Chainlink founder talks about how this bear market is different, CryptoQuant pours cold water: Bitcoin can't go up anymore

As the crypto market enters a bear phase, differing interpretations within the industry about this cycle have emerged. Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov believes that the current decline actually demonstrates the maturity and resilience of the industry structure; CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju bluntly states that despite ongoing capital inflows, Bitcoin is still in a “difficult to rally” stage.

A bear market without a collapse: Chainlink founder says the crypto industry is stabilizing

Recently, Nazarov stated on X that this market pullback is fundamentally different from previous bear markets. Compared to the systemic risks triggered by the 2022 FTX collapse and the series of failures at crypto lending platforms, this downturn has not resulted in major institutional failures:

Market cycles are normal, but what matters is how much the industry has advanced through these cycles.

In his view, the absence of large-scale risk management failures or liquidity crises indicates that the crypto industry has evolved in terms of infrastructure and risk management, allowing it to operate stably despite price volatility.

(Web3 innovation has reached a ceiling? From tokenization to financing markets, where is the future value of cryptocurrencies?)

RWA and on-chain perpetual contracts shine in the bear market: falling prices can’t stop expansion

Nazarov further pointed out that the growth in tokenized real-world assets (RWA) and on-chain perpetual contracts has not stalled despite the crypto market correction. According to data from RWA.xyz, the total on-chain value of RWAs has increased by about 300% over the past year. He believes this demonstrates that RWAs have practical utility and demand that can fluctuate independently of the market.

However, Chainlink, one of the core infrastructure providers for the RWA narrative, still sees its token LINK trading at long-term lows, highlighting a gap between fundamentals and market pricing.

(Considering Bitcoin’s positioning for the future: BTC’s revolutionary mission is over, capital is retreating toward tokenized assets)

Capital inflows are also ineffective? CryptoQuant: Bitcoin is currently “difficult to push up”

On the other hand, Ki Young Ju takes a more cautious view on short-term price performance, analyzing capital and market cap changes. He pointed out that in 2024, roughly $10 billion in capital inflow can generate about $26 billion in Bitcoin market cap expansion; but by 2025, even with over $300 billion in inflows, the overall market cap actually shrinks by nearly $100 billion.

He believes that the current market’s existing selling pressure is too heavy, completely offsetting the impact of new capital inflows, causing Bitcoin’s past “multiplier effect” to temporarily fail. This also makes large reserve companies (DATs) or institutional buyers unable to push prices higher.

When prices detach from fundamentals, an asymmetric market emerges

The crypto market has long shown signs of disconnect from fundamentals. On one hand, the continued progress of RWAs, on-chain derivatives, and infrastructure suggests that the industry, lacking major narratives, is evolving toward traditional finance; on the other hand, prices remain constrained by long-term selling pressures such as deleveraging, unlocking, and profit-taking, making it difficult to reflect true valuation.

In other words, even though this bear market has not shown signs of industry regression, the market still reminds investors that there is no inevitable synchronization between structural maturity and price appreciation.

This article, “Chainlink founder says this bear market is different,” and “CryptoQuant dampens optimism: Bitcoin can’t rally,” first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.