The traditional four-year crypto cycle appears to be broken as the money traded on exchanges, real-world asset tokenization, and Stablecoin infrastructure shape the market situation.
In a report on September 24, analysts said that the launch of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) ETFs in 2024 marked a basin moment and led all categories of $34 billion since April.
It’s attractive for Tradfi
The product brought together pension funds, advisors and banks, and, together with holdings of gold and Nasdaq, changed the crypto from retail speculation to institutional portfolios.
Bitcoin ETF currently holds over $150 billion in managed assets, accounting for 6% of the total supply, while Ethereum ETF controls 5.6% of its ETH supply.
The September approval of the Product ETP generic listing standard accelerates this shift by enabling rapid approval of additional crypto assets. Following new fund filings for Solana, XRP and other digital assets.
The report identified the transition as a “great cryptography rotation.” There, ownership shifts from retail speculators to long-term facility allocations.
While traditional four-year cycle followers are on sale, institutions accumulate, reset their cost bases higher and establish new priced floors. ETFs now serve as the leading buyer of Bitcoin and Ethereum, fundamentally changing supply conditions that promote historically cyclical patterns.
Stablecoin and dat Reshape
Stablecoins have evolved beyond acting as a trading tool, including payment, lending, and Treasury functions.
The report exemplifies this expansion by referring to a $30 billion real-world asset market, with tokenized Treasury, credits and products creating financial infrastructure on the chain.
The recent CFTC approval of Stablecoins as derivative collateral adds institutional demand beyond spot purchases.
Payment-centric blockchains such as striped tempo and tethered plasma will not only promote speculative transactions but also adoption of steady coins in the real economy.
This development provides crypto reliability while reducing the direct correlation to Bitcoin and Ethereum Spot demand.
At the same time, Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) companies provide access to the stock market for tokens that lack ETF approval. These structures allow projects with genuine revenue and users to tap on stock markets that are significantly larger than retail crypto capital.
This mechanism brings institutional capital to the Altcoin market while providing outlet liquidity for venture capital positions.
RWA tokenization creates authentic capital markets on-chain and establishes basic fees through the Ministry of Finance and credit instruments. BlackRock’s Buidl and Franklin Templeton’s Benji represent an institutional bridge that connects trillions of dollars with crypto infrastructure.
As a result, decentralized finance protocols gain relevance beyond the speculative loop through legitimate collateral and lending markets.
This structural transformation suggests that cryptographic evolution has shifted from cyclical speculation to permanent financial infrastructure.
However, selective token performance will likely replace extensive market gatherings, as institutional capital demands a sustainable business model over purely narrative-driven assessments.