Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO 0.36%) is up by nearly 6% this year (as of May 1), and the iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF (IXUS 0.90%) has gained roughly 10% so far. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC +1.43%) has fallen about 14%, and Ethereum (ETH +0.91%) is down closer to 24%.

Stocks climbing while crypto declines is not unprecedented, but the gap this year is wide enough to rattle anyone holding both. Nonetheless, there’s an opportunity awaiting those who can stomach it. Here’s how to play this setup.

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Index funds aren’t optional

The first move to make is to accept that before touching even a dollar of any crypto investment, the boring part of your portfolio needs to be locked in, and you need to be…