Original author: Long Ye

First, let's talk about the conclusion:

( Now is the time, it might be the best opportunity to buy crypto this year.

)2( I maintain the viewpoint I wrote about during the bull market in December last year:

)3( Besides BTC, let me choose another token that can hold 500,000 USD, I choose hyperliquid, and if it's 5 million USD, I choose SOL.

Returning to the essence of "rhythm": structural opportunities are emerging again.

Now may be one of the best times this year to buy Crypto.

This judgment is not made out of thin air. Whether from the price structure, macro signals, or on-chain data and asset value evolution paths, the current market state is highly similar to the "low-level restructuring" moment during the spring pandemic of 2020—Bitcoin plummeted to $3,800 in just a few days, only to stage one of the most astonishing rebound rallies in cryptocurrency history.

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Nowadays, the market seems to be replaying this script. At that time, the Nasdaq index entered a 3-4 week period of turbulent recovery after a panic sell-off, while Bitcoin quickly completed its bottom formation within two weeks and then experienced a strong rebound in the following months.

This time, the short-term sell-off triggered by the "tariff war + new highs in U.S. Treasury yields" that started in early April also caused BTC to quickly drop below 74,000, and SOL even briefly fell below $100, but both have quickly stabilized.

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At present, it seems that this wave of the bottom has basically been constructed. In contrast, the US stock market, especially the Nasdaq, is still in an extended oscillation range.

![])https://img.gateio.im/social/moments-20ee67e5f8198750e6502f9f783526bf(

In other words: the emotional correction of the crypto market in this round has been faster and more decisive than that of the traditional market, and the signs of stabilization have also appeared earlier.

The market structure change of "weak hands turning into strong hands" is a typical characteristic before a major market rally. Looking back at 2020, Bitcoin rose over 300% within 6 months after the crash in March. If history repeats itself, the current market adjustment may be a good opportunity to position oneself.

In terms of time and structure, Crypto has already taken the lead.

) The Turning Point of Macro Capital Flow: From Incomprehension to Active Embrace

Beyond this structural pullback, it is worth noting that the macro-level perception of capital is undergoing changes.

A significant trend that cannot be ignored is that traditional capital is flowing into the cryptocurrency market at an unprecedented pace. The approval of the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF has opened the door for institutional investment. Data shows that since its approval in January, these ETFs have seen a net inflow of over $12 billion.

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Total net inflow of spot Bitcoin ETF (USD)

It is worth noting that cryptocurrencies are shifting from speculative tools to practical ones. Recently, I visited several foreign trade enterprises in Shenzhen and Yiwu and found that the use of USDT in cross-border trade settlements has become quite common. A boss engaged in the export of electronic products admitted: "Settling with USDT is much faster than bank remittances, and the transaction fee is only one-tenth of traditional methods."

This trend is accelerating globally. In high-inflation countries like Argentina and Turkey, people are using stablecoins to preserve their assets; in Southeast Asia, an increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises are starting to accept cryptocurrency payments. Cryptocurrency is completing the transition from "speculative assets" to "practical tools," a process that will bring more durable demand support.

In the past month, I have been chatting with some friends in the country who are engaged in export business. They were not originally target users of Crypto and had even been extremely averse to it in the past. However, against the backdrop of global supply chain restructuring, geopolitical tensions, and shrinking foreign exchange channels, they have started to frequently raise some previously unimaginable questions:

Is it possible to find a third country for simple reprocessing and settle with USDT to export to the United States, avoiding sanctions? Physical goods are too uncertain. Are there any virtual goods that can be used, such as NFTs? After the factory shutdown, how can I exchange cash to buy coins? More importantly, what coins can be traded during the free time?

You will find that Crypto is no longer just an "asset choice," but has become a resource outlet after the "reality interruption."

Among them, USDT is becoming increasingly common: in some cross-border settlement scenarios, USDT has already become a habitual tool. In their words, "It is unrealistic not to hold BTC now."

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The Correlation Between Gold and BTC: A Historical Leading Indicator

Another point that is rarely mentioned but is highly significant is: gold has reached a historical high and is still accelerating.

At the beginning of April, gold fell by 5% in just 4 days, breaking below $3000, which intensified market panic. However, less than a week later, it rebounded to a new high and has now surpassed $3300, entering a strong bullish trend.

Historically, it is no coincidence that Bitcoin tends to follow the breakout of previous highs within 100–150 days after gold prices hit new highs, but rather a resonant signal that capital flows are highly correlated with market structure; As well as the high correlation between gold and bitcoin in terms of macro properties – they are both tools against fiat currency depreciation.

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If this historical rhythm repeats itself, we may see BTC break through its previous high by the end of Q2 or the beginning of Q3, with Q4 being a potential market top.

) ETH, SOL, Hyperliquid: Three Structural Narratives and Value Differentiation

Now we come to another important question: After BTC, if you want to hold another asset, what should you choose?

I still stand by my previous point of view:

If it's a $500K investment, I choose Hyperliquid.

If it's a configuration above $5M, I would choose SOL.

These three represent completely different asset logics and user paths:

ETH: The Infrastructure Connecting On-Chain Finance and the Real World

Regarding the core value of Ethereum, my judgment is clear: RWA is the biggest narrative for ETH's future, but the timing for its breakout is not this year.

As the second largest crypto asset by market capitalization, it is now clearer that Ethereum will be the infrastructure for the combination of reality and crypto, and a place for institutional funds (not Web3 institutions, real world funds with utility needs).

