The cryptocurrency market is experiencing its worst purge since 2013: mass project closures and team reductions.
The current phase of the cryptocurrency market is characterized by an unprecedented wave of closures and cutbacks not seen since 2013. StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson notes that he has never witnessed such a massive exodus of teams, budget cuts, and project shutdowns in his entire career in the industry. Paradoxically, this is what gives him hope for a long-awaited recovery of the sector.
Ben-Sasson himself admits that these difficulties have not spared StarkWare either — the company implemented cost reductions a few months ago. However, he describes what is happening not as a crisis, but as a necessary "healing" process, without which a new market boom is simply impossible.
Why is the mass closure of projects a boon for the industry?
In previous bear cycles, market participants comforted themselves with the thought that weak projects would finally be weeded out, but that never happened. Until now. According to Ben-Sasson, the industry is now going through a real, not imaginary, cleansing for the first time.
Notably, it is not just obviously weak teams that are leaving. The StarkWare head notes with regret that among the closing projects there are also strong ones desperately fighting for survival. Nevertheless, he is convinced that a "new summer" for cryptocurrencies will not come without these painful cutbacks. In the long term, this process will only benefit the industry, ridding it of ballast and freeing up resources for truly viable solutions.
Where will the new wave of interest come from?
The main question on everyone's mind now is: what will be the catalyst for the next wave of interest in cryptocurrencies? According to Ben-Sasson, the answer lies not in the realm of artificial intelligence or corporate blockchains.
He associates the future solely with the freedom of financial innovation — this is what he works on himself and believes in. His position is consistent: corporate blockchains, devoid of the principles of decentralization and the right to self-custody of assets, are doomed. He concluded his post with a direct appeal to the community, inviting discussion on what exactly will become the new driver of industry growth.
Expert opinion: I completely agree with Ben-Sasson. We are witnessing not just a correction, but a paradigm shift. The market is getting rid of "junk" and inflationary tokenomics that did not create real value. The next bull cycle will be built on a foundation of real utility, and most likely, its main hero will be the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, not another round of speculative meme coins.