What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, I published a 2021 appraisal of crypto that focused on NFT art, with the blockchain artist and pioneer Rhea Myers contending that “creativity on every level is the highest I’ve ever seen.” Bitcoin and Ether were worth more than three times what they are now. Sam Bankman-Fried had recently been anointed the “world’s richest 29-year-old” by Forbes.

Since then, crypto has embarked on a long and brutal fall in terms of market value and public perception. Following the collapse of Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX, many people now consider the technology nearly synonymous with scams. The saga has threatened the mettle of even the most devoted members of the space. NFT trading volume is a fifth of what it was at the end of last December, and about $2 trillion—that’s with a “T”— has been lost from the crypto market since peaking near $3 trillion.

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