Crypto’s Woes: Gold’s Glimmer Leaves Bitcoin in the Dust

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Since that fateful October crash, the crypto market has wallowed in a slough of despond, its bullish spirit as extinct as the dodo. Bitcoin, once the darling of the digital age, has decoupled from gold with all the grace of a fallen debutante, underperforming its lustrous rival in 2025 and the early months of 2026. A tragicomic spectacle, indeed.

While gold and silver ascended to giddy heights-$5K and $110, respectively-Bitcoin plummeted to $86k, threatening to retest its recent nadir of $80.6k. One can almost hear the wails of the crypto faithful, their HODL mantras now whispered in despair.

Ethereum, too, has been mired in mediocrity, range-bound between $2.8k and $3.2k since November. Its recent dip to $2.8k following Bitcoin’s tumble is but another act in this farcical drama of financial hubris.

Enter Tom Lee, the oracle of Fundstrat and chairman of Bitmine Immersion, who deigns to explain this calamity. With a wave of his hand, he attributes the crypto market’s torpor to the last liquidation cascade and the metals rally, as if these were acts of divine providence rather than the consequences of human greed.

“The precious metals’ move has sucked a lot of oxygen out of the room. So crypto prices aren’t keeping up with fundamentals. But when fundamentals go to the right, prices do follow.”

Lee, whose wisdom is matched only by his penchant for self-promotion, concludes with a prophecy as bold as it is banal:

“As long as gold and silver rise, there’s FOMO to buy that instead of BTC. But when gold and silver take a break, that would lead to Bitcoin and Ethereum surge afterward.”

Bitmine’s ETH Hoard: A Stake in the Ground

In a display of hubris that would make Icarus blush, Bitmine has staked over half of its gargantuan ETH holdings-some 4 million coins. In a recent spree, the firm gobbled up an additional 20k ETH, staking a further $610 million (209,540 coins). This brings its total staked ETH to 2.2 million, worth $6.5 billion, or 52% of its holdings. A bold move, or a fool’s errand? Only time will tell.

ETH staking demand has hit a record, with over 30% of the total supply now staked. U.S. spot ETH ETFs, ever the opportunists, are lining up to seek yield on their holdings. Yet, one wonders if this is a triumph of hope over experience.

ETH’s fundamentals, however, paint a rosier picture. Daily transaction counts have reached new highs, while average transfer costs have fallen to competitive levels. A silver lining, perhaps, in this cloud of uncertainty.

Will ETH Break Free from Its Range-Bound Shackles?

Despite ETH’s price languishing, Lee remains sanguine, insisting it will eventually catch up to its fundamentals. A hopeful prognosis, but one that ignores the fickle nature of markets.

On the weekly liquidation map, the key levels to watch are $2.98K and $2.85K, liquidity pools for leveraged shorts and longs, respectively. Volatility swings, triggered by liquidity grabs, invariably push prices toward these levels. A game of financial cat and mouse, if ever there was one.

Final Musings

  • Fundstrat’s Lee believes the gold and silver boom will continue to divert traders from crypto, a sentiment as predictable as it is tiresome.
  • Bitmine’s staking of 2.2 million ETH, representing 52% of its holdings, is a bold gambit in a market as volatile as a Waugh novel.

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2026-01-27 16:59