FTX’s Harrison on crypto winter: ‘these things happen’

FTX US President Brett Harrison believes that crypto will recover from the current bear market, noting in an interview with CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ that events being witnessed are not isolated to the current crypto winter.

The rough times some crypto companies are going through have also been reflected in other markets, he noted.

Are you looking for fast-news, hot-tips and market analysis?

Sign-up for the Invezz newsletter, today.

Where the crypto market is and what has been happening, the FTX US boss says a combination of macro factors have contributed to it.

He notes that the high inflation, rising interest rates and supply chain bottlenecks have all impacted markets, with stocks indices and bonds among other market sectors down in this period too.

This, he says, has also had an effect on sentiment in the crypto market.

‘Markets do recover’, Harrison says

On the issue of crypto being in a winter and potential similarities to past markets, Harrison told ‘Squawk Box’, the market has tended to have a “short memory.”

Like in the past bear markets, events such as what recently happened with Terra (LUNA) and what’s hit crypto lenders Celsius Network, BlockFi and others – they all bear similarities to previous markets.

There have also been “blobs” in the equity markets, he said. However, “these things do happen and markets do recover,” he added.

Also notably, market forces do step in to help boost recovery – which is what is likely to happen to some of the floundering companies within the crypto industry.

Harrison’s comments come as different players within the sector ponder rescue plans for some projects. 

Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire founder and CEO of FTX, has been on the forefront with credit lines for several companies, including BlockFi and Voyager Digital.