Considered a potential rival to Ethereum when it launched several years ago, Fantom has had an extremely disappointing 2022. Fantom is down over 92% on the year and is trading below $0,20. But that seems to be changing for Fantom, which just landed one of its high-profile founders in November. Over the past 30 days, Fantom has rallied around 15% and it looks like the cryptocurrency is about to change things in 2023.
Of course, much of the recent price hike is based on hopes and speculation, predicting the return of Andre Cronje, who has been compared to the founder of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto (a pseudonym), for his influence on the cryptocurrency market. Just the fact that Cronje is back on board has gone a long way in reassuring investors that Fantom isn't going away anytime soon. And there are at least two other reasons Fantom could be poised for a strong 2023.
Fundamental financial solidity
Given that Fantom has easily been one of the worst performing cryptocurrencies in the market this year, investors might think it is in pretty dire financial shape. However, Fantom clarified that he has no exposure to the failed crypto exchange FTX and has the financial resources to wait out the crypto winter.
In late November, Fantom released a detailed description of its financial records, which showed that it has $340 million worth of digital assets, including $100 million in stablecoins, $100 million in crypto assets, $50 million in non-crypto assets and approximately $90 million in Fantom tokens. A veritable war chest!
In addition to all this, Fantom also announced that they have 30 years before this money runs out. The calculation was based on a $7 million annual utilization rate and the ability to generate consistent annual income on those $340 million of digital assets. At the moment, Fantom says, cash flow is positive. It is generating $10 million annually, mainly through the use of several decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
DeFi can unlock the long-term value of Fantom
This brings us to the main reason Fantom is poised for a potential rebound in 2023: It appears to be focusing on DeFi as a long-term method to unlock the value of the Fantom blockchain. DeFi is one of the most important market sectors in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, and an area where Fantom has already demonstrated significant strength. As Andre Cronje recently pointed out, Fantom wouldn't exist without DeFi.
This doubling of DeFi should be reassuring to investors, as Fantom isn't looking to transform itself into something it is not. If, for example, Fantom suddenly announced plans to enter the non-fungible token (NFT) or Web3 gaming or metaverse industry, it would raise many red flags. But Fantom is catching up with a great DeFi pioneer, who is ready to unlock DeFi for Fantom. Focusing on what you do best makes a lot of sense from a long-term business perspective.
