What happened
The fallout from the FTX blowup and bankruptcy last week has continued early this week, and the crypto moves are in different directions.
FTX Token (FTT 0.53%) fell 25% in the last 24 hours as of 11:45 a.m. ET, which shouldn't be a surprise because the exchange is bankrupt and there's no reason the token should have value. Solana (SOL +0.56%) is down 3.2% in the last day but is now down 57.9% in the last week because FTX was a large investor and is likely selling tokens.
On the plus side, Crypto.com's token Cronos (CRO 0.35%) is up 14.9% in the last 24 hours.
CRYPTO: FTT
Key Data Points
So what
FTX's bankruptcy continues to unearth risks in the crypto market that most investors were unaware of. Some companies kept assets on FTX; others had counterparty risk; and then there's the fact that many tokens tied to crypto firms are being questioned.
Despite the fact that Crypto.com's CEO said that his firm is not in financial trouble, many customers seem to be pulling assets from the platform. The company is not based in the U.S. and isn't publicly traded, so investors can't be certain what the company's financial position looks like. Remember, it was only eight days ago that FTX said customer deposits were fine.
CRYPTO: CRO
Key Data Points
There's no clear end to the current fiasco. FTX is in bankruptcy, and it could take years for customers to receive any funds. But it's also possible this wrecks the crypto industry's momentum after two years of more people getting involved in the space.
Now what
The fall of FTX isn't a bankruptcy that will be glossed over by most people. This is fundamentally different from a hedge fund like Three Arrows Capital collapsing over the summer. FTX had customer funds and appears to have been involved in extensive fraud.
If you're looking for a buying opportunity, I think it's wise to wait and see what happens before jumping in. It's likely that many tokens will fall because there's no real utility built into them in the first place. But development will consolidate on others.
CRYPTO: SOL
Key Data Points
Solana is still a cryptocurrency that I think could have a bright future because it's fast and low cost, with a large developer community. That's not something most cryptocurrencies can claim, and I think as founders look for more use cases, it's Solana that will attract developers and users.
Even the most bullish case for crypto could take years to play out, though. The industry will have a major stain from FTX's bankruptcy for years, so investors need to come to this industry with a buy-and-hold strategy because it may be years before we know the future of the industry.
