the industry to recover from the exploits of unscrupulous players, according to a December 30 blog post by David Marcus, Co-Founder & CEO of company Lightspark. A “Crypto winter” refers to when prices fall for an extended period and then remain low for weeks or months.

Though he only mentioned FTX once, he referred to what he called “unscrupulous players” who will push the market to underperform in the coming year. He summarized that BTC price action might not slow as the crypto summer will last until 2025.

David Marcus stated:

It’ll take a couple of years for the market to recover from the abuse of unscrupulous players, and for responsible regulation to come through. Consumer trust is also going to take a few years to rebuild, but ultimately I believe this will prove to be a beneficial reset for legitimate industry players over the long run.

If the recovery of the cryptocurrency market takes longer than Marcus originally predicted, he believes that a new, more reliable market will emerge.

Marcus said:

In crypto, years of greed will make room for real-world applications.” He added, “the years of creating a token out of thin air and making millions are over. The music has stopped. We’re back to our regular programming of having to create real value and solving real world problems.

Historical Patterns & Expectations For Bitcoin

Furthermore, Marcus highlighted a few historical patterns that Bitcoin has followed. For example, a four-year half-cycles causes the price of Bitcoin to rise in specific years. However, this can also bring challenges. The next BTC halving will occur in 2024. Because of this halving, some predict an upward trend in the second quarter of 2023.

Marcus joined Meta in August 2014 after two years as PayPal’s president and led the messenger unit. From May 2018 to December 2021, he worked on the Novi Digital Wallet project at Meta.

He stepped down from his role by the end of 2021. Then, on May 12, 2022, Marcus announced that he had founded a new payment company, Lightspark, which would use crypto as its central payment method.

I wanted to share that we are starting a new company called @lightspark to explore, build and extend the capabilities and utility of #Bitcoin. As a first step, we’re actively assembling a team to dive deeper into the Lightning Network. (1/3)

— David Marcus ⚡ (@davidmarcus) May 12, 2022

Related Reading | Crypto Exchange 3Commas Data Breach Under Investigation By FBI

David Marcus isn’t the only one committed to the long term. Several major players, including investment giant ARK Invest, have now decided on a long-term strategy. ARK Invest founder and CEO Cathie Wood stated:

The Bitcoin blockchain didn’t skip a beat during the crisis caused by opaque centralized players. No wonder Sam Bankman Fried didn’t like Bitcoin: it’s transparent and decentralized. He couldn’t control it. https://t.co/pV8UPT7cnm

— Cathie Wood (@CathieDWood) December 11, 2022

However, there are great expectations about what the price will do in the coming years. Many believe Bitcoin’s recent bear market is over, while others warn that  BTC may fall to $10k. Yet it seems that in the long run, everyone pretty much agrees.