Sorry to break it to you, but your favourite crypto might never go back to its all-time high price. Ever!

There is this tendency in crypto to believe that everything will go up when the next bull run comes. However, a quick comparison of the composition of the top cryptos in 2013, 2017 and 2021 will tell you that 4 years is long enough to send some coins into oblivion, never to be seen or heard from again. And there are so many reasons why your favourite coin might be one of those that will be sent into oblivion.

Most importantly, the narratives have shifted between the last bull run and now. What used to be hot is no longer hot. For example, DeFi and NFTs were so hot in 2020 - 2021 but the sentiment about them may not be the same now. Even if the sentiment could be the same, there is increased competition from new projects in the space that have risen in the last few years. Some of these projects may have better utility, more innovative features and better technology than the projects that used to be hot in the last bull run. The presence of many new projects may also just make the market more saturated, making it harder for any single project to stand out and regain its all-time high price.

Another thing that people usually do not pay much attention to, is the aspect of tokenomics. Most of these cryptos are highly inflationary, such that their supply could have even doubled or tripled in the last few years. With an increased supply, and not much demand to match it, price recovery to all-time high would not be easy. Take a look at Coinmarketcap's list of coins/tokens in the top 200 with high inflation. Each of those coins and tokens will have the number of coins in circulation at least doubled.

You also have to consider the paper hands. Honestly, not everyone has the balls to be diamond handed and patiently ride the wave back to all-time high. Some HODLers are down so bad that they will sell at the slight sign of price recovery. Others maybe are just simply disappointed by the lack of new developments or announcements coming from the team in the last few years and they are looking for any slight pump so that they can get out of the projects. This sell pressure will constantly prevent the price from going anywhere near its ATH.

Other reasons are completely unknown to us. The market will do what the market does, and no one can understand why. The factors that determine the price of cryptos are very complex. We will simply never know why some coins will stay down forever.