Besides the fact that all kinds of technical indicators are at similar values as during the troughs of the previous crypto bear markets, also news is comparably gloomy. This is typical for the sentiment at this stage of the cycle. We list three news events that illustrate this.

• Crypto exchange crypto.com is not going to sponsor the Champions League after all. During the peak of the bull market in 2021, crypto exchanges were jostling to be allowed to fill expensive advertising slots during halftime of the American super bowl. Now it's the other way around, as shown by the withdrawal of crypto.com. It was a hefty sum: the reportedly 495 million with which it would become the main sponsor of the Champions League - for five seasons. The crypto exchange does have a variety of other sports deals still running. Like the naming rights to a stadium in Los Angeles, for 700 million.
• The president of Paraguay has blocked a mining law. He says that the energy could be better spent on other things. Also, the mining industry would not create enough jobs, compared to other industries.
• There is still relatively little interest in El Salvador's Volcano bonds. Did the Bitcoin mining-based bonds seem like a great idea a year ago - now it seems investor interest is moderate. The crypto exchange overseeing the issue, Bitfinex, remains hopeful that the issue can still take place in 2022.

Conclusion

Sentiment is lackluster but behind the scenes, work is being done. Most teams are still in good shape financially and are just loving the bear market. The hype is over, and everyone can focus on what matters most: enabling a better financial system.

Not worried
Investors who have been through multiple bear markets are also laconic and continue to buy. Hedge fund manager Dan Morehead, in an interview with Raoul Pal, isn't worried:

"I've been through about four of these cycles in the last ten years, and I was sweating in some of the previous ones. I was like, man, maybe blockchain doesn't work, maybe they'll outlaw Bitcoin, or maybe there's a flaw in the code and we're all screwed. There were so many worries in these past cycles. And I've experienced it firsthand, get in and it all goes down 80%. What I would say is this time, it is really, really a different vibe. There's hundreds of millions of people using it, 10% of all US-Mexico remittance is going over Bitcoin. It's a lot of people are really counting on, it's really a real system."