A year after the bankruptcy of FTX, the cryptocurrency industry is irrevocably altered — while at the same time in many ways remarkably familiar, Bloomberg News reported. Mostly gone are the day traders and the abundant leverage that drove Bitcoin to its November 2021 high at close to $69,000. Same for celebrities and social-media influencers peddling nonfungible tokens and memecoins. Regulators determined not to get caught off guard again are tightening their grip. And large financial firms like BlackRock Inc. are moving in, drawn by the prospect of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission giving its first blessing for an ETF investing directly in Bitcoin. Perhaps the most tangible indicator that crypto has moved on: Bitcoin has recovered all its losses since the May 2022 implosion of stablecoin TerraUSD, which set in motion the wave of failures that ultimately helped bring down FTX. Some observers see an industry still afflicted by rampant speculation and insufficient safeguards. The Tether stablecoin, a pillar of the sector long dodged by speculation about the quality of assets backing it and allegations that it’s being used by criminals, has become more dominant in recent months. Binance, the biggest exchange, still operates without a formal headquarters.
