Alexandre Stachchenko (KPMG France): “The 2022 bear market was needed to clean up the market! »

Co-founder of the independent Blockchain Partner office, Alexandre Stachchenko is also Blockchain & Cryptos Director at KPMG France. Former colleague of Claire Balva (whose interview can be found here) returns for Il Blog on the difficulties encountered by the crypto market in 2022. Interview in the form of a review.

Last year, cryptocurrencies experienced a bear market that has now gone down in history. What do you think of this fall that has particularly hurt these risky assets, and in particular Bitcoin, with a 64% drop in its capitalization?

The decline is not due to just one factor, but to several factors. For starters, there’s the effect of cycles, because every three or four years the cryptocurrency market purges. However, I note that there are fundamentally deeper reasons and specifically linked to the news of 2022, such as the rise in interest rates or the seizure of power by institutional investors, which today can tip the balance in one way or another. the size of their purchases.

The role of people should also be underlined. The latter are generally looking for short-term gains, panic as soon as the market turns, and thus contribute to the volatility of Bitcoin and altcoins in general.

Finally, beware of the pseudo-influencers who abound on social media and recommend investing in this or that project. Some investors have left a lot of feathers there. As with any risky investment, easy money doesn’t exist!

Are there any more positive points to remember from this general purge?

Losing your invested money has never made anyone happy, that much is obvious. However, this bear market helped sweep the market away. This cleaning, let’s call it that, was necessary, because in the end it puts the spotlight on the most solid and sustainable projects. Furthermore, in KPMG the observation is clear, during the year 2022 I have been much less solicited by “bizarre” projects or not based on anything concrete.

Sure, to drive even stronger adoption of cryptocurrencies, the down cycles shouldn’t be as intense, but the fundamentals are solid, both in terms of technology and security. On the other hand, I think this leaching period will continue for some time yet.

Final approval of MiCA in Europe will be voted on during the first quarter of 2023, before going into effect 12-18 months later. Could this new year finally be one of full-scale regulation?

It is legitimate for a sovereign area to ask itself how to protect itself. There is, however, a clear difference in the approach to how Americans and Europeans, for example, view this cryptographic regulation. The first preferred to let the ecosystem build itself so that the flagships could emerge and become world leaders. It is only now, when control is being imposed on almost everyone, that the question of regulation is beginning to be considered.

In Europe we have opted for the opposite approach, which is to act first to ensure that we are a pioneer in regulation globally, even if this means imposing control that is disproportionate to the risks involved. There are good things about MiCA and TFR, but also totally crazy considerations. Mining is particularly at risk, and there is a real risk of turning to excessive surveillance of crypto wallets held by consumers. We could thus lose sovereignty because Europe wanted to put the cart before the horse.