Recently, there has been an interesting contrast in the market: gold and US stocks have been soaring, while Bitcoin seems a bit weak in comparison. Originally, everyone called Bitcoin the "digital gold," but the reality is quite sobering—gold has risen nearly 70% this year, Bitcoin has fallen back nearly 30% from its all-time high, and this year alone, it’s down over 6%.

Analyst Benjamin Cowen provided an explanation that sounds quite clear: the underlying logic driving these assets has now diverged. Stocks and gold are rising mainly due to the expectation that the "Federal Reserve will loosen monetary policy" in the future. But Bitcoin is different; it is more sensitive to the current state of actual liquidity. In other words, the market is dreaming about "money printing in the future," but Bitcoin needs to see real signals—only when the faucet is truly turned on will it respond. That’s why news of the Federal Reserve delaying rate cuts makes BTC appear somewhat weak and powerless.

There are two things behind this worth pondering. First, macro pressure may continue for a while. Cowen’s judgment is that the current high-interest-rate environment could drag on the crypto market until 2026. This means that investment strategies relying solely on macro bullish narratives will need more patience. Second, projects ultimately need to return to their intrinsic value. Without clear macro stimulus factors, the market will scrutinize more harshly: does this project have real utility? How well is it built? Stories sustained purely by liquidity will gradually cool down, and only projects that truly deliver something will surface.

This actually tells us that asset narratives will change, and funds will always flow toward the most widely accepted value propositions at the moment. When the market re-prices all assets, those projects genuinely creating long-term social value will have a stronger logical foundation.