Crypto world, no long-termism

Original Article Title: "The Crypto World: Lack of Long-Termism"

Original Article Author: Fairy, ChainCatcher

One should not forget the initial purpose of setting out on a journey, no matter how far they have come.

Amid the frenzy of the market, meme coins are in vogue, short-term speculation is rampant, FOMO emotions drive bubbles, while the true builders propelling the industry forward find themselves struggling in the squeeze. Capital chases gains, founders exit, and even the most steadfast developers are starting to waver.

As innovation is hijacked by traffic and speculation, the market has devolved into a game of "passing the buck." Do we still remember the original faith of this industry?

The Erosion of Long-Termism Narrative: From "Changing the World" to "Speculative Casino"

Reflecting on the early days of the crypto industry, long-termism was once the core driving force behind innovation. Foundational projects like Ethereum, Polkadot, and Cosmos were born in 2017. At that time, numerous Layer1 and DeFi projects were seen as puzzle pieces of the next-generation financial infrastructure. The bull market of 2021 elevated this narrative to its peak: the frenzy of DeFi Summer, the explosion of NFTs, and projects like Uniswap, Aave, and Solana coming into the spotlight.

However, the crypto market of today has undergone a transformation. The pace of innovation has slowed, and the industry's focus has shifted from infrastructure development to areas being primarily driven by short-term gains. Jocy, the founder of IOSG Ventures, bluntly stated, "If the ultimate result is talent attrition, turning Web3 into a speculative casino, is their success truly shining?"

This shift is already evident in the entrepreneur community. Crypto influencer Jason Tan Jian pointed out that high-quality entrepreneurs in the crypto space are leaving in increasing numbers, in stark contrast to the boom of 2021. From the talent and funding perspective, AI industry can accommodate far more talent and resources than the crypto industry. Respectable entrepreneurs with no lack of funds lack the motivation to stay and build in a grand casino. "Compared to these emerging industries, blockchain seems to have become the most boring one."

More worrisome is that this short-term speculative mindset is eroding the industry's long-term developmental drive, affecting the entire industry's positive feedback loop. Jocy emphasized, "Accustomed to making fast money, who is still willing to focus on honing their products and driving growth? If the entire industry is tilting towards speculation, the crypto market will ultimately only self-consume, losing its true innovative drive."

The crypto industry once carried the dream of revolutionizing the financial system but now faces the risk of being engulfed by a speculative frenzy. The current market is more democratized and fragmented, but it has also lost its sense of direction.

PVP Wave Dominates the Market: Speedpass and "Dumping" Become Standard

According to CoinGecko data, Meme coins accounted for 31% of market attention last year, with a total market value soaring from $200 billion in 2023 to $1.4 trillion, a staggering 600% increase. However, beneath the bubble, the bubble remains.

CoinWire statistics show that 76% of KOLs have promoted "dead" Meme coins, two-thirds of which have already gone to zero, and 86% of Meme coins have plummeted by 90% within 3 months. This "fast listing, rapid pump, quick cash out" pattern seems to have become the standard growth path for Meme coins.

From birth to hype, and then rapid decline, the cycle has been greatly compressed. Stories of hundredfold price surges continue to stimulate investors' FOMO emotions, attracting a large amount of funds. However, as the heat dissipates, "dumping" has become the ultimate fate for most Meme coins.

We have reviewed some of the Meme coins that were once shining brightly in 2024, tallying their historical highs and current status, and the results are as expected—they all ultimately end up being "dumped."

Furthermore, Pump.fun, seen as the Solana ecosystem Meme coin wealth-making artifact, saw its weekly revenue skyrocket to $27.92 million, but has now drastically plummeted to $8 million. The weekly trading volume also dropped from $22 billion to $5.36 billion. Of particular note, on Pump.fun's platform for multiple consecutive days, only one token has been able to surpass a $1 million market cap in 24 hours, and there has even been a phenomenon of "zero volume trading."

At the same time, funds and attention are now shifting toward BNB Chain and TRON. Each gust of wind may bring a brief frenzy, but each lull may leave a mess behind. In a market environment where "speedpass" and "dumping" have become the norm, how long can this trend last?

Image Source: Defillama

Top-tier Exchange Platforms Engage in Traffic Competition

The cryptocurrency industry has entered a "casino" mode, where the competition between exchange platforms seems to be about who can list Meme coins faster and more accurately. As the industry's "locomotive," Binance has also been "riding the wave" in this traffic chase, always following the flow of traffic and attention.

According to ChainCatcher's statistics, from 2024 to the present, Binance has listed 36 meme coins on the futures and spot markets, a significant proportion in its listing landscape.

Recently, Binance's founder CZ and He Yi personally joined the fray, actively engaging in the community and X (Twitter), sharing memes, posting images, engaging with memes, and creating meme hype material to seize the traffic dividend. In response to this, Jocy, the founder of IOSG Ventures, bluntly stated, "The most prestigious individuals and organizations in the industry are focusing on memes. To be honest, what does winning this battle achieve?"

Currently, most meme coins lack substantive empowerment and are more like a game of "passing the buck." They lack self-sustaining capabilities and sustainable value support, relying only on social media hype and celebrity effects to maintain short-term popularity. This pattern is unsustainable.

In the past, a project's technical strength, ecosystem development, and innovation capabilities were the market's focus, but now, short-term gains and social media popularity have become key determinants of success or failure. The voice of long-termism is gradually being drowned out in the noisy speculation, and the development trajectory of the crypto market is deviating from its original intention, becoming increasingly short-sighted and impatient.

Do You Still Remember the Original Aspiration of Crypto?

Speculative sentiment is on the rise, and the survival space for true value investors and high-quality projects is shrinking. Crypto KOL Rick Awsb pointed out that the trend of memefication has intensified the "bad money drives out good money" phenomenon, and the number of true value investors is decreasing. The "desertification" of the industry in the short term has become an indisputable fact.

Developers focused on technical innovation and ecosystem development are gradually being marginalized, and the brilliance of technology and innovation is being overshadowed by the market's clamor. Bifrost builder Lurpis stated, "In the Web3 field, building an excellent product is far less effective than pumping the price."

Nevertheless, there are still developers, investors, and builders who believe in the long-term value of Web3. Although their voices seem weak amid the market's noise, these steadfast individuals provide the industry with the motivation to continue moving forward amidst turmoil. As crypto KOL Bluefox said, "The industry is like an inn, with travelers coming and going. It's really tough now, but a small group is still holding on, and even that small group will survive this winter."

Despite the cold of winter, the footsteps of spring never cease.

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