Last night, the U.S. stock market witnessed a historic moment as tech giant Nvidia’s market capitalization surpassed $5 trillion, writing a legendary chapter in capital markets. Yet, this very moment left the crypto community utterly "broken."

While gold and stocks are dancing together on the global capital stage, the crypto market is mired in pessimism. Generating profits has become increasingly difficult, and returns have significantly underperformed traditional assets. Bitcoin briefly touched $120,000 but resembled a capital-driven solo act lacking retail participation. Altcoins, on the other hand, faced liquidity drought, innovation fatigue, and fleeting hype.

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Crypto Market Enters "Hell Mode" as Stocks and Gold Attract Capital

The current crypto bull market shows clear signs of fatigue, failing to deliver the anticipated broad-based "halving rally." While Bitcoin has repeatedly hit new highs, its upward momentum has slowed, driven largely by Wall Street institutions. Altcoins have repeatedly hit new lows, with retail investors severely impacted by the "10·11" incident or leaving the market in frustration, leading to tight liquidity. The crypto market has been pushed into a cycle of hellish difficulty.

In contrast, capital is flowing toward more visible profit opportunities and certainty as stocks and gold take turns strengthening.

Who could have imagined that Nvidia, in just 113 days, would once again perform an "AI miracle" in the capital markets, becoming the first publicly traded company to reach a $5 trillion market cap? This figure exceeds the annual GDP of almost all countries except the U.S. and China and far surpasses the total market capitalization of the entire crypto market (approximately $3.8 trillion).

In fact, the "Magnificent Seven," led by Nvidia, have sparked a collective frenzy in U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 has remained above its 50-day moving average for 125 consecutive days, and its year-to-date returns have already surpassed Bitcoin's. Market sentiment is soaring, with U.S. stock bulls even sounding the trumpet for 7000 points.

Data confirms this fervor. According to Nasdaq, in the first half of 2025 alone, U.S. retail investors accumulated approximately $3.4 trillion in stock purchases and $3.2 trillion in sales, totaling over $6.6 trillion in trading volume. Citadel Securities analysis reveals that retail investors now account for 22% of overall U.S. stock trading volume, the highest level since the 2021 "meme stock frenzy." Currently, retail investors trade an average of 1.2 billion shares daily.

This investment enthusiasm isn’t limited to U.S. stocks. In South Korea, the KOSPI index has broken through the 4000-point mark, rising nearly 70.9% year-to-date, making it one of the best-performing major global indices. This market sentiment has noticeably reduced trading activity among Koreans previously keen on crypto speculation. On October 29, local virtual asset trading volume was approximately $3.61 billion, only 23.2% of KOSPI's trading volume, whereas this ratio once exceeded 80%.

Meanwhile, some capital is flowing into crypto-concept stocks. According to Bloomberg, while the total market capitalization of Bitcoin and altcoins has mostly moved in sync historically, this time is different. Bitcoin's growing popularity among institutional investors, coupled with speculative funds shifting to crypto-related stocks, has created a nearly trillion-dollar gap between Bitcoin and altcoins. Markus Thielen, CEO of 10x Research, noted that if retail investors (especially in Korea) hadn’t shifted their focus to related stocks, the altcoin market cap would likely be $800 billion higher. However, in the current cycle, altcoins lack new capital inflows, and this gap is difficult to bridge in the short term. Historically, Korean crypto traders have favored altcoins, with their trading volume once exceeding 80% on local exchanges, while global platforms focused more on Bitcoin and Ethereum.

In response to soaring stock demand, trading platforms like Robinhood, Coinbase, and Kraken have launched tokenized stock businesses to meet existing crypto user demand and explore new growth avenues. This strategic move has, to some extent, diverted trading activity away from the crypto market.

Additionally, in an environment of rising risk appetite and macroeconomic uncertainty, gold has become the preferred safe-haven asset and one of the best-performing assets in 2025. According to Goldman Sachs analysis, while Bitcoin offers higher returns, its volatility is extreme. During strong risk appetite, Bitcoin often behaves like stocks, but when stocks fall, its hedging effect is inferior to gold’s. Thus, gold remains more reliable for避险, while Bitcoin is still transitioning from a risk asset to a safe-haven asset.

Even China’s A-share market recently reclaimed 4000 points. Jokes circulate in communities: "Dads trading stocks, moms trading gold, and me holding ETH—we all reunite at 4000," and "I’m hiding from the bull market in crypto."

