Is Crypto dead? Whales control pricing. Is there a real value once POS becomes standard across all platforms and costs dwindle to near zero for transactions?

Watching everything slowly fade away back to august prices and realizing catalysts are few and far between. Transaction costs will continue to drop on Etherium competitors while also building use. The biggest issue I see is who owns the bulk of crypto in general. Granted, they don’t want to see it fall either, but the more faith is lost in this investment the harder it will be to bring in new investors or keep the ones that no longer buy more. What scares me the most is how easy it is for a few whales to drive the prices down and wipe out any profit in a matter of minutes. I spend more time in the stock market nowadays because I know that while the same problem persists, the companies value is still tethered to its financials (for the most part). Also it’s easier to play both sides without fear of losing 50% without knowing if it will ever recover.