Why The Crypto “Implosion” Won’t Stop Below $1T, Says Jim Cramer


CNBC’s Jim Cramer is a controversial figure in the crypto space. The host of the popular show “Mad Money” has been moving back and forth on its position on the nascent asset class and has been leaning bearish on the recent price action.

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The total crypto market capitalization reached an all-time high near $3 trillion. A record for any industry with barely a decade old but has lost over 60% of its value since the start of 2022.

Crypto Bitcoin Ethereum
Crypto total market cap trends to the downside on the 4-hour chart. Source: Tradingview

A few weeks ago, the industry broke below the $1 trillion market cap and, according to Cramer, it has no reason to slow down on its losses. During today’s episode of CNBC’s Investing Club, Cramer discussed the macro-economic factors that impact digital and traditional assets.

The major stock indexes in the U.S. have been trending downside over the hike of interest rates from the Federal Reserve (Fed). The effect of this monetary policy has been taking its toll on crypto and risk-on assets.

Cramer argued that the strength of the U.S. dollar is another factor affecting the traditional finance world. The currency is currently trading at 106 on the DXY Index, its highest level since 2003. A strong dollar often, as global markets have been experiencing, translates into losses for equities and risk-on assets. Cramer said:

Right now, it looks like everything is bad. I’m not gonna denied that every asset class in getting hurt. The one I’m most interested in is crypto (…).

The nascent asset class has been expanding over the past two years, attracting fresh capital. If the crypto market continues its downside trend, as Cramer predicted, the economic situation could get worse. The CNBC host added:

A lot of people are in crypto. Crypto really does seems to be imploding from $3 trillion to $1 trillion, why should it stop at $1 trillion? There’s no real value there.

Could Cramer Be Right About Crypto?

Despite its recent comments, Jim Cramer was famous for selling his Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings in 2021 before the cryptocurrencies reached their all-time high. In fact, he sold in June 2021 during the two-month downside price action that pushed BTC’s price from $60,000 to around $30,000.

At that time, the CNBC host said he didn’t “need” the cryptocurrency and highlighted the potential negative impact of China’s ban on BTC mining. In 2018, when BTC dropped from its previous all-time high at $20,000 to $3,000, Cramer famously said the “sun was setting” on Bitcoin and the crypto industry.

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Time has proven him wrong on several occasions. While the industry could see further losses over the macro factors at play, BTC and larger cryptocurrencies could be at interesting prices for investors looking to increase their long-term holdings.