📉 The End of the Speculation Era? A Structural Shift in Crypto
Talk is circulating about the end of the “era of speculation” in the crypto industry.
According to the CEO of Galaxy Digital, the current downturn is not just a normal correction but a structural shift within the industry.
What’s happening?
Since the beginning of the year, BTC is down approximately 21%, and it has fallen nearly 50% from its October 2025 peak.
This time, there is no obvious trigger like the FTX crash.
Despite that, the market is still recovering from the $19.3 billion liquidation event in October, when 1.6 million traders were liquidated in a single day.
Retail investors usually don’t enter the market for an 11% annual return — they chase 10x or 30x gains.
But now institutional investors have entered the market, and their risk profiles and strategies are completely different.
What could happen next?
Speculation may not disappear entirely, but its importance could decline.
Crypto platforms may gradually be used for real-world assets (RWAs).
Tokenized stocks and real-world assets offering relatively moderate returns could become the new normal.$BNB
