If you look at the index in dollars — everything looks great. New highs, all-time peaks, "the economy is strong."

But let's remove the illusion of the unit of measurement.

The first chart shows NASDAQ, priced in BTC.
The second shows NASDAQ, priced in gold.

And there, instead of euphoria, we see a completely different picture:

• Relative to Bitcoin, the index is down ~70%

• Relative to gold, it's down ~45%

These aren't "records."
This is a loss of purchasing power relative to hard assets.

What does this mean?

When the Fed expands its balance sheet and the system lives on constant money printing, nominal prices almost always rise. But does real value rise? That is the question.

If we measure stocks against things that cannot be printed:

• Gold (limited by physics)

• Bitcoin (limited by code)

it turns out that in recent years, the stock market hasn't been creating real alpha; it's just been hedging against inflation.

And this is where it gets really interesting.

If the stock market is only making "new highs" in a weakening currency, but falling when measured in hard units, does that mean capital is gradually flowing into scarce assets?

Or are we observing a normal phase of the cycle where tech stocks are temporarily lagging?

I'm not saying "stocks are dead."
I'm looking at relative strength.

History teaches us: in the long-term cycle, the winner isn't what grows in dollar terms, but what preserves purchasing power.

The main thing to remember: nominal growth ≠ real growth ☝️