While crypto assets rose to new heights earlier this year, and there are now meme-inspired tokens like Dogecoin (DOGE 6.66%) being touted by Elon Musk, the recent crash of crypto assets is not so different from the one in 2017, says one analyst.
Josh Younger, who leads interest rate derivatives strategy at JPMorgan Chase (JPM 1.32%), wrote in a recent research note that he sees similarities between the big sell-off in 2017 and the one that recently occurred in which Bitcoin (BTC 0.94%) fell as much as 50% from its high of around $65,000 per token.
Similar to what happened in 2017, Younger noted that investors have steered away from the popular tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH 1.25%) and into riskier altcoins and stablecoins as well.
Younger wrote that this turn and the negative sentiment "should caution any view that the worst is clearly behind us." He added that cryptocurrencies are undergoing a "sizable correction" and that he was unsure of whether the correction is done just yet.
Image source: Getty Images.
Among the many similarities between 2017 and now, Younger certainly sees differences as well. Notably, there hasn't been the same kind of activity around initial coin offerings as there was in 2017, and there is much more institutional interest in cryptocurrencies now as tokens like Bitcoin are much more ingrained into the traditional financial system. In his research report, Younger wrote:
We continue to see evidence of resilient microstructure in cryptocurrency markets: the volatility spike appears somewhat regionally localized, market depth is down but has not cratered despite these moves, and derivatives pricing has managed to adjust quickly enough to retain a decent fraction of the levered long base ... This all argues against the view that we are in the midst [of a] self-reinforcing vicious cycle of price declines -- a classic run scenario.