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Crypto Market Trapped in Internal and External Challenges: Patience Needed for Innovation and Capital

Beyond the capital siphon effect from stocks and gold, which draws away substantial investor and retail funds and marginalizes crypto assets in capital allocation, the crypto market’s困境 stems from multiple factors.

On one hand, current crypto market innovation lacks explosiveness. Compared to past narratives like DeFi, NFTs, and the metaverse that shattered boundaries, today’s market remains in a phase of technical iteration with repetitive narratives. Even if some narratives attract short-term funds, they often cool quickly, making it hard to sustain market activity and investor confidence. Emerging narratives like RWA, DePIN, and stablecoins are primarily institution-driven, offering limited yield effects and low retail participation,难以形成广泛的市场共鸣.

A deeper issue is that most altcoins lack clear use cases and practical applications, making it hard to form sustainable capital appeal. For instance, MEME coins are a double-edged sword: while lowering entry barriers and enabling more retail participation, they over-rely on stories and emotional drives, accelerating the PVP-ization of on-field capital and ultimately devolving into pure capital games devoid of real value creation.

“The current problem with the crypto market isn’t a lack of derivatives but too many ‘virtual’ things on-chain. What we need now is to bring more real-world assets and services on-chain. Finance must eventually integrate with the real economy. The Web3 industry must urgently align with mainstream narratives like AI and the Agent Economy. In the first half of next year, whether in AI, external stocks, or crypto, there could be a massive bull market. But this bull market must be built on integration with reality. The industry should strive to create tangible advancements in onboarding everything to blockchain and Agent Finance to attract more capital and talent toward sustainable development, rather than staying stuck in internal MEME speculation,” noted Zheng Di, a frontier tech investor, on the podcast Zhi Wu Bu Yan.

From the perspective of crypto KOL @Sea, the crypto industry needs patience and long-termism: “AI and U.S. stocks are hot, but does shifting most capital and attention there mean we’ll have a stronger relative advantage compared to crypto? Crypto is a good market/industry. Although it’s like digging for gold in a pile of waste with one hand while pinching your nose with the other, the rapid clearance and self-iteration capabilities of free markets, combined with global developer gathering, make it more likely to birth miracles.”

“Crypto products have found product-market fit or at least paved the way for verticals that have achieved PMF. Though such products are still few, with each building cycle, continuous infrastructure improvement, and compounded knowledge, we are creating more products with practical value. These products are not only reshaping market structures but also pioneering entirely new asset classes like prediction markets and perpetual contracts. Now, as Wall Street elites and senior U.S. government officials finally begin to acknowledge crypto as a formal industry, early participants should hold their convictions even firmer,” wrote crypto researcher Monk.

On the other hand, as a typical high-risk asset, crypto market growth often relies on spillover effects from upstream capital. As interest rates gradually decline, returns on low-risk assets (e.g., deposits, bonds) diminish, and capital gradually flows to high-risk areas like tech stocks, growth enterprises, and crypto. However, this capital transmission isn’t instantaneous but involves a time lag. As mentioned, with stocks and gold offering relatively stable returns, investors often prioritize these assets with visible profits and relatively controllable risks, making crypto unlikely to be the immediate choice. In other words, only after interest rate cuts gradually release liquidity and transmit through risk assets like stocks can the crypto market receive incremental capital.

Furthermore, regulatory gaps are among the core issues facing the current crypto market. The “10·11 incident,” for example, exposed industry shortcomings in infrastructure and risk management, severely impacted market liquidity, and shook traditional capital’s confidence in crypto assets. Unlike traditional finance, the crypto market operates 24/7, develops faster, reacts more immediately to news, and has more diverse participants. This means the impact of risk events is often more concentrated and intense, directly affecting retail capital and overall market confidence.

“Establishing a liquidity buffer fund and introducing circuit breakers similar to those in U.S. stocks are very necessary. Traditional financial markets learned these risk control lessons through bloodshed, and crypto should learn from them. In events like ‘10·11,’ if a liquidity buffer fund could step in to buy time for arbitrageurs to re-enter, many problems could be avoided,” Zheng Di pointed out. This view highlights the urgent need for risk management and institutional building in the crypto market.

In summary, the crypto market is undergoing a trial by fire. However, it still possesses unique advantages like rapid iteration, global participation, and technological innovation. Focusing on practical implementation and value creation, coupled with patience and long-termism, may be the key strategy for survival and breakthrough in the current market.

