Musk Effect To FTX-Binance Fiasco: Revisiting Top Crypto Tweets Of 2022 That Rocked The Market
By Benzinga
It's no surprise that 2022 was a turbulent year for global markets. The U.S. stock market plunged over 15%, while bond and crypto markets fell by more than 20% and 50%, respectively, from their peak a year ago to around Christmas. Investors saw significant losses as fears of economic uncertainty, inflation and companies declaring bankruptcy stoked market volatility.
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As we enter 2023, here is a look back at some of the top crypto tweets of the year that had an undeniable impact on the market. While some tweets led to huge gains, others could be the cause of sizable losses.
Musk Effect: January began on a high note and the incredible impact of Elon Musk is one to be credited. Musk voiced his support for Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) and declared that Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) merch will be buyable with the meme crypto.
Tesla merch buyable with Dogecoin
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 14, 2022
He even went so far as to declare that he would eat a Happy Meal on TV if McDonald's accepted the meme currency—an action which sparked a rally in its prices.
I will eat a happy meal on tv if @McDonalds accepts Dogecoin
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 25, 2022
Energy Consumption In Question: In January, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) highlighted the surging energy usage of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) mining and its impact on local communities. She said that energy consumption for Bitcoin mining has more than tripled since 2019 and it is now using almost as much energy as entire countries.
Bitcoin mining's energy use has more than tripled since 2019, consuming as much energy as entire countries. It's even driving up electricity costs and harming local environments.
I want six crypto mining companies to provide answers on their impact.https://t.co/FmRlC65C8o
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 28, 2022
Terra-Luna Collapse: The sudden collapse of Do Kwon's Terra Luna (CRYPTO: UST) stablecoin in May caused all hell to break loose. Far-reaching ramifications impacted the entire cryptocurrency market, wiping out over $200 billion in value. In an attempt to reassure the community, Kwon tweeted: "We're in this together, and we will build our way out of this crisis." Unfortunately, despite these attempts at bringing stability, Terra Luna's stunning fall continued to create immense uncertainty in the crypto market.
2/ I understand the last 72 hours have been extremely tough on all of you – know that I am resolved to work with every one of you to weather this crisis, and we will build our way out of this.
Together.
— Do Kwon 🌕 (@stablekwon) May 11, 2022
The Merge: The impending Sep.15 Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) Merge was one of the most anticipated events in the crypto space this year. Thanks to its switch from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS), Ethereum witnessed an enormous reduction in energy consumption. And who better than Vitalik Buterin, ETH co-founder, to welcome the Merge.
And we finalized!
Happy merge all. This is a big moment for the Ethereum ecosystem. Everyone who helped make the merge happen should feel very proud today.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 15, 2022
Nayib Bukele’s BTC Obsession: El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has been an advocate for Bitcoin since the beginning of the year, investing every time the price dipped. Each time he bought in, the market responded positively, providing much-needed relief to the BTC price.
El Salvador just bought the dip! �
500 coins at an average USD price of ~$30,744 #Bitcoin
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 9, 2022
Bukele's 2022 outlook in January hasn't aged well, with one of the predictions being that Bitcoin would reach $100,000. At the time of writing, the apex crypto was trading at $16,812, according to Benzinga Pro.
2022 predictions on #Bitcoin:
•Will reach $100k
•2 more countries will adopt it as legal tender
•Will become a major electoral issue in US elections this year
•Bitcoin City will commence construction
•Volcano bonds will be oversubscribed
•Huge surprise at @TheBitcoinConf— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 2, 2022
SHIB Metaverse: The Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) team announced in April that the land bid event for its metaverse would launch
Almost 20,000 pieces of land in the Shiba Inu metaverse have been sold since the Shiba Inu land sale began.
The #SHIB MV is coming #SHIBARMY! Lands are becoming available really soon and you can get in early by locking your $LEASH or SHIBOSHIS at https://t.co/klp5m8DaQL. (Wonder if you'll end up near my land?)
— Shytoshi Kusama™ (@ShytoshiKusama) April 5, 2022
SBF-CZ Dispute: FTX's compelling success story was a modern American dream come true: within four years, a 20-something philanthropic MIT graduate had developed one of the most respected, profitable and highly trusted crypto exchange platforms. Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”), hailed as the "Emperor of crypto" by the New York Times, and believed to be “the world’s first trillionaire,” is now reviled as the fallen pariah of the blockchain industry.
It all started on Twitter on Nov. 6, the CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao “CZ” set the crypto market ablaze with a bombshell tweet: Binance planned to sell $500 million of FTT, which they had acquired earlier in the year. Panic spread across the crypto market, despite FTX’s reassurances that they were financially stable.
As part of Binance’s exit from FTX equity last year, Binance received roughly $2.1 billion USD equivalent in cash (BUSD and FTT). Due to recent revelations that have came to light, we have decided to liquidate any remaining FTT on our books. 1/4
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) November 6, 2022
On Nov 8, a liquidity crisis unfolded when FTX halted user withdrawals from the platform and it became clear that the company was in dire straits. Binance stepped in and signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire FTX.com and help remedy the shortfall. However, upon further investigation, Binance discovered an immense $8 billion deficit in FTX’s accounts; so the proposed acquisition never materialized.
