BroadChain has learned that on March 5, Jasper De Maere, an analyst at Wintermute, noted that digital assets have significantly underperformed other asset classes over the past two months, which may be contributing to the current divergence in relative strength.
De Maere pointed out that digital assets differ from equities in that they are not directly influenced by macro narratives like supply chains or energy costs—giving them a relative edge in the current market climate. Over time, both equities and digital assets have increasingly come to be seen as "alternative risk assets."
With uncertainty dampening inflows into equities, some capital appears to be rotating into digital assets instead.
However, De Maere also warned that this outperformance may not last. Should geopolitical tensions drive energy prices higher—fueling inflation and dimming hopes for rate cuts—it could put pressure on the crypto market. In the near term, markets are likely to stay highly volatile as they await clearer macroeconomic signals.