Why the Old Crypto Playbook is Dead, Delphi Digital Explains

• According to insights from Delphi Digital, infrastructure tokens are losing their dominance as blockspace becomes a cheap commodity.
• Stablecoins now work as a global financial rail and are rivalling payment giants like Visa.
• Institutional capital is moving toward crypto equities and revenue-generating apps.

Investors used to follow a simple plan during every market cycle. They would buy Bitcoin, wait for the halving and then rotate into infrastructure tokens. 

This new crypto strategy worked because it was predictable. If Bitcoin surged, the rest of the market followed. 

However, recent data shows that this shared winning experience has officially ended.

The market has entered a period of extreme disparity and many older tokens are lagging while specific sectors are sprinting. 

The New Crypto Strategy And Heavy Competition

For a decade, crypto held a monopoly on high-risk speculative capital. 

If an investor wanted a chance at massive returns, they immediately thought of crypto. However, that reality has changed and crypto now competes with other technologies for every dollar of liquidity.

Generative AI is the biggest “liquidity vampire” in the room. 

Private investment in AI reached $35 billion in 2024 and this is an 8.5x increase compared to only two years ago. Robotics and biotech startups are also pulling in billions every quarter. 

Investors who used to buy mid-cap altcoins are now looking at Silicon Valley hardware.

Institutional money is also choosing different vehicles. Instead of holding crypto tokens, big players now buy crypto equities in stocks like Coinbase, Robinhood and Galaxy Digital. 

These companies tend to outperform the tokens they support and the money that once flowed into the crypto market is being blocked by these cash-flowing firms.

Why Infrastructure is No Longer the Gold Mine

The “Fat Protocol” theory was once very popular in the industry. 

For context, this theory said that most value would stay with base layer cryptos like Ethereum or Solana. The logic used to be that block space was scarce, but that era of scarcity is over because infrastructure has become a commodity.

Data availability costs are racing toward zero and execution is moving to a sea of rollups and app-chains. 

When blockspace is not only abundant but also cheap, the protocol loses its ability to charge high fees.

Investors are now looking for Real Economic Value (REV) and are moving away from Total Value Locked because that metric is easy to fake. 

Instead, they now want to see actual fees paid by real users. 

The Strange Relationship Between Bitcoin and Gold

The macro environment around the world is acting in strange ways too. 

The Federal Reserve recently pivoted after removing $2.4 trillion through tightening. This means that we are finally in a positive liquidity environment. Yet, Bitcoin has stayed sluggish while gold hit all-time highs.

This underperformance is related to factors like the Japanese Yen carry trade and Bitcoin is currently behaving with an inverse correlation to gold.

https://t.co/tmx7DG3bx0

— Delphi Digital (@Delphi_Digital) January 27, 2026

Historically, this is just a temporary dislocation and as the Bank of Japan stabilizes, Bitcoin may reclaim its spot as a high-beta liquidity sponge.

Stablecoins are the Undisputed Killer App

While people are searching for the next big trend, the revolution is already here. 

Analysts agree that Stablecoins are the most successful product in the history of crypto, and monthly volumes now overshadow payment giants like PayPal and Visa.

The total supply has crossed $304 billion and these are no longer just tools for traders to park cash. 

Stablecoin reserves now hold roughly $133 billion in US Treasuries, which makes the sector the 19th largest holder of US debt globally.