Finding money in the stock market and the crypto world represent completely different meanings.

A recent interesting phenomenon has emerged in the capital markets: some are easily making profits in the stock market, while struggling in the crypto space. This actually reflects a deeper issue—what does “picking up money” really mean in different markets? In the stock market, it might just be a technical issue; but in the crypto world, it’s a comprehensive test of mindset and strategy.

Making money in the stock market is a technical issue, but in the crypto space it’s a mindset issue

The current frenzy in the A-shares market is undeniable. Trading volume has risen to 3 trillion yuan, accounting for 2.54% of the total market capitalization, approaching the 3.37% during the 2015 bull market. At this growth rate, once trading volume surpasses the 4 trillion yuan mark, it’s time to consider taking profits appropriately. More importantly, the scale of leverage funds—currently, the margin financing balance has reached 2.6 trillion yuan, a record high, representing 2.53% of the circulating market value. Compared to the peak of over 4.5% during the 2015 frenzy, current leverage levels are still relatively healthy, indicating continued capital inflows and market sentiment still building. In this environment, making money in the stock market becomes a relatively simple technical problem—just timely intervene during the brief correction after 16 consecutive days of gains, seeking entry points in hot sectors like aerospace, brain-computer interfaces, and AI applications.

In stark contrast, the situation in the crypto market is entirely different. Making money here is almost hellish; the key isn’t technical or timing, but mindset. The most prominent feature of the current market is the lack of obvious capital inflow momentum. Most smart money is still busy picking up profits in the neighboring stock market—who would want to struggle here? That’s why any decline at this position can be seen as an excellent opportunity to participate, with extremely high cost-performance, even considered a golden zone for dollar-cost averaging.

Why this position is the golden period for dollar-cost averaging

The key to understanding this is observing specific data changes. The ETH staking withdrawal queue had basically dropped to zero by early January, after peaking at 2.6 million ETH queued. This shift indicates that selling pressure is rapidly decreasing, and the market’s selling pressure is noticeably easing. When supply-side pressure diminishes and institutional investors have not yet re-entered on a large scale, this window becomes the most strategically valuable entry point.

More importantly, from a macro asset flow perspective, the maturity of the crypto market exceeds expectations. According to Binance’s annual report released in 2025, this largest global crypto exchange’s total trading volume for the year reached $34 trillion, comparable to the annual trading volumes of A-shares at $58 trillion and US stocks at $50 trillion. In terms of user base, Binance has 300 million users, comparable to the 250 million in A-shares and 200 million in US stocks. These data clearly show that the crypto market has become a relatively mature and deep asset trading market, fully capable of attracting institutional-level large asset allocations.

The flow of smart money determines the opportunity to pick up money

As the cost-performance ratio in the stock market becomes increasingly low and institutions are forced to seek new profit windows, the long-dormant crypto market will naturally become a beneficiary of capital flows. This is not a rapid process; it requires time to verify. Although the bull market in stocks has brought ample short-term profits to participants, this good period will not last forever. As stock market risks start to accumulate and the cost-performance ratio declines, savvy large funds will gradually shift their focus to this long-neglected asset class.

Before this turning point arrives, understanding how to pick up money in the crypto market requires a different perspective—it’s not about short-term quick gains, but about accumulating long-term strategic positions at lower costs. Every dip is an opportunity for dollar-cost averaging, and every calm period prepares for future rebounds.

Patience is the real secret to picking up money

The fundamental reason why the stock market and the crypto space show vastly different difficulties in making money lies in the difference in time cycles. The stock market is currently in a short-term frenzy, where any participant can easily share the gains; whereas the crypto market is in a long-term buildup phase, where only those willing to wait patiently and lay out rationally can truly experience the joy of picking up money.

This contrast also reveals an important investment philosophy: in different market environments, making money means different things. In a booming market, it might just be following the trend; but in a downturn, it’s a vote of confidence in the future. The return of institutional funds is only a matter of time, and when that moment arrives, every participation at this position will be the most genuine manifestation of picking up money.