Garrett Jin: BTC and ETH underperform other risk assets due to deleveraging and market structure issues

On January 29th, “BTC OG Insider Whale” agent Garrett Jin posted an article on social media stating that Bitcoin and Ethereum have recently underperformed other risk assets, mainly due to the market still being in the tail end of the de-leveraging cycle and microstructural issues in the crypto market, rather than deteriorating fundamentals. He pointed out that large-scale de-leveraging since October last year has wiped out high-leverage retail funds, while AI concept stocks and precious metals have absorbed a lot of speculative capital; the participation of professional institutions in the crypto market remains low, making it susceptible to short-term narratives and dominated by some exchanges, market makers, and speculative funds. Garrett emphasized that over a 6-year cycle, BTC and ETH still outperform most assets, and their current performance resembles a mean reversion within a long-term trend. As the regulatory environment improves, liquidity becomes more marginally relaxed, and futures trading volume approaches historic lows, the de-leveraging process for BTC and ETH may be nearing its end.