A crypto winter is upon us and the big question is how long it will last?

It’s hot outside in New York City, but there’s a crypto winter in the markets – and it’s likely to get worse before it gets better, industry players tell On The Money.To be sure, we’ve seen this before: 2018, 2020, then in 2022, when a confluence of factors including the FTX scandal that landed Sam Bankman-Fried in jail sent digital currencies down more than 70%.We’re suffering through a similar slump now, with about 54% of the total crypto market value being eliminated since prices hit their peak in October 2025, when the most popular coin, Bitcoin, hit its high of $126,000.It’s currently hovering around $60,000.Does that mean the investment world is finally ready to concede that crypto is a house of cards? I doubt it, and that’s based on the caliber of the players involved and the emerging technology the coins support, known as the blockchain.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is deep into the crypto space with its popular ETFs, and there is no bigger “trad fi” guy than the company’s longtime CEO, Larry Fink. Still, there’s a good argument to be made that there’s more downside pain ahead.During last year’s run up, speculators using “leverage” or borrowed funds poured into digital coins.

Leverage makes any sell off more acute, of course, because traders need to pay back their loans, and that has led to the selling pressure that remains in effect today.Stablecoins – cryptos backed by assets like US treasuries – are replacing old-fashioned (and more volatile) digital assets for many investors looking to diversify into the digital asset space.China continues its crackdown on its citizens placing money into digital assets like Bitcoin.

Holders on the Mainland, and I am told, had accounted for an estimated 20% of ownership so that accounts for a chunk of the selling pressure.The latest fear, of course, is that the AI boom is stealing crypto’s thunder.With the blockbuster IPO of SpaceX and the market debuts of Anth...