The key is RWA, whose fundamental value lies in combining DeFi to systematically transfer offline trade to on-chain, that is, systematically moving offline trade, financing, and credit systems onto the chain.

Although the current implementation of RWA is still relatively fragmented, and the infrastructure and regulatory framework are still under construction, the trend is already very clear. Traditional financial giants, including Blackstone, Citigroup, and BlackRock, have begun to engage in core financial activities such as bond tokenization and cross-border settlement based on Ethereum. In the future, not only bonds but even asset classes like stocks, gold, and carbon emission rights are very likely to circulate on the ETH network.

According to the data, over 80% of projects in the two core sectors, whether DeFi or RWA, are built on Ethereum. Taking DeFi as an example, the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi has remained at the level of hundreds of billions of dollars for a long time, and the underlying demand is still substantial.

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Therefore, in my opinion, Ethereum's role is upgrading from a "smart contract platform" to an "operating system for real finance." It is like the "oil" of the digital age - supporting the continuous operation of the entire on-chain economy and potentially becoming the underlying infrastructure of the future global financial system.

SOL: A Reflection of On-Chain Activity and Retail Investor Narratives

SOL may not be the most technically advanced public chain, but it is the hottest public chain in terms of on-chain liquidity. From memecoins, GambleFi, to various projects led by strong operations, SOL has become the main stage for retail speculative psychology. And when retail investors are active, it means continuous liquidity. If you believe that the retail cycle will still experience a surge this year, then SOL is the asset with the highest beta elasticity.

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When the MEME market is fermenting, there are daily trading volumes of hundreds of billions of dollars just on DEX for SOL.

In the future, the classification of cryptocurrencies will also change, possibly resulting in only three types of coins: Bitcoin, mainstream coins, and MEME coins. MEME coins do not aim to replace BTC or gold, but rather represent a consensus and culture; they will not only be accepted by the public but will also become the most frenzied vortex of funds in the cryptocurrency market.

Solana is the barometer of current market sentiment. The meme coin frenzy and the booming on-chain transactions have made SOL the best place for short-term speculation — like the "Las Vegas" of the cryptocurrency world — where daily tales of sudden wealth unfold, filled with high-stakes gamblers. But it is undeniable: it is attracting the most active funds and developers globally.

Hyperliquid: The On-chain Mirror of TradeFi, the Perfect Landing for AI Trading

Hyperliquid is actually a structural narrative: it is neither a meme nor L1/L2, but one of the core scenarios of on-chain finance: perpetual contracts + leveraged trading + high-frequency strategies.

This is the platform I have been paying the most attention to and operating on the most frequently lately. I almost operate here every week, not because I'm following the trend, but because it truly addresses a key issue—how to achieve professional-level derivatives trading in a decentralized environment.

Hyperliquid now appears to be more suitable for professional traders, which is also why it has not been recognized by a larger group. However, with the development of AI, a large number of strategy design and execution will be undertaken by AI Agents—users only need to express their trading intentions in natural language, and AI can invoke complex modules on-chain to implement them, such as futures and spot arbitrage, cross-commodity hedging, grid strategies, and so on.

In the future, you won't need to perform complex operations in person; you just need to tell the Agent: "Open a 5x leveraged ETH long on Hyperliquid, and automatically stop loss if it falls below 2000." The AI Agent will automatically break it down into: contract calls, slippage control, on-chain gas optimization, etc., helping you complete complex trading operations in the most efficient way.

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For another example, you want to earn the double income of "trading platform spread + funding rate" when the BTC price fluctuates, but the manual operation requires: monitoring 5 trading platforms at the same time, calculating the break-even point of the funding rate, dynamically adjusting the margin, and preventing the pin from liquidating. It is too difficult for ordinary people, but for AI Agent, it only requires a series of basic analysis and operations such as price difference capture, funding rate optimization, and risk control response.

In terms of speed, accuracy, and even emotions, AI Agents have advantages that humans cannot match. Of course, AI Agents will not replace human traders, but they will transform professional-level strategies into something as simple as ordering takeout through a "human-machine collaboration".

Hyperliquid has a high level of openness, with clear on-chain settlement, making it very suitable as a trading backend for future "AI x DeFi" scenarios. Therefore, the core battleground of this transformation is likely to be on on-chain derivative protocols like Hyperliquid.

) Summary: Bull markets are born in skepticism and grow in hesitation.

This round of market activity reminds me of that tumultuous yet opportunity-filled spring of 2020—when the market bottomed out in panic and then embarked on an epic rebound. Now, it seems the same script is being played out: gold has taken the lead, breaking through historical highs, like the sound of a starting gun; traditional capital is quietly entering through USDT; and more Smart Money is beginning to consider how to position itself for the next round of AI-driven trading on Hyperliquid.

The market landscape has become very clear: BTC is digital gold, ETH is the operating system of real finance, SOL is the main battleground for retail liquidity and sentiment, while Hyperliquid has become the platform for professional traders and future AI trading behaviors. As AI officially intervenes in the design and execution of trading behaviors, Hyperliquid is likely to become the next hub for on-chain behavior migration.

Those who are still waiting for a "better entry opportunity" may not realize: when foreign trade bosses begin to discuss USDT settlement, when gold breaks its previous high, and when AI starts to automatically execute arbitrage strategies, the time left for onlookers in the market is already limited. Many trends do not wait for you to fully understand before they happen—and now is the window where you can still get on board.

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