Higher rates just came back into the narrative. The knee-jerk reaction: "bad for crypto."
Wrong frame.
What higher rates do is filter. They expose which assets are productive and which are just sitting there.
$BTC doesn't yield by design — its thesis is store of value and fiscal hedge. That case actually gets stronger when governments keep printing. No issue there.
The real question is what happens to the rest.
$ETH post-Pectra is generating real blob fee income. Staking yields compound while price sits sideways. $BNB runs quarterly supply burns that reduce circulation regardless of macro conditions. SOL is embedding itself as the payment rails for the AI agent economy — fees follow usage, not sentiment.
These chains generate revenue. That matters when a 10-year Treasury hands you 4.5%.
The Clarity Act deadline is 24 days out. When regulatory clarity arrives, capital doesn't flow equally — it flows to the L1s with the clearest economic model first.
Rate fears sort the market. Own the ones that earn.