Bitcoin is known for its high volatility and cyclical price movement. The asset has experienced multiple extreme drawdowns. In 2022, it fell from nearly $69,000 to just over $15,000, a 77% fa
Bitcoin is known for its high volatility and cyclical price movement. The asset has experienced multiple extreme drawdowns.
In 2022, it fell from nearly $69,000 to just over $15,000, a 77% fall. In 2018 an 84% move to the downside took it from almost $20,000 to $3,000. 2014 saw a similar 85% drawdown in price.
Each one of these bear markets has a body count. Celsius, BlockFi, and more have gone belly up during these sustained periods of price decrease. Blockchain.com, which was founded in 2011, is still here and reportedly eyeing a 2026 IPO. Co-CEO Lane Kasselman joined TheStreet Roundtable to explain how they have managed to stay afloat, even as the industry seemed like it was disappearing around it.
Watch the full interview here!
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Kasselman believes that most of the crypto companies that have gone bankrupt or have failed similarly were actually not primarily driven by the industry’s high volatility.
"FTX and Celsius and BlockFi, each one had a different problem, a lot of them having to do with skirting the law,” he said.
Blockchain.com has sacrificed some speed in launching new products and growing the business, focusing on maintaining clean books and avoiding legal troubles.
"We've been a little bit slower to bring new products to market because we ask for permission. That means we get our licenses from regulators and we do it right," Kasselman said. "Back in 2021, those companies were getting a lot of attention because they were growing so rapidly. We were growing more slowly, because we were doing it legally."
"The way that we've been able to withstand so many market cycles over a decade of just extreme volatility is because we tend to believe in a counter-cyclical type of business model,” Kasselman explained.
The first example of this ethos in action came during the COVID-19 pandemic. Layoffs and other staffing cuts permeated every industry, including crypto. The day after the pandemic was announced, Bitcoin’s price took a 40% hit.
Blockchain.com took a different path, and actually hired new employees due to a belief that markets would quickly rebound. This turned out to be true, and before the end of that yearn Bitcoin had reached new all-time highs.
The second example came in 2022, during the aforementioned 77% drawdown. While most crypto businesses were fighting just to stay afloat, Blockchain.com was out raising new capital. At least $110 million in new funding came in during the 2022-2023 bear market.
Watch the full interview here!
"Everyone said you shouldn't raise capital. But we did, and it turned out to be one of the best ideas ever,” Kasselman said.
Longevity in crypto isn't about picking the right coin. For Blockchain.com, disciplined legal checks and contrarian timing have been the key to not just survive, but thrive during sustained bear markets. In May 2026, multiple outlets reported a confidential filing for an IPO from Blockchain.com. If successful, it would become the oldest originally crypto-native business in the world to be traded on public markets, surpassing Coinbase, which was founded in 2012.
