Another year in the crypto space has nearly passed. As usual, Twitter has been a hotbed of crypto-related conversation during the turbulent year. From Terra’s collapse and the whole situation with FTX to Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, 2022 has played out like a television drama, keeping people on the edge of their seats.
Tweets can act like time capsules from the past, offering up memories or documenting particular historical points.
Here are 10 memorable tweets from 2022.
The Terra collapse
The crypto space suffered several blows this year, and among them was the collapse of the Terra project. Terra started 2022 as a prevalent project in the crypto industry, with its LUNA asset sitting in the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization at the start of the year.
In May, however, the project crumbled, fueled by the fact that its related stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), completely lost its peg to the U.S. dollar. Although the year included many tweets related to the spectacle, the one below from the project’s head documents part of the series of events.
Twitter’s new Dogecoin-focused owner
Tesla CEO Musk has dabbled in the crypto space at times, frequently expressing his interest in Dogecoin. In October, he bought Twitter, named himself its CEO and proceeded to enact significant changes to the company. Crypto exchange Binance has invested in Musk’s Twitter, putting $500 million toward the social media giant.
Three Arrows Capital falls
Another significant company that went down was Three Arrows Capital, or 3AC. Once a multibillion-dollar hedge fund, 3AC filed for bankruptcy in July, seemingly affected in part by the fall of Terra.
Over the course of the year, contagion has reared its head as a significant factor in the crypto space. When one company made a splash in a negative way, the ripple effects were often felt by other players.
FTX collapses
FTX, yet another major player in the crypto space, also fell apart in 2022. Led by former CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, the crypto exchange wound up in a position where it did not have enough funds to pay out those it owed.
With details surfacing following the collapse — such as sister entity Alameda Research mishandling funds — FTX-related headlines have dominated the latter portion of the year, including the company’s November bankruptcy filing and the multiple United States government hearings related to the exchange. At the request of the U.S. government, SBF was taken into custody by Bahamian authorities in December.
The Ethereum Merge
Ethereum officially made its much-anticipated transition to a proof-of-stake blockchain in September, bringing proof-of-work consensus to a close on one of crypto’s most prevalent blockchains. Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin tweeted on Sept. 15 that the event had reached completion.
Following the Merge, the Ethereum blockchain showed improvements related to block production, requiring less time for block verification and seeing an increase in the number of blocks produced each day. The Ethereum blockchain’s next major upgrade, Shanghai, is anticipated to occur in 2023 and will unlock Ether staked on the Beacon Chain.
Regulation
The final five tweets on this list don’t so much focus on major events as they simply look at points of interest related to the crypto space, evidenced in tweet form. This one from U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis sheds light on crypto regulation, an increasingly popular topic in the industry this year.
Bitcoin’s price troubles
Bitcoin had a tough year, dropping from almost $50,000 to below $20,000, according to Cointelegraph’s BTC price index. Although gold advocate Peter Schiff has historically bashed Bitcoin, the prices he mentioned in a Jan. 20 tweet don’t seem illogical looking back. But will Bitcoin’s price continue going down even further, or is the worst already over? The answer will likely come in 2023.
A sign of crypto’s mainstream attention
In March, before much of the year’s bearishness, National Football League star Tom Brady tweeted about his admiration of Buterin — a sign of crypto’s mainstream attention and growth.
Still a Bitcoin proponent
MicroStrategy’s co-founder and executive chairman, Michael Saylor, has been the face of the company’s Bitcoin-acquiring pursuits, which have led to MicroStrategy holding over 100,000 BTC. Since turning bullish on the asset, Saylor has often spoken positively about Bitcoin. The events of 2022 have seemingly not deterred him from the cryptocurrency, based on the December tweet below.
A simple tweet from an industry native
Since its inception, the crypto industry has, at times, resembled a rollercoaster of highs and lows. Anthony Pompliano, a well-known figure in the crypto space, tweeted a ray of positivity late in the year to cap off the list on a positive note.
