12 Reasons Crypto Winter Is Colder Than Ever: Weisenthal

Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal has expanded his argument that digital assets are in the coldest crypto winter ever. The Odd Lots newsletter author listed 12 reasons the current downturn differs from prior cycles. The case moves beyond price charts into market psychology, capital rotation, regulation, and competing technologies such as AI and quantum computing.

For traders building a watchlist, the simple read is that sentiment has turned structurally negative. The better market read is that the traditional catalysts for a recovery – liquidity injections, retail euphoria, regulatory clarity – look absent in a way they have not been in prior winters.

Weisenthal's 12 Reasons: A Structural Shift

Weisenthal's original argument, first published in February, listed 10 reasons. The updated version adds two more, bringing the total to 12. The themes include a collapse in retail enthusiasm, the migration of speculative capital into AI-themed equities, the lingering overhang of regulatory enforcement actions in the United States, and the existential threat posed by quantum computing to encryption-based assets.

Another factor is the Bitcoin ETF approval. It removed the narrative of the asset being a contrarian hedge. Once institutions could buy exposure through traditional vehicles, the need to hold the underlying token diminished for a large pool of capital. Ethereum faces a similar dynamic with spot ETFs now live. The network's activity metrics have not kept pace with the narrative of mass adoption.

The expanded case incorporates the FTX collapse's long tail: the direct damage, the erosion of trust in centralized exchanges, and the subsequent regulatory crackdown. The 12 reasons collectively describe a market that has lost its primary engines for price appreciation: new retail inflows, a clear use case for speculation, and a supportive policy environment.