The issue is that inflation rate and coin prices aren't strongly correlated; whether people are participating matters a lot. ICO was a huge demand driver. At first, some smart money bought in to do ICOs, realizing this potential future demand, then massively bought in to push up coin prices. Later, many others caught on to this—Ethereum back then was a must-have for ICOs. DEFI also triggered a wave of demand. This time with POS, the inflation rate has dropped, but demand hasn't kept up, turning it into a money game. Demand is the key.