The Great Deflation: Why Crypto is the Undisputed Underperformer of 2025

As 2025 approaches its close, the global financial landscape has undergone a violent structural realignment. Institutional data confirms that precious metals have cannibalized the speculative liquidity that previously fueled the digital asset market. Silver stands as the definitive apex performer with a staggering 127.4% return, followed by Gold (+63.2%) and Copper (+40.2%), as investors pivot toward tangible hedges amid economic turbulence.

In stark contrast, the cryptocurrency sector has entered a terminal deleveraging phase. Bitcoin and Ethereum have recorded negative returns of -9.09% and -13.62% respectively, while Altcoins have faced a catastrophic -44.5% collapse. While the Nasdaq (+20.8%) and S&P 500 (+16.4%) maintain steady growth, crypto has officially decoupled from traditional "risk-on" equities to become the year's worst-performing asset class. For market strategists, this inversion suggests a fundamental loss of confidence in digital scarcity compared to the industrial and monetary utility of physical commodities.$BTC