Exactly 5 years ago today (13 Feb 2021):
Total Crypto Market Cap ≈ **$1.5 Trillion**
Bitcoin Dominance ≈ **58%**
Today (13 Feb 2026):
Total Crypto Market Cap ≈ **$2.3 Trillion**
Bitcoin Dominance ≈ **58.5%**
Net gain for the BTC in 5 years? Roughly **+53%**.
That’s it.
We touched **$3T+** in 2021, crashed to **$800B** in 2022, pumped again in 2024-25… and now we’re basically back to where we were — just with more coins, more scars, and a lot more “veterans” who are still underwater.
### What did “we” actually earn?
- **Bitcoin** → Did okay. From ~$47k → current levels (~$66-70k range). Survivors won.
- **Real projects (ETH, few blue-chips)** → Some made it, many are still far from their 2021 highs.
- **Faultcoins** (the rugs, the hype, the “1000x gems”, the dead projects, the abandoned teams) → **Thousands gone to zero.**
Altcoin market cap still hasn’t even crossed its 2021 peak in many cycles.
It's a shame because the 2021 cycle had that wild altseason where everything mooned together—ETH, memes, DeFi, etc.—pushing alt caps way up. This cycle's been more Bitcoin-heavy, with dominance staying elevated and alt rotations feeling muted or selective (AI, memes, or specific narratives pumping while most bleed)
Altcoin Season Index right now? **30/100** → clear Bitcoin season.
Fear & Greed Index? **Extreme Fear (8/100)**.
Most retail money that FOMO’d into altcoins/Faultcoins in 2021 or 2024 is either **broke even at best** or **heavily down**. The “we all gonna make it” crowd from 2021? A huge percentage are quietly gone or bag-holding bags that will never recover.
### The uncomfortable truth:
Crypto didn’t “fail”.
It did exactly what it always does — extreme cycles, massive wealth transfer, and only the strongest (or luckiest) survive.
You didn’t “earn” 10x because you held some random shitcoin for 5 years.
You survived a full cycle… and the market is telling you the same thing it told you in 2018, 2022, and now again:
**Bitcoin is still the king. Everything else is a high-risk bet.**
Where are we right now?
Consolidation. Extreme fear. Bitcoin dominance stable. Thousands of coins still dying every month. Real adoption growing slowly in the background.
If you’re still here after 5 years — respect.
But be honest with yourself:
What did **you** actually earn in the last 5 years?
Not the Twitter PnL screenshots.
Not the 2021 euphoria.
The real number in your wallet today.
Drop it below (no shame).
Let’s talk reality, not hopium.
#CryptoReality #Bitcoin #5YearsLater
(Feel free to copy-paste this as your own post — just add your personal numbers if you want.)
Stay safe out there. Only invest what you can afford to lose. The cycle isn’t over — it’s just getting real again. 🔥