Crypto Crash and Future of Web3

All over the world, people are nervous.

Prices are rising, pundits are speculating about a global recession, and we’re wondering what the next few months will hold in our pocketbooks, gas tanks, and jobs.

This time last year, bitcoin, stock prices, and consumer sentiment worldwide were at an all-time high. Everyone felt great. But in January, things started to crumble. Stock prices around the world began to tumble, bitcoin prices began to slide, and high-flying crypto names (and coins), have gone belly-up.

It turns out the economies around the world might have been flying too high and now things have changed.

Central banks worldwide are jacking up interest rates to slow down overheated economies and fighting a crusade against inflation, causing prices to spike.

So What Does This Have to Do with Programming?

Programmers work for all sorts of companies these days. So, if companies are now switching from hiring new employees (and programmers), to letting them go, it could impact you.

But, there’s another reason too. Bitcoin is only one example of Blockchain technology. There’s a lot of talk about the future of Cryptocurrencies. But, Cryptocurrencies are only one small part of this new technology that is quickly going to revolutionize our world as more of us come into contact with Web3 and IoT.

Readers of this website are wondering what these new technologies will do and how they will play as our world develops. They want to know if blockchain is here to stay or if it was just a flash in the pan. They also want to know what the job market will be over the next few years.

But you should know that unlike many doomsayers and naysayers getting airtime right now, I want you to know that I am extraordinarily hopeful.

I’m not hopeful because I’m ignorant; And even if I’m a strong believer in crypto, and even a more believer in the power of blockchain as technology. I believe we are facing a similar period as we had during the “dotcom” bubble, and there are going to be changes, but the future will emerge brighter.

Learning to code in general is and will still be a fruitful profession for the next 5, 10, 15 years and longer, web3 in particular is being questioned, but I don’t believe is going away, and when the dust from the current crisis settle, web3 will be a crucial and integral part of the web.

The Crypto Crash.

Remember how bitcoin was at all-time highs a few months ago, trading for more than $60,000 per coin?

Stock markets around the world turned over and began to go down. Bitcoin fell too and is now trading at barely $20,000 a coin.

If you are a bitcoin holder, it’s a stressful time.

• Do you hold on?
• Do you sell?
• What are you going to do with the coins that you hold?
• Is bitcoin something that’s going to be a currency of the future?
• What is bitcoin’s fate?
• Is it nothing but a big giant scheme that’s costing you money?

Let’s get a little perspective because we’ve seen things like this.

Do you remember the dotcom bubble?

Around the year 2000, dotcom companies were flying higher than ever before. Investors worldwide realized how vital and influential the internet would be, and companies were trying to capitalize on all of this.

For a few years, it seemed that all anybody had to do to get millions of dollars invested in their company what’s the slap some Internet term or “.com” on their name, and investors would lineup to hand them money.

Highflying Internet companies reached incredible valuations, shot up, and became more and more expensive day after day after day. People got in and bought and brought, driving these prices up to astronomical highs.

When the bubble burst, solid companies like Google and Amazon, suffered greatly but came out on the other side, becoming some of the biggest companies in the world.

They were also terrible companies that never made it out. Some had no plans to profit from the money investors poured into them. Others didn’t understand how to capitalize on the internet. And, some bad actors tried to make a quick bit of cash on frenzy.

Eventually, as it does every time a situation like this happens, the whole system began to crumble.

As prices soared too high, things started to crack. Company valuations began to crumble, and the “dotcom” bubble burst.

No one was safe. Everything was impacted. Internet companies and non-Internet companies alike were clubbed, with prices dropping almost overnight. Nothing was left unscathed, with many of the most popular companies getting clobbered the worst.

Sound familiar?

Bitcoin popped up in 2014 and started against steam over the last few years. As bitcoin became more popular other currencies jumped in, and more people began to buy more cryptocurrencies.

Over the last couple of years, hundreds of cryptocurrencies, many of which had no real value, began to hit the market. Valuable technological advances backed some, while other cryptocurrencies were dangerous and exploded in the face of investors who invested with them.

This article isn’t about the details and the economic fundamentals of cryptocurrencies. But I want to draw your attention to the fact that we have seen this play out before.

The dotcom bubble and the crypto bubble look and feel remarkably similar when you look at them from this perspective.

