Are Crypto Investors Starting to Lose Interest?

The crypto industry is facing what is being described as a “quiet quitting crisis,” according to Travis Kling, founder and CIO of Ikigai Asset Management.

The term “quiet quitting” describes employees doing only the minimum required and disengaging from extra efforts, a trend Kling believes mirrors the current state of the crypto world.

Kling suggests that many in the crypto community are less engaged than before due to dwindling faith in the sector’s ability to solve real-world problems or achieve significant adoption. He points out that previous hype about crypto’s transformative potential, which drove billions in venture capital funding, has not materialized as expected.

He criticizes many crypto projects as “overvalued and pointless,” noting a lack of exciting developments similar to past trends like DeFi or NFTs. While he acknowledges that decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) are showing promise, he feels that the rest of the crypto space is struggling.

Kling also challenges the notion that the crypto market is still in its early stages. He argues that with Bitcoin’s market value and significant institutional investment, the sector has matured beyond early-stage comparisons to the internet of the late 90s.

Despite his skepticism, Kling sees potential for growth if former President Donald Trump were to win the upcoming US presidential election. He believes that a Trump administration could introduce regulatory changes that might benefit altcoins, shifting the focus from less valuable governance tokens to more promising yield-bearing tokens.