The fading lines between crypto tribes
I’ve been thinking about how crypto communities used to be so divided. You had Bitcoin maximalists who wouldn’t touch anything else, Ethereum builders convinced they were creating the future, and every new chain promising to fix what came before. The debates felt intense, almost personal. But something’s changing.
Maybe it’s the infrastructure that’s doing it. When you look at how ETFs work, they’re creating this standardized system that treats different cryptocurrencies more similarly than ever before. The same custodians, the same clearing systems, the same distribution channels. It’s hard to maintain tribal loyalty when everything flows through the same pipes.
How ETFs changed the game
The numbers tell part of the story. According to Bloomberg data from late 2025, global crypto ETFs hold billions, with most of that in Bitcoin and Ethereum. But what’s interesting is how the rest are following the same path. They’re using the same custody solutions, clearing through DTCC, reaching investors through traditional platforms.
I think this standardization matters more than we realize. When exposure becomes a single button in a brokerage app, does it really matter which chain someone believes in most? The investor experience becomes more about portfolio allocation than ideological commitment.
The correlation effect
Here’s something that caught my attention: since 2022, the 90-day correlation between Bitcoin and Ethereum has averaged 83%. Most large-cap tokens now trade in what feels like the same risk category. This isn’t because their fundamentals have merged, but because their market infrastructure has.
The same capital flows that used to move Bitcoin now move through Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and others. They’re all part of this growing digital asset class that institutions are treating more uniformly. Perhaps this is what maturation looks like for an industry.
What tribalism leaves behind
Don’t get me wrong—tribalism served a purpose. In crypto’s early days, it helped create identity and community. It organized what felt like chaos and gave people something to believe in. Those passionate communities drove development and adoption in ways that were probably necessary.
But now we’re seeing something different. With staking rewards becoming more common across multiple assets, crypto is turning into an income play for many investors. This structural shift changes how people think about these assets in their portfolios.
Looking ahead
For the next wave of investors, the question might not be “which chain is better?” but rather “what’s your allocation to digital assets overall?” The tribal identity that once defined crypto participation could become less central.
Maybe this isn’t about losing something valuable. Perhaps it’s about gaining something new—a more unified asset class that can grow together. The infrastructure that carries capital into Bitcoin now carries it everywhere else too. In a way, we’re all in the same boat now, whether we realize it or not.
Crypto will always have its communities and passionate supporters. That’s human nature, and honestly, it’s part of what makes this space interesting. But the lines between tribes are getting blurrier. The infrastructure that supports crypto today might be doing more than just moving assets—it might be bringing everyone closer together, whether we intended that or not.
