When Carson Case, a computer science major, dropped out of the University of Nevada, Reno to pursue a crypto career in 2020, he didn’t have much of a plan. The then-sophomore just knew he didn’t want to waste any more time in college.
He found success as a freelancer using Solidity, a programming language for creating “smart” blockchain contracts, and made about $300,000 in two years.
“Crypto was often my go-to idea for anything — I liked it, and I understood it,” Case, 23, said. “I was high on bull-run optimism.”
In May 2022, he started his own decentralized finance, or DeFi, project. But it “fell flat on its face” a few months later, Case said, the same week that now-bankrupt lender Celsius Network collapsed. He recently quit his job at a Tesla Inc. factory in Nevada, and — despite it all — says he’s still optimistic about crypto.
“I’m looking to go back whenever I can,” Case said.
The opportunity may present itself soon with crypto on the rebound after almost two years of tumult.
Shortly after Case left college, the industry was savoring a big hurrah. Bitcoin reached an all-time high of almost $69,000 in November 2021, jumping more than 7,000% since the end of 2016 and thrusting the original cryptocurrency into the mainstream consciousness.
Then, one by one, crypto businesses fell like dominoes, from the collapse of stablecoin Terra in May 2022 to the crumbling of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX that November. Bitcoin ended 2022 at roughly $16,540. Many who lost, lost big, while others narrowly escaped unscathed.
Before the unraveling, Andrew Wang dropped out of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in 2021 after his second week of orientation to jump into nonfungible tokens. He discovered digital art during the pandemic, a lonely time for him, and was drawn to the technology’s robust online community.
Good Days, Bad Days
“There’s always going to be good days and bad days,” Wang, 25, said. “I’ve seen both, but what other industry in the world can open me up to everything life has to offer?”
Since leaving Columbia, Wang — who hosts crypto discussions online and has about 185,000 followers on the X social-media platform — created NFT art and launched a Web3 project. Web3 refers to a vision of a world wide web that uses blockchain technology and digital tokens to wrest control of the internet from giant technology companies.
Wang said he’s been sustaining himself on money he made from trading NFTs in early 2021. Over the past year or so, that part of the industry has mostly fizzled. About 95% of some 73,000 NFT collections are now worth pennies, according to researchers at dappGambl. Between January 2022 and July 2023, monthly NFT trading volume plummeted 81%, according to data from DappRadar.
While Wang says he’s not worried, his sentiment isn’t matched by employment data for the industry. The crypto workforce grew more than 18% in early 2022, though employment has been on the decline this year, at a rate of more than 10% through October, according to data from Revelio Labs, based on 35 large companies. Time will tell if the industry’s recent rebound will have a positive impact on hiring.
Case likens the recent turbulence to the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. That period yielded winners and losers, and eventually led to something revolutionary, he said.
“The internet was this obvious thing that was going to change the world,” Case said. “But nobody was going to use it in 1990. It was just too difficult for most people.”
Rebound Signs
While crypto shrunk from a $3 trillion market to one worth about $1 trillion over the course of a year, it’s shown recent signs of rejuvenation. Bitcoin has more than doubled this year, though the rally has stalled as the token’s price moves closer to the $40,000 level. And young people who either weathered the downturn in place or who left the space are confident in its eventual resurgence.
“I’m excited for the future for once in my life, regardless of where the prices are,” Wang said.
Rushi Manche, 20, left Vanderbilt University at the end of his sophomore year to follow his crypto dreams.
“I wish I got in earlier,” he said.
He took a leave of absence in 2022 to co-found blockchain infrastructure startup Movement Labs along with a classmate, who also dropped out. Last month, the company said it raised $3.4 million in an early funding round.
“College is useful for people who want to figure out what they want to do with their life,” Manche said. “I came into college knowing I wanted to be an entrepreneur.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.
