CORPORATE WINDOW: The optimism of crypto enthusiasts.

'The market has not bottomed out yet,' says ANC, a small-time investor of cryptocurrencies who is still sanguine about its future. 'I expect Bitcoin, (currently trading at less than $20,000) to go down to $12,000-15,000 though some even expect it to touch $10,000. That is when I will buy,' he says, explaining the bear-and-bull cycle.

ANC is one of the nine million crypto owners in Pakistan, according to triple A which estimates that about four per cent of the population in the country has invested in blockchain assets. And the adoption rate at the grassroot level had been growing astronomically with a 711pc increase in 2020-21, according to Chainanalysis.

But the global recession, and the current horrifying economic crisis in Pakistan, have thrown a monkey wrench into the works.

'I am not really that active anymore because the market has crashed and is finding new lows,' laments another investor DR. 'The value of the coins in my portfolio is half of what it used to be. However, everyone I know is holding strong to their portfolio, rather than selling at a loss and divesting coins.

'The first rule of crypto is that you put in money and forget about it. It cannot be your main investment, it cannot be your primary source of income. You can have some crazy good days or some crazy bad day losses.'

For an average investor, holding on to their portfolios hoping for better days appears to be the best bet

Hedge against depreciation

Taken in the light of drastic rupee depreciation, crypto enthusiasts appear to be in a better boat than investors of more stable assets.

Coins are purchased using a stablecoin, a currency within the crypto universe. In Pakistan, a popular stablecoin is Tether, widely known as USDT. Rupees are used to purchase USDT which in turn can be used to buy coins.

USDT is pegged to the value of the US dollar. If the dollar exchange rate is around Rs208, a single USDT would cost about Rs220, estimates an investor. This makes stablecoins an asset in themselves, similar to investing in traditional foreign currencies.

'If I look at my...