Update, October 2026: we wrote this article in January 2022, during a sharp crypto sell-off. We’ve kept the original view below and added what happened next. Nano, the coin we bought, traded at $2.16 on 22 January 2022. On 13 October 2026 it was about $0.33, a fall of around 85%.
Crypto: Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.
Crypto market crash: is it game over?
In January 2022, crypto was in free fall. The market had lost more than $1 trillion in value since its November 2021 peak.
Two things drove the sell-off. US growth stocks were falling and Russia’s central bank had proposed banning the use and mining of crypto.
Was this the end for crypto? Or a chance for investors with a strong stomach to buy at lower prices?
A quote often attributed to Baron Rothschild, the 18th century banker, says:
“The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.”
He was talking about markets in general. Would he say the same about crypto?
Some cryptocurrencies are useful. They are permissionless and easy to send. Supporters also see them as a hedge against inflation. But crypto is a young asset class full of speculation. It isn’t backed by anything and doesn’t produce income like an income-generating asset.
Our view in 2022 was that the crash offered an asymmetric bet for long-term investors:
- A low chance of a high reward
- A high chance of a small reward or a total loss
In other words, a gamble. Crypto could fall much further or go to zero, so only invest money you’re fully prepared to lose. We keep crypto to 1% to 3% of our portfolio at most.
Before you consider any risky investment, shares included, make sure you have an emergency fund.
What crypto did we buy?
Nano (XNO)
We liked Nano because it aims to be a near-perfect currency. According to the Nano Foundation, it is:
- Feeless: sending Nano costs nothing, while Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions carry fees.
- Fast: transactions usually confirm in under a second.
- Fixed supply: there are about 133.25 million Nano and no more will be created.
- Low energy: it doesn’t rely on mining.
“We built nano to simply be the most efficient currency the world has seen.”
Colin LeMahieu, founder of Nano
Price on 22 January 2022: 1 XNO = $2.16 (CoinGecko).
At the time, we estimated that if Nano reached a market value similar to XRP’s, the price could rise about 100 times. We also said it could go to zero if the crash continued.
What happened next
The crash in January 2022 was the start of a long bear market:
- 2022: prices kept falling. The crypto exchange FTX collapsed in November 2022, one of the biggest failures in the industry.
- 2024: the US approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January, which brought large amounts of new money into Bitcoin.
- 2025: the FCA allowed UK retail investors to buy crypto ETNs from 8 October 2025.
Bitcoin went on to recover and set new highs. Smaller coins like Nano did not. On 13 October 2026, Nano was worth about $0.33, with a total market value of about $44 million (CoinDesk). Someone who put £100 into Nano in January 2022 would have about £15 left, before exchange movements.
The lesson? A low price after a crash doesn’t make a coin cheap. Most small cryptocurrencies never get back to their old highs, which is why position size matters so much.
Want to buy it anyway? Read our guide on how to buy Nano crypto in the UK.
MoneyGrower.co.uk does not offer financial advice. The information on this website is the opinion of the author and is for information purposes only. Use of the information on this website is at your own risk. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns.
Pedro is passionate about finance, marketing, and technology. He is a growth manager at several online projects and a former digital marketer for a fintech company.
