The Fed's rate cut was fired, but Wall Street reacted wildly - some people were bullish on gold rushing to $6,000, and some were short on Bitcoin falling to 10,000. It's not just bullish or bearish, it's the entire market tearing each other in two completely opposite directions.

To be honest, the Fed has recently cut interest rates three times in a row, each by 25 basis points, which should have sent a strong signal of easing. But traders are not in concert to bet in the same direction. The funds in front of the screen were diverted to gold and cryptocurrency, but the attitude was completely different - chasing gold while fleeing Bitcoin.

The story of gold sounds refreshing. This thing has now rushed to around $4,200, and then economist Peter Schiff shouted directly: the price of gold may go straight to $6,000 in 2026. This is not a conservative prediction, it is an explosive prophecy. Investors are looking to gold as the ultimate hedge against inflation and policy uncertainty.

Bitcoin is much more heart-wrenching. From an all-time high of $126,000 all the way down, it is now tossing repeatedly in the range of $8 to $100,000. What's even more frightening is that some analysts have given a shocking figure: if there is a sharp correction, Bitcoin may fall to $10,000 in 2026, which is an 88% cut from the high. As soon as this extreme prediction came out, market sentiment was poked to the brim.

Why is this happening? The key lies in the duality of policies.

In December, the Fed raised interest rates to 3.5%-3.75%, a move that everyone foresaw. But the phrase "slowing job growth" is a new wording. This reveals that the Fed is a bit stuck - it is difficult to choose while stimulating the economy and guarding against a rebound in inflation.

What's even more intriguing is that the Fed also announced the launch of a 30-day, $40 billion Treasury bond purchase operation. Officially, this is not a comprehensive quantitative easing, but just a "technical operation". But the subtext of the market is: the money is coming again.

This creates a strange phenomenon. In what should be a loose environment, investors have made the ultimate multiple-choice question between assets. Gold represents the traditional safe-haven logic - I don't believe in banknotes, I want to hold on to the real thing. The supply of gold is limited, inflation is coming, gold is valuable, and geopolitical risks are intensifying, making gold more fragrant. Along this logic, $6,000 is not a fantasy.

Skepticism about Bitcoin stems from another logic: if the economy really starts to weaken, risk assets will be mercilessly sold off. Macro data deteriorates, corporate earnings decline, and highly volatile cryptocurrencies bear the brunt. Moreover, if the Fed is really caught in a policy dilemma and may end up being forced to choose more aggressive actions, not all assets will benefit at that time.

What will be presented to us in 2026 is not the traditional dividing between bulls and bears, but an era of "great asset split".

Gold attracts money betting on inflation or recession. This group of people feel that the credit of paper money is depreciating, and no matter how much the central bank cuts interest rates, it will not save the fundamentals of the economy. So it's better to buy gold - this thing has not depreciated for thousands of years.

Bitcoin is in an identity crisis. It was originally intended to be both an anti-inflation tool and a risk asset. But when economic expectations weaken, risk asset attributes begin to overwhelm anti-inflation attributes. Coupled with the volatility of regulation, institutional investors have turned into pressure on profit-taking at high levels.

What about the assets in the middle? Stocks, bonds, and emerging market currencies are all caught between these two forces. Some will go down with gold, others with cryptocurrencies, and the outcome is difficult to predict.

For individual investors, 2026 is not suitable for simply all-in one direction. Gold's appeal is obvious, but whether the $6,000 target can be reached depends on inflation expectations and geopolitical patterns. Bitcoin is risky, but it is not completely illogical - if the world does enter an extreme easing cycle, it may rebound violently at some point.

Probably the smartest thing to do is to hedge (gold or stablecoins), be flexible (leave some positions for highly volatile assets), and always keep an eye on the Fed's true intentions. Because what ultimately determines the direction of assets is where the policy itself will go.