Original title: The Violent Delight
Original author: DoveyWan, founder of primitivecrypto
Original translation: zhouzhou, BlockBeats
Editors note: This article explores the impact of the politicization of financial populism, comparing it to a double black hole system, showing the distortion and chaos of society. By taking crypto traders as an example, it emphasizes that success comes from continuous efforts and self-awareness. It points out that technological and social changes are driving the formation of a new order, and future leaders will be innovators who can cross the boundaries between the East and the West and play the game of global thinking and populism.
The following is the original content (for easier reading and understanding, the original content has been reorganized):
In the past 24 hours, we have witnessed two historic moments. TikTok became collateral damage in the ongoing new Cold War between the US and China, and the US President launched his own meme coin, a field once considered fringe and a hotbed for scams.
This is the epitome of geopolitical tensions and financial populism colliding coincidentally on the same day. I have great confidence in the future of our industry as the most meta-sovereign and globally permissionless experiment, but I would urge caution at this stage in the cycle as many signs of violent glee are echoing the violent endings of past cycles.
Politicized financial populism
What we have seen, in addition to TRUMPs violent pleasure, is that in the East, the exchange rate of USDT to RMB (onshore RMB) has reached a historically high premium, reflecting the strong demand for OTC transactions in the mainland. This is also the first time in this cycle that a large number of Chinese retail investors have FOMO, more than previous hype such as Bitcoin, NFT, Ordinal, etc.
In the last cycle, Defi and Gamefi attracted global liquidity, while NFT was more of a Western liquidity, followed by Eastern liquidity; in this cycle, on-chain meme coins were initially issued mainly on Base and Solana, and were assets mainly based on US retail, but with the emergence of TRUMP, global liquidity began to converge.
Local P2P OTC USDT/CNY Price
In the West: Moonshot was overwhelmed by the influx of users into Solana, climbing to the top of the app charts, a pattern reminiscent of the last cycle when Moonpay saw a large influx of USD fiat deposits flowing directly into OpenSea via an ETH onramp.
Coinbases withdrawal from SOL caused severe delays in withdrawals, which is just as I expected earlier. Centralized exchanges will act as ATMs for the on-chain economy in the long run. At the same time, similar to the last cycle, the DeFi outbreak and NFT craze accelerated the ETH expansion solution. The Phantom wallet experienced a surge of more than 8,000,000 requests per minute. A wallet infrastructure with a market value of 3 billion failed to foresee this surge.
We are undeniably in a bull market, but only a handful of altcoins have reached new all-time highs, which is both a sign of industry maturity and a reflection of upstream market weakness, as I pointed out last year. A new Trump regime will undoubtedly create opportunities, but sustainability is at risk when markets become overly dependent on the manipulation of a few leading figures.
The distorted starry sky behind the binary black hole system
When financial populism is politicized, it is like a binary black hole system - two massive sources of gravity interacting in a dance of powerful forces. Just as this cosmic phenomenon distorts the surrounding starry sky through extreme gravitational lensing, even pulling space-time itself into chaos, we are witnessing an uneasy distortion of the world. Social discontent is surging, tensions are palpable, and entropy is at an all-time high. History has shown that violent pleasures often end in violent consequences, but this time, we have the opportunity to consciously choose an alternative monetary track/resource allocation path that may provide a more peaceful solution.
Missed 100 times the opportunity
In the 10 years that I’ve been in this industry, I’ve never experienced a “get rich overnight” experience. I’ve missed countless 100x opportunities, but that’s okay. The lure of quick, big returns is undeniable, but sustainable success comes from self-awareness and knowing the rules of your own game.
In the long run, the market will provide the next 100x opportunity to cater to your advantage as long as you keep accumulating. This is also the advice I gave to ManoppoMarco when he missed his first 100x as a crypto investor.
If your natural strength is as a meme coin PvP player or a momentum trader with quick reflexes, embrace it and keep refining your strengths. Take 0x Wangarian Darryl and his Pigeon account as an example. Although some people regard him as a rich second-generation virtual role player who is just selling out others, those who know his background and track record know that he has a great passion for systematic trade execution and market analysis, just like any dedicated underground trader.
For those trench warriors who turned meme coins into “easy eight-figure” victories, we should not overlook the tremendous effort behind them. Countless sleepless nights on-chain, constant reconnaissance, and an unwavering commitment to their craft are the true driving force behind these life-changing results.
I have a deep respect for these trench warriors. Crypto remains the last frontier where anyone with nothing more than a computer, tenacity, and deep insight can achieve financial transformation. It is a merit-based battlefield where effort and skill can still rewrite the trajectory of personal growth.
But if its not your strength, chasing the pleasure of violence can be a game of self-destruction. Wealth doesnt come easy unless it aligns with your strengths. Understanding who you are, what game you play, and which trench you belong to is the foundation of personal growth. The market has its rhythm, but success comes from finding your own tune and dancing to it confidently.
No violent ending
From “the pen is mightier than the sword” in the 19th century to “software is eating the world” in the early 21st century, we are now at the intersection of transformative trends:
Binary code evolves into monetary code
Machine programs reshape the social contract
Human languages become programming languages
Behind every major socio-economic change is the “harvest of entropy” – the creation of a new order, usually in the form of a new value supply chain, which fundamentally changes the way humans coordinate (whether economically or politically).
The Industrial Revolution redefined the social contract through mechanized processes; the rise of the Internet and cryptographically protected private property (i.e., native Internet money) turned binary code into monetary code. Now, we are entering an era where human language itself is the programming language, which empowers individuals to become not only 10x people, but even 100x people.
The future has begun to emerge, although its distribution is uneven. Those who dare to step on the left side of the hype curve, who can integrate the globalization thinking of the East and the West and participate in the populist game of supra-sovereignty, will rise as the protagonists of that era and define their own legendary chapters.
