Gold and Silver Outperform Crypto in 2025; DeFi Tokens Near Multi-Year Lows
Gold and silver were the standout performers of 2025, with gold surging roughly 72% year-to-date to record highs above $4,500 per ounce and silver rallying about 160% YTD, reaching near $75 an ounce. Bitcoin lagged traditional equities and precious metals, slipping modestly during holiday-thinned trading. Many quality DeFi tokens are trading near multi-year lows despite solid fundamentals and growing app revenue — on Solana, application-level revenue now generates roughly three times the network’s revenue. The report highlights a shift in value capture from infrastructure to applications and suggests 2026 may present buying opportunities in liquid tokens if valuations begin to reflect that shift. Key metrics: gold ~+72% YTD, silver ~+160% YTD, silver ~+45% in the past month, gold ATH >$4,500/oz, silver ~ $75/oz. Main themes: precious metals rally, BTC underperformance, DeFi valuation disconnect, Solana app revenue outpacing network revenue, potential 2026 opportunities for traders.
Neutral
The article describes a notable outperformance by precious metals versus crypto in 2025 and highlights DeFi tokens trading near multi-year lows despite improving fundamentals. For traders, this is neutral overall: bullish for commodity markets and potentially bullish for selective DeFi/altcoin long setups if valuations mean-revert, but bearish for crypto market leadership (BTC) in the near term. Short-term effects: reduced crypto risk appetite as capital flows favored gold/silver, likely causing lower liquidity and sideways or downward pressure on many tokens. Volatility may increase if traders rotate back into crypto or into risk-off precious metals. Long-term effects: structural shift of on-chain value capture toward applications (e.g., Solana apps generating ~3x network revenue) could re-rate application-layer tokens over time, presenting medium-term accumulation opportunities for traders who pick projects with real revenue capture. Historical parallels include periods where macro-driven commodity rallies drew capital away from risk assets (e.g., 2008–2009 flight to safe havens) and episodes when sector rotations left quality tech/DeFi names at depressed valuations before later rerating. Traders should monitor flows (ETF inflows into gold/silver), on-chain revenue metrics, DeFi TVL and revenue, and macro indicators (real rates, USD strength) to time entries. Risk management: size positions cautiously, use stop-losses, and consider risk/reward for idiosyncratic DeFi picks versus macro-driven precious metals exposure.