The era of easy money in the crypto market has ended. Why are only BTC and ETH surviving?

2025 will be a pivotal year for the crypto industry. According to the latest news, Nick Tomaino, founder of 1confirmation, recently stated that although the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies has reached $3.1 trillion, it has actually decreased by 14% over the past year. More importantly, the market’s driving logic is changing: the strategy of risk capital pushing prices up and then selling off, the frenzy of Meme coins, and the speculation tools like DAT are all failing, while products like Polymarket and stablecoins that do not rely on token speculation are performing the best. What does this mean? The crypto industry is undergoing a profound shift from speculation to practicality.

The End of the Speculation Era

Data speaks

The crypto market in 2025 has undergone a major cleansing. The “pump and dump” tactics of risk investment firms have failed, the Meme coin frenzy has faded, and the hype around DAT (data tokens) has cooled. These once “money-making machines” have all declared failure, marking the true end of the “easy money” era.

Why did they fail?

In a sense, this is a return to market rationality. When too much capital floods into purely speculative assets, the ones ultimately hurt are the latecomers. Nick Tomaino’s view reflects a reality: participants in the crypto market are becoming more rational, and tolerance for pure speculation projects has sharply declined.

“Trustworthy Neutrality” Becomes the New Standard

What is “trustworthy neutrality”?

A core concept introduced by Nick Tomaino in his article is “trustworthy neutrality.” This is not a new concept, but it has become extremely important in the current market environment.

Trustworthy neutrality refers to a system or asset that:

• Is not controlled or manipulated by a single entity
• Has transparent rules that are difficult to change
• Treats all participants fairly
• Possesses long-term institutional credibility

Why only BTC and ETH?

According to the news, three constants remain in the crypto industry:

• It’s essential to see through the nature of fraudsters
• The macro trend of declining trust in institutions and the increasing importance of the internet is real, and trustworthy neutral currencies present worthwhile investment opportunities
• Only two cryptocurrencies possess trustworthy neutrality: Bitcoin and Ethereum

As the earliest cryptocurrencies, BTC has been validated by 16 years of market experience. It has the broadest consensus, the most secure network, and the most difficult rules to change. ETH, though younger, as a pioneer of smart contracts, is widely recognized for its open ecosystem and degree of decentralization. In contrast, other coins either have clear control by teams or institutions, have easily changeable rules, or lack sufficient market validation.

Market Shifts Toward Practical Products

New Profit Models

In 2025, the crypto industry has seen a significant phenomenon for the first time: products that do not rely on token speculation outperform others.

Polymarket (a prediction market platform) and stablecoins are typical examples. Their value does not come from token price speculation but from real-world applications and user demand. Polymarket allows users to predict and trade on real events, while stablecoins address issues of value storage and payments in crypto assets.

This reflects a shift: investors are starting to care more about “what can be done” rather than “how much it will rise.”

Personal opinion

From this perspective, it actually signifies the crypto industry maturing. Any emerging industry will go through speculative bubbles, and crypto is no exception. But after the bubble bursts, what remains are the truly valuable things. Products that solve real problems, applications with genuine user bases, and assets tested by the market over time—these will be re-recognized for their value.

Insights for Investors

Based on this shift in perspective, investment strategies also need adjustment:

• Choose trustworthy neutral assets: prioritize coins with long-term institutional credibility rather than following hype
• Focus on practical products: seek projects that genuinely solve problems and have real application scenarios
• Reduce risk appetite: abandon the fantasy of overnight riches, and adopt more rational allocations
• Deep research: speculation era can rely on luck; practical era requires thorough research

Summary

The transformation of the crypto market in 2025 is essentially a “cleansing.” The era of easy money has truly ended, but this is not a bad thing. The market is eliminating speculative bubbles and rediscovering what is truly valuable.

In this process, BTC and ETH, because of their trustworthy neutrality, have become more solidified in their positions. Meanwhile, products focused on real-world applications are gaining new development space. For investors, this means thinking more rationally: what kind of crypto assets are truly worth holding long-term, and what applications can genuinely change the world. The answer to this question is more important than “which coin will rise.”