If we look at the prices of GameStop (NYSE: GME), AMC (NYSE: AMC), Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) this year, we'll see why investors broadly lost their appetite for meme stocks and cryptocurrencies. Those macroeconomic headwinds caused investors to dump riskier assets, like meme stocks and cryptocurrencies, and buy more conservative investments. Inflationary headwinds also forced retail investors to conserve their cash instead of plowing it into the markets, and a lack of new stimulus checks exacerbated that slowdown.