Crypto can feel bullish and bearish simultaneously because its major sectors have stopped moving together.

Bitcoin collects institutional ETF flows while DeFi contracts, stablecoins expand into payment infrastructure, while altcoins lag, and layer-2 (L2) networks process record volumes while their tokens reprice sideways.

Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley offered a framework for the contradiction, arguing that crypto has split into at least four distinct industries: stablecoins and payments, Bitcoin as an asset class, tokenization and on-chain financial services, and blockchain infrastructure.

Each of these industries operates on its own fundamentals, regulatory path, and adoption curve. Bitcoin can outperform the entire crypto market while…