Bitcoin has dropped nearly 50% from its October 2025 high above $126,000, and according to veteran investor Dan Tapiero, this is not a repeat of past cycles.
Speaking on The Wolf of All Streets with Scott Melker, the 50T Funds founder said he initially expected a standard 20-30% correction from around $125K down to the $90-100K range. The slide into the $60K zone went well beyond that.
What makes this selloff different, Tapiero explained, is that speculative money is no longer flowing just into crypto. It’s being pulled into AI, robotics, silver, gold, and crypto-related public equities all at once.
Venture Tokens Down 90%, Then Another 90%
The worst damage has been outside Bitcoin. Tapiero said most venture-backed tokens have been wiped out, and the bleeding hasn’t stopped.
“All of the venture tokens, they’re all down 90 plus percent. And they found ways to go down 90% after being down 90%,” he said.
But it’s not just weak projects failing.
Even tokens tied to real businesses with strong revenue are falling because there’s no clear way for that revenue to flow back to token holders. Until that problem is solved, Tapiero said, the capital flight from altcoins will continue.
Institutions Now Drive the Market
Over 100 companies now hold BTC or ETH. Around 5-10% of total supply sits with institutional players, a major shift from prior cycles.
But Tapiero noted that institutional investors also demand more. They want clarity on governance, token economics, and value. And when they sell, they sell fast. The same ETF inflows that lifted Bitcoin through 2025 are now working in reverse.
Also Read: Grayscale Names Top Crypto Recovery Picks After 50% Bitcoin Crash: ETH, SOL, LINK & More
Stablecoins Hit $33 Trillion in Volume
While prices dropped, stablecoins processed $33 trillion in volume in 2025. Tapiero pointed out that 99% are dollar-denominated, with over half on Ethereum.
Non-dollar stablecoins barely exist yet, which he sees as a major growth opportunity ahead.
No Quick Recovery Expected
Tapiero’s base case is not a sharp bounce. He expects months of sideways price action with no clear catalyst.
“If you approach this space with any sort of shorter term view, you’re dead,” he said.
He believes the low may already be in, but the kind of clear capitulation signal seen during FTX in 2022 hasn’t shown up yet in this cycle.
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