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"Bitcoin spent most of 2025 above $90,000. Ethereum held steady through the year. Analysts hailed it as the year crypto became a mature asset class.
Meanwhile, your altcoin portfolio is down 95% and crypto twitter has turned into a support group for traumatised gem hunters learning to trade perps. The bulls always say ‘this time is different’; and for once, they were right, but for all the worst reasons.
Today, we find out what actually happened in this cycle, and what it means for crypto’s future."
~ Coin Bureau
This video explains that the traditional four-year crypto cycle has fundamentally changed, as institutional dominance through exchange traded funds and digital asset treasuries creates structural barriers that prevent capital from rotating into altcoins. While bitcoin reached new highs in 2025 the expected altcoin season failed to materialize because institutional mandates require funds to remain locked in major assets rather than flowing into riskier tokens. Market dynamics have shifted from retail driven speculation to sophisticated institutional strategies like yield generation and delta hedging, which effectively suppress extreme price volatility and shorten the lifespan of new narratives. Investors are now facing a more fragmented and mature market where liquidity is concentrated at the top and retail attention has largely migrated to alternative sectors like artificial intelligence and space stocks.
The breakdown of traditional crypto cycles highlights how institutional participation is creating a more mature but siloed market structure.
0:00 Intro
0:55 Background
4:34 The Day Altseason Died
9:07 Attention Wars
12:31 Options Loom Larger
17:34 A Hard Fork in the Road?
Source - Coin Bureau YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS9b5tpYiFE
Disclaimer: This video is provided for informational purposes only, and not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
