Crypto may not be struggling because the technology has stopped developing. According to Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz, the bigger problem right now is that the market has lost the attention of speculative traders.
The traders who once chased Solana and other high-flying crypto assets are now looking for excitement elsewhere. “Every young kid that used to buy Solana is buying Hynix or some memory company,” Novogratz said. He pointed to the growing interest in semiconductor stocks and other hot trades.
He also added sports betting, same-day options and Korean stocks as areas that have absorbed much of the speculative energy. This energy once flowed into crypto.
Crypto Has Lost Its “Vibe”
Novogratz compared the current market to the previous gold and silver bubble, saying crypto has experienced a similar speculative peak.
“That’s what tops look like,” he said, while stressing that a market topping does not mean the asset class disappears. For him, the current crypto mood is simple: “Meh.”
“People just aren’t as excited about it because there’s other things to be excited about,” Novogratz said.
Still, he does not believe Bitcoin’s long-term story has been broken. He said Bitcoin price could hold around $60,000. However, reaching $80,000 and eventually $100,000 would require three major catalysts. These are the CLARITY Act passing, Federal Reserve rate cuts and a renewed base of buyers.
He does not expect rate cuts this year. However, he sees the CLARITY Act as roughly a 60/40 or possibly two-thirds chance of passing. His base case is that Bitcoin remains between $60,000 and $80,000 for the rest of the year. If it breaks above $80,000, $100,000 could become the next major resistance.
The Technology Is Still Being Built
Despite the lack of hype, Novogratz believes crypto infrastructure is continuing to develop behind the scenes.
“I’m literally doing deals with five or six, hopefully, big traditional institutions to help build infrastructure,” he said. He pointed to automatic settlement and the ability to transfer value over the internet as technologies that could eventually be used across financial markets.
Crypto also remains more important in many overseas markets than in the United States. Traditional financial services in the U.S. are already highly developed.
The Next Crypto Phase Could Be Different
Overall, his broader message is that the speculative frenzy may have moved elsewhere for now. However, the underlying technology has not gone away.
The next major crypto phase, he said, may not be driven purely by hype and leveraged trading. Instead, the infrastructure being built today could eventually create a more sustainable market. One that brings real financial institutions and users into the ecosystem even after the speculative crowd has moved on.