Christmas just passed, and an interesting phenomenon has emerged — traditional financial markets are lively as if hosting a party, while the crypto market is as cold as being snowbound.

The S&P 500 hit a record high, gold rose 70% over the year, and it seems like Wall Street's money is inexhaustible. But what about Bitcoin? It’s swinging around the $80,000 mark, looking pretty lackluster. Even more heartbreaking was the flash crash on Christmas Eve — the price plummeted from 87,600 to 24,100 in an instant, then rebounded quickly. In just a few seconds, the market’s true nature was laid bare: liquidity is running out.

So the question is — where did all the funds go?

Simply put, central banks around the world are each doing their own thing. The UK is cutting interest rates, the European Central Bank is holding steady, Japan suddenly hikes rates in a counter-move. Although the Fed cut rates three times in 2025, it also started shrinking its balance sheet again, making the market a bit confused by this surgical policy.

Traditional finance is still dozing in the warmth of quantitative easing, while the crypto market is being ruthlessly told — the liquidity faucet is being turned off. Plus, the 43-day government shutdown in the US in October created a data gap, causing traditional financial institutions to be wary of digital assets. They’ve simply piled their funds into tangible assets like gold and US stocks. As a result, the crypto market has been sidelined and neglected.

This isn’t a technical issue, nor is there a fundamental problem with the currencies themselves — it’s purely that the macro environment has changed, liquidity is tight, and everyone is huddling together for warmth. Who cares about cryptocurrencies anymore?