The Lads Are Back! Top Signal?

Bitcoin’s recent price volatility highlights a shift in market dynamics, driven by Michael Saylor’s aggressive MicroStrategy Bitcoin acquisitions and the emergence of institutional-grade real-world asset (RWA) rails. Traditional DeFi faces a crisis of confidence following significant hacks, such as the Drift and KelpDAO exploits, prompting a move toward centralized, security-focused protocols. Investors are increasingly pivoting toward AI-related trades and 24/7 RWA markets, viewing them as more viable than the stagnant, high-risk DeFi landscape of previous cycles. Meanwhile, the prevalence of market manipulation in low-float token pumps faces new scrutiny, as public exposure of these schemes forces exchanges to reconsider their listing strategies. Despite lingering risks, the market shows signs of bottoming, with participants favoring established tech and institutional rails over the speculative, "crime-season" activity that defined earlier crypto cycles.