I'm Tired of Crypto… So Why Can't I Walk Away? | Daily Crypto Deep Dive

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I'm tired of crypto, so why can't I walk away? I'm going to say something today that I don't usually say on this podcast.

I'm tired of crypto.

I'm not saying Bitcoin is finished or that I'm selling everything. I'm tired of waiting, tired of the promises, the sudden crashes, and the feeling that every time the market starts to recover, something arrives to knock it back down again. This isn't going to be another episode promising that XRP will explode next Tuesday or that altcoin season is definitely three weeks away. Today I want to talk about what investing in crypto actually feels like when you've got a job, a family, bills to pay, and a future you're trying to build. Because behind every portfolio is a person. And sometimes that person is having a thoroughly miserable time.

I'll give you an example. Ethereum up half a percent, Bitcoin down one, XRP having another day where absolutely nothing seems to happen. I close the app, carry on working, and check again later, as though an hour might have transformed my financial future. And when the figures are red, I feel that little flash of disappointment.

Not devastating, just constant. A drip feed of frustration that follows you around. Sometimes I wonder whether the biggest cost of crypto isn't the money. It's the attention.

But before we blame ourselves for being impatient, look at the world we're investing in.

On October the 14th, American inflation came in at 3.7% year on year. Petrol prices had jumped. And suddenly, we're back arguing about whether the Federal Reserve needs to raise interest rates again. In September, the Fed had already lifted its target range to 3.75 to 4%.

PIMCO's Dan Iveson has even warned that another one or two increases could be possible. Then there's the conflict involving Iran, the pressure on energy supplies, government debt, bond yields and nervousness about the enormous spending on artificial intelligence. When money is expensive and investors are frightened, speculative investments struggle to attract buyers. And crypto is often the first thing people sell when they want to reduce risk. The week ending October the 16th was another reminder. American Bitcoin exchange traded funds saw roughly $228 million in net withdrawals. Ethereum funds lost about $320 million. We begged for institutional money to arrive. It arrived. Then we discovered institutions can press the sell button too. Honestly, sometimes you have to laugh. And all of this makes me ask a question I've been avoiding. Would I have been better off buying stocks? Some days I look at the S&P 500 and think about how much simpler that would feel.

Owning businesses with customers, profits, products and cash flow. Investing regularly. Going to work. Leaving the money alone. Stocks fall too, of course. There's no magic safety net. But I don't need to convince myself that a profitable company deserves to exist. With some altcoins, I'm not always sure I could explain where the value is supposed to come from. That's uncomfortable to admit, especially when you've spent years following projects, reading announcements and defending investments you believe in.

And here's another uncomfortable truth. Sometimes I think about selling because I'm exhausted, and sometimes I think about staying because I'm terrified of selling just before the recovery.

Neither feeling is a proper investment strategy. There's a difference between conviction and attachment. Between patience and stubbornness. Between buying something because it has a future and holding something simply because you once paid more for it. Not every altcoin will reclaim its old high. Some never will.

I think we all need to hear that, however much we dislike it.

So, why haven't I walked away? Partly because I've genuinely enjoyed this world. I've built Crypto News Today and got to know listeners who are wrestling with exactly the same questions. And partly because, underneath the disappointment, I still believe something important is happening.

Here's where I want to give you some hope. Not blind hope. Something we can actually point towards. The infrastructure around crypto is stronger than it was a few years ago.

Bitcoin can be accessed through regulated investment products. Institutions are learning how to custody digital assets. Stable coins are being used to transfer value and settle transactions. Financial firms are exploring tokenized funds and deposits. And listen to this. In an October 2026 study from State Street, 51% of institutional investors surveyed expected digital assets to become mainstream within five years.

And I think that matters to people like us because patience feels different when you can see something real being built. That's not a promise that your favorite coin will rise tomorrow. But it's evidence that serious financial organizations are still building, even while the charts look dreadful. And that distinction matters. Prices tell us how people feel about an asset today. Development and adoption may tell us something about whether it has a place tomorrow.