Crypto’s Next Bubble Might Already Be Brewing — But This Time, It’ll Be Weirder, Slower, and Riskier

Crypto markets are climbing again, and with them, the ghosts of past bubbles are stirring. The last major run-up in 2021 left many retail investors burned — but now, prices are rising again, and patterns are starting to look… familiar.

But here’s the catch: the next bubble probably won’t look like the last one. If anything, it might be even stranger, more corporate, and stretched out over a longer time. Here’s a look at three predictions that could define what comes next.

Corporate Crypto Treasuries Are Going Off the Deep End

First, remember when MicroStrategy — now rebranded as “Strategy” — began buying Bitcoin in bulk back in 2020? That bold move was the spark for dozens of other public companies to stuff Bitcoin into their balance sheets, treating the coin like a digital gold reserve. Fast forward to now, and Strategy owns about 3% of all Bitcoin. That’s… a lot.

But that playbook has mutated.

Now, treasury strategies are drifting far beyond Bitcoin. We’re seeing altcoins, meme coins, and NFTs start popping up in corporate portfolios. And it’s not just tech firms anymore.

This month, an obscure pork-processing firm — yes, pork — that pivoted into Bitcoin mining raised $500 million to buy Dogecoin. Dogecoin. That’s either innovation or desperation, depending on your lens. But what matters is the signal it sends: the risk curve is being stretched to absurd levels.

• Companies struggling in their main businesses are jumping on crypto as a lifeboat

• Boards are green-lighting exotic bets on low-liquidity coins

• Public investors often reward these decisions — at least, at first

Eventually, this leads to a feedback loop. Scarce tokens get scarcer as more companies buy in. Prices surge. And then? When credit markets tighten or liquidity dries up, the same companies become forced sellers — creating a whiplash effect that drags prices down faster than they went up.

Bitcoin Might Lead, But Solana Could Steal the Show

Bitcoin’s dominance isn’t going anywhere. It’s big, integrated into ETFs, and generally treated like the flagship of crypto. But during every bubble, there’s always a co-star. In 2021, it was Ethereum. Next time, it might be Solana.

Why Solana? Two big reasons: speed and cost.

Ethereum still has its strengths — it’s decentralized, well-established, and widely used — but it’s also bogged down by high fees. Solana, on the other hand, is cheap, fast, and increasingly the first stop for meme coins, AI-based DeFi projects, and even gaming experiments. That matters.

And the revenue numbers are starting to back that up.

In Q2 this year, Solana raked in $271 million in network fees — more than twice what Ethereum earned. That stat raised eyebrows across the industry, and it hints at a broader shift. If things heat up, more developers, coins, and investors could migrate to Solana’s ecosystem.

It’s already happening with meme coins and newer NFTs. Ethereum isn’t dead, but it might not be the main stage next time around.

The Next Bubble Won’t Pop Overnight

Remember how fast the 2021 bubble burst? One day euphoria, the next day panic. Retail investors flooded in, pushed prices to insane highs, and then pulled out just as fast. But this time around, the pacing looks different.

Institutions are leading the charge now. Think ETFs, sovereign funds, and corporate treasuries. These players move slower. They accumulate over time. They also tend to sell in phases, not frenzies. That means any price rally will probably stretch out over months — maybe longer.

This slower rise could trick investors into thinking we’re not in a bubble at all. But that’s exactly the danger.

Retail traders are still licking their wounds from the last crash. They’re skeptical. Some are sitting out. Others are dollar-cost averaging with caution. But if prices keep inching upward, their caution may turn to FOMO.

That’s how bubbles build — not with a bang, but a slow drumbeat.

Here’s a table comparing bubble timelines from the past:

If that table feels ominous, well… it kind of is.

Don’t Be Surprised When Things Get Weird

The weirdness isn’t a side effect — it’s the main event.

From pork companies hoarding meme coins to NFTs making their way onto insurance company ledgers, the next cycle will likely feature stranger headlines than ever before. That’s what happens when there’s too much money chasing too little innovation.

In 2021, the market had dog coins. In 2025, we may get llama coins backed by hedge funds.

The boundary between “serious finance” and “internet joke” keeps blurring, and the crypto space is the prime example. At some point, a random coin will go from $0.003 to $3.00 — and investors will act surprised when it crashes to $0.01.

It’s all fun and games until someone loses their 401(k).