Bitcoin falls to half of its all time high as institutional flows plunge! What are the reasons behind this divergence?

As Bitcoin continues to trade at less than half of its all-time high, major traditional assets such as the S&P 500, the QQQ (which tracks the Nasdaq 100), and gold are hitting fresh record levels. Tether advisor Gabor Gurbacs has pointed to a declining quality of debate within the crypto industry as a key reason behind this growing divergence. According to Gurbacs, Bitcoin is struggling under the pressure of weak, speculative products and short-term hype, rather than building infrastructure and fostering broader distribution.

The evolving culture in crypto: from cypherpunks to speculators

Gurbacs drew a clear distinction between today’s crypto market and the pre-2017 community. In the early years, the ecosystem was shaped by the cypherpunk spirit, the concept of sound money, and the active participation of seasoned capital market professionals. Now, a large part of the sector has become exposed to actors chasing rapid attention rather than aiming to create lasting value.

Glossary: Cypherpunks are advocates of using cryptography to empower individual privacy and resist censorship. The tokenization of real-world assets refers to representing traditional assets like bonds, funds, and real estate as digital tokens on a blockchain.

According to Gurbacs, the root contradiction in today’s cycle is that Bitcoin has lost its synchronization with traditional safe havens and tech stocks. Although institutional capital continues to enter the market, the overwhelming speculative noise in the ecosystem is making it difficult for true long-term value to take hold.

Supply pressures and weakened institutional flows

The pressure on Bitcoin’s price is not only a matter of narrative—data also shows it has a supply-side dimension. A model tracking the balance between institutional absorption and early-investor distribution revealed that last week saw the weakest net capital inflow of the entire cycle. Since the peak in October 2025, the cumulative balance has plunged to minus 154,169 BTC.

These figures highlight both Bitcoin’s relative underperformance against external markets and the growing imbalance of capital within the ecosystem. Yet, Gurbacs remains optimistic about the long-term outlook. He emphasizes that the problem does not lie in Bitcoin’s technology itself, but in the culture of short-term speculation that has grown up around it.

Tether is recognized as the largest stablecoin issuer in the crypto market. Gurbacs’s critical view has gained traction among industry insiders wondering why Bitcoin has been unable to keep pace with the momentum seen in other major asset classes, despite growing institutional interest.

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