Unchained Bits + Bips: Are Crypto Markets Bottoming, or Is There More Pain Ahead?
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Feb 26, 2026 Omid Malekan, adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and longtime crypto analyst, brings macro and product skepticism. He revisits DAT hype, questions agentic commerce, and connects crypto’s case to how states treat citizens. The conversation covers tokenized bank deposits, SEC stablecoin guidance, ETF flows, and the market impact of the Supreme Court tariffs ruling.
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Crowded Crypto Themes Are Getting Unwound
- Crypto thematic trades got crowded and are being unwound, rotating into boring, cash-flow positive sectors.
- Ram points to DATs, AI, and other crowded themes losing favor and money flowing into metals, waste management, and oilfield services.
Omid's Mea Culpa On DAT Hype
- Omid admits he contributed to early DAT enthusiasm with a viral blog post recommending wrappers for ecosystem exposure.
- He says the model assumed manager alpha and failed when teams sold 'locked' tokens to DATs, revealing hidden supply.
Locked Token Sales Shattered Market Trust
- Selling of supposedly locked tokens to DATs destroyed trust by signaling those tokens weren't locked and raised available supply.
- Omid says those sales became pure exit liquidity for labs and foundations, sealing project fates.