In both instances, people got super excited because of the new technology and possibilities. As more and more people invested, the prices shut up. And, when prices shut up, more and more companies and more and more people threw resources into the space to try to make money while there was money to be made. As a result, excellent cryptocurrencies were developed alongside some awful ones.

And when the Internet bubble burst, it cost a lot of problems for a lot of people. Right now, many people who have invested in crypto are hurting, and their investments seem like they were strong a few months ago and look weak.

What happened then is what is happening now. When it comes to cryptocurrencies, a lot of people can make a lot of cryptocurrencies. But just like pets.com wasn’t the same as Google, some cryptocurrencies like dogecoin or Miami coin are not the same as bitcoin and Ethereum.

The Future of Crypto.

What many people forget about cryptocurrencies is that they are just one small piece in the giant technological revolution that is Blockchain technology.

I won’t bother to tell you where the predict which cryptocurrencies will be around in the next five years, nor will I will tell you how much they’ll be worth. No one knows.

But there is a guarantee that I’m willing to make and state publicly here on this website.

Blockchain technology which is the foundation for all cryptocurrencies, is here to stay, and it will become a massive revolution over the next 15 to 20 years.

Blockchain finally helps us solve the persistent and pesky technological problems that have bothered people, companies, and organizations for the last 25 years.

Since the beginning of the internet and its use in our daily lives, businesses have struggled with internet security, validating transactions, providing secure databases, keeping bad actors from getting in and stealing or corrupting data.

Blockchain helps us fix all of that.

Who knows what will happen to cryptocurrencies, but Blockchain is here to stay.

How do I know this?

Right now, companies worldwide in every industry and sector are desperately searching for Blockchain programmers to help them adopt this technology into their business.

They want to protect their information and their customer’s information better than they’ve ever been able to do before.

They need Blockchain developers to do this.

Blockchain technology is still in its infancy, but growing fast.

There’s never been a better time to become a Blockchain developer.

• Companies are competing for Blockchain developers.
• Salaries for Blockchain developers are soaring.
• People with even a little knowledge and skill in Blockchain are being given opportunities to advance their careers in ways they never imagined.

Regarding blockchain developers, the law of supply in demand is in full effect. Blockchain developers are in incredible demand, but there’s a very small supply right now.

So, what is the future?

I don’t know what will happen with the economy here in Germany. I don’t know what will happen to the economy in the United States or anywhere else in the world.

I’ll leave it to the economists to predict recessions and tell us what will happen financially. That’s not my place, and I don’t have that skill.

However, as a programmer. Here’s what I know. Technology is here to stay. If salaries continue to rise like they’ve been rising over the next few months, companies will turn to computers to help them save labor costs.

While massive companies like Amazon or Apple can deal with rising prices by passing them on to their customers, many companies don’t have that power. So if they can’t afford new employees, they have to turn to something they can afford, which is technology.

Mining equipment manufacturers, multinational retail operations, shipping and receiving companies, advertising firms, lawyers, real estate agents, and small local bakeries are all learning to rely more and more on technology. Every company is more dependent on computers and programming today than five years ago. As a result, computer programmers have more work today than I did five years ago.

Additionally, companies are increasingly turning to technology as one of their top ways to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. Fifty years ago, companies would scour the best schools to hire the best intellectual talent for their managers and executives. Today the game is changing. They want the best programmers.

So What Does All This Mean?

No matter what happens over the next six months, twelve months, one year, or five years, computer programmers and those with skills in writing code will be in more demand tomorrow than they are today.

Recession or not, good economic times or not, companies large and small can’t do without programmers. So, if you want to become a computer programmer, but are worried about what’s going to happen in your economy over the next months or years, this is the best time to jump in. You have skills that businesses need in good times and bad.

Here’s My Big Takeaway.

There’s a lot of uncertainty in our world around cryptocurrencies, the economy, and everything else. However, the skills we talk about on this website every week will be in high demand far into the future.

No matter what happens, technology, and those who understand it, will be a part of the solution!

Thanks for reading and please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Juan Cruz Martinez

Juan has made it his mission to help aspiring developers unlock their full potential. With over two decades of hands-on programming experience, he understands the challenges and rewards of learning to code. By providing accessible and engaging educational content, Juan has cultivated a community of learners who share their passion for coding. Leveraging his expertise and empathetic teaching approach, Juan has successfully guided countless students on their journey to becoming skilled developers, transforming lives through the power of technology.