Last night, the U.S. stock market witnessed a historic moment as tech giant Nvidia’s market capitalization surpassed $5 trillion, writing a legendary chapter in capital markets. Yet, this very moment left the crypto community utterly "broken."

While gold and stocks are dancing together on the global capital stage, the crypto market is mired in pessimism. Generating profits has become increasingly difficult, and returns have significantly underperformed traditional assets. Bitcoin briefly touched $120,000 but resembled a capital-driven solo act lacking retail participation. Altcoins, on the other hand, faced liquidity drought, innovation fatigue, and fleeting hype.

---

Crypto Market Enters "Hell Mode" as Stocks and Gold Attract Capital

The current crypto bull market shows clear signs of fatigue, failing to deliver the anticipated broad-based "halving rally." While Bitcoin has repeatedly hit new highs, its upward momentum has slowed, driven largely by Wall Street institutions. Altcoins have repeatedly hit new lows, with retail investors severely impacted by the "10·11" incident or leaving the market in frustration, leading to tight liquidity. The crypto market has been pushed into a cycle of hellish difficulty.

In contrast, capital is flowing toward more visible profit opportunities and certainty as stocks and gold take turns strengthening.

Who could have imagined that Nvidia, in just 113 days, would once again perform an "AI miracle" in the capital markets, becoming the first publicly traded company to reach a $5 trillion market cap? This figure exceeds the annual GDP of almost all countries except the U.S. and China and far surpasses the total market capitalization of the entire crypto market (approximately $3.8 trillion).

In fact, the "Magnificent Seven," led by Nvidia, have sparked a collective frenzy in U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 has remained above its 50-day moving average for 125 consecutive days, and its year-to-date returns have already surpassed Bitcoin's. Market sentiment is soaring, with U.S. stock bulls even sounding the trumpet for 7000 points.

Data confirms this fervor. According to Nasdaq, in the first half of 2025 alone, U.S. retail investors accumulated approximately $3.4 trillion in stock purchases and $3.2 trillion in sales, totaling over $6.6 trillion in trading volume. Citadel Securities analysis reveals that retail investors now account for 22% of overall U.S. stock trading volume, the highest level since the 2021 "meme stock frenzy." Currently, retail investors trade an average of 1.2 billion shares daily.

This investment enthusiasm isn’t limited to U.S. stocks. In South Korea, the KOSPI index has broken through the 4000-point mark, rising nearly 70.9% year-to-date, making it one of the best-performing major global indices. This market sentiment has noticeably reduced trading activity among Koreans previously keen on crypto speculation. On October 29, local virtual asset trading volume was approximately $3.61 billion, only 23.2% of KOSPI's trading volume, whereas this ratio once exceeded 80%.

Meanwhile, some capital is flowing into crypto-concept stocks. According to Bloomberg, while the total market capitalization of Bitcoin and altcoins has mostly moved in sync historically, this time is different. Bitcoin's growing popularity among institutional investors, coupled with speculative funds shifting to crypto-related stocks, has created a nearly trillion-dollar gap between Bitcoin and altcoins. Markus Thielen, CEO of 10x Research, noted that if retail investors (especially in Korea) hadn’t shifted their focus to related stocks, the altcoin market cap would likely be $800 billion higher. However, in the current cycle, altcoins lack new capital inflows, and this gap is difficult to bridge in the short term. Historically, Korean crypto traders have favored altcoins, with their trading volume once exceeding 80% on local exchanges, while global platforms focused more on Bitcoin and Ethereum.

In response to soaring stock demand, trading platforms like Robinhood, Coinbase, and Kraken have launched tokenized stock businesses to meet existing crypto user demand and explore new growth avenues. This strategic move has, to some extent, diverted trading activity away from the crypto market.

Additionally, in an environment of rising risk appetite and macroeconomic uncertainty, gold has become the preferred safe-haven asset and one of the best-performing assets in 2025. According to Goldman Sachs analysis, while Bitcoin offers higher returns, its volatility is extreme. During strong risk appetite, Bitcoin often behaves like stocks, but when stocks fall, its hedging effect is inferior to gold’s. Thus, gold remains more reliable for避险, while Bitcoin is still transitioning from a risk asset to a safe-haven asset.

Even China’s A-share market recently reclaimed 4000 points. Jokes circulate in communities: "Dads trading stocks, moms trading gold, and me holding ETH—we all reunite at 4000," and "I’m hiding from the bull market in crypto."

