Author: Fairy, ChainCatcher

Editor: TB, ChainCatcher

We must not forget why we set out in the first place, just because we have gone too far.

Amidst the frenzy of the market, Meme coins have become popular, short-term speculation is rampant, FOMO sentiment has inflated the bubble, while the Builders who truly drive the industry forward are struggling in the cracks. Capital is chasing profits, founders are leaving, and even the most steadfast developers are starting to waver.

When innovation is hijacked by traffic and speculation, and the market becomes a game of "hot potato", do we still remember the original faith of this industry?

Dissolution of the Long-term Narrative: From "Changing the World" to "Gambling Casino"

Looking back at the early days of the crypto industry, long-term thinking was the core driving force behind innovation. In 2017, foundational projects such as Ethereum, Polkadot, and Cosmos were born. At the time, countless Layer1 and DeFi projects were seen as pieces of the puzzle for the next-generation financial infrastructure, and the 2021 bull market further elevated this narrative: the DeFi Summer frenzy and the NFT explosion allowed projects like Uniswap, Aave, and Solana to emerge.

However, the crypto market has now taken on a different appearance. The pace of innovation has slowed, and the industry's focus has gradually shifted from infrastructure building to short-term profit-driven areas. Jocy, the founder of IOSG Ventures, bluntly stated: "If the ultimate result is the loss of talented people and the transformation of Web3 into a gambling casino, is their success truly dazzling?"

This change is already evident in the startup community. Crypto KOL Chen Jian Jason pointed out that high-quality entrepreneurs in the Crypto field are leaving en masse, in stark contrast to the prosperity of 2021. The AI industry, from infrastructure to applications, can accommodate far more talent and capital than the crypto world, and entrepreneurs who have a decent job and are not short of money have no motivation to stay and build a big casino. "Compared to these emerging industries, blockchain seems to have become the most boring one."

More worryingly, this short-term speculative mindset is eroding the industry's long-term development momentum and affecting the entire industry's positive feedback mechanism. Jocy pointed out that "once you get used to making quick money, who still wants to focus on polishing products and driving growth? If the entire industry leans towards speculation, the crypto market will ultimately self-consume and lose its true innovative drive."

The crypto industry once carried the dream of transforming the financial system, but now faces the risk of being consumed by the speculative tide. The current market is more democratized and fragmented, but also lacks a sense of direction.

PVP Wave Dominates the Market: "Speed-through" and "Watering Down" Become the Norm

According to CoinGecko data, Meme coins accounted for 31% of market attention last year, with their total market capitalization skyrocketing from $20 billion in 2023 to $140 billion, an increase of 600%. But beneath the bubble, the bubble remains.

CoinWire's statistics show that 76% of KOLs have promoted "dead" Meme coins, of which 2/3 have gone to zero, and 86% of Meme coins have plummeted 90% within 3 months. This "rapid launch, quick pump, and short-term cash-out" model seems to have become the standard growth path for Meme coins.

The project's journey from birth to explosion and then rapid decline has been greatly compressed. Stories of hundredfold gains continue to stimulate investors' FOMO emotions and attract a flood of capital. However, as the hype subsides, "watering down" has become the ultimate fate for most Meme coins.

We reviewed some of the once-glorious Meme coins from 2024 and examined their historical highs and current status, and the result was no surprise - they all ended up "watered down".

Furthermore, Pump.fun, which was once hailed as the wealth-creating Meme coin of the Solana ecosystem, saw its weekly revenