Picture this: you're fresh to investing, scrolling through your feed with cash burning a hole in your pocket.

Last twelve months? Stocks delivered. Earnings reports showed real growth. Companies actually making money, expanding operations, hiring people. The fundamentals checked out.

Then there's crypto. Sure, some coins pumped. But when you dig deeper? Where's the underlying value proposition that got stronger? What fundamentals improved exactly?

For someone just entering the investment world, this comparison hits different. You're not carrying bags from 2021. You're not emotionally attached to the "inevitable future" narrative. You're just looking at performance charts and asking the most basic question: why this over that?

And honestly? The answer isn't obvious anymore.

Maybe that's the uncomfortable truth nobody wants to say out loud: the next retail wave everyone keeps predicting might just... not show up. At least not until something fundamental actually changes.