---

Crypto Market Trapped in Internal and External Challenges: Patience Needed for Innovation and Capital

Beyond the capital siphon effect from stocks and gold, which draws away substantial investor and retail funds and marginalizes crypto assets in capital allocation, the crypto market’s困境 stems from multiple factors.

On one hand, current crypto market innovation lacks explosiveness. Compared to past narratives like DeFi, NFTs, and the metaverse that shattered boundaries, today’s market remains in a phase of technical iteration with repetitive narratives. Even if some narratives attract short-term funds, they often cool quickly, making it hard to sustain market activity and investor confidence. Emerging narratives like RWA, DePIN, and stablecoins are primarily institution-driven, offering limited yield effects and low retail participation,难以形成广泛的市场共鸣.

A deeper issue is that most altcoins lack clear use cases and practical applications, making it hard to form sustainable capital appeal. For instance, MEME coins are a double-edged sword: while lowering entry barriers and enabling more retail participation, they over-rely on stories and emotional drives, accelerating the PVP-ization of on-field capital and ultimately devolving into pure capital games devoid of real value creation.

“The current problem with the crypto market isn’t a lack of derivatives but too many ‘virtual’ things on-chain. What we need now is to bring more real-world assets and services on-chain. Finance must eventually integrate with the real economy. The Web3 industry must urgently align with mainstream narratives like AI and the Agent Economy. In the first half of next year, whether in AI, external stocks, or crypto, there could be a massive bull market. But this bull market must be built on integration with reality. The industry should strive to create tangible advancements in onboarding everything to blockchain and Agent Finance to attract more capital and talent toward sustainable development, rather than staying stuck in internal MEME speculation,” noted Zheng Di, a frontier tech investor, on the podcast Zhi Wu Bu Yan.

From the perspective of crypto KOL @Sea, the crypto industry needs patience and long-termism: “AI and U.S. stocks are hot, but does shifting most capital and attention there mean we’ll have a stronger relative advantage compared to crypto? Crypto is a good market/industry. Although it’s like digging for gold in a pile of waste with one hand while pinching your nose with the other, the rapid clearance and self-iteration capabilities of free markets, combined with global developer gathering, make it more likely to birth miracles.”

“Crypto products have found product-market fit or at least paved the way for verticals that have achieved PMF. Though such products are still few, with each building cycle, continuous infrastructure improvement, and compounded knowledge, we are creating more products with practical value. These products are not only reshaping market structures but also pioneering entirely new asset classes like prediction markets and perpetual contracts. Now, as Wall Street elites and senior U.S. government officials finally begin to acknowledge crypto as a formal industry, early participants should hold their convictions even firmer,” wrote crypto researcher Monk.

On the other hand, as a typical high-risk asset, crypto market growth often relies on spillover effects from upstream capital. As interest rates gradually decline, returns on low-risk assets (e.g., deposits, bonds) diminish, and capital gradually flows to high-risk areas like tech stocks, growth enterprises, and crypto. However, this capital transmission isn’t instantaneous but involves a time lag. As mentioned, with stocks and gold offering relatively stable returns, investors often prioritize these assets with visible profits and relatively controllable risks, making crypto unlikely to be the immediate choice. In other words, only after interest rate cuts gradually release liquidity and transmit through risk assets like stocks can the crypto market receive incremental capital.

Furthermore, regulatory gaps are among the core issues facing the current crypto market. The “10·11 incident,” for example, exposed industry shortcomings in infrastructure and risk management, severely impacted market liquidity, and shook traditional capital’s confidence in crypto assets. Unlike traditional finance, the crypto market operates 24/7, develops faster, reacts more immediately to news, and has more diverse participants. This means the impact of risk events is often more concentrated and intense, directly affecting retail capital and overall market confidence.

“Establishing a liquidity buffer fund and introducing circuit breakers similar to those in U.S. stocks are very necessary. Traditional financial markets learned these risk control lessons through bloodshed, and crypto should learn from them. In events like ‘10·11,’ if a liquidity buffer fund could step in to buy time for arbitrageurs to re-enter, many problems could be avoided,” Zheng Di pointed out. This view highlights the urgent need for risk management and institutional building in the crypto market.

In summary, the crypto market is undergoing a trial by fire. However, it still possesses unique advantages like rapid iteration, global participation, and technological innovation. Focusing on practical implementation and value creation, coupled with patience and long-termism, may be the key strategy for survival and breakthrough in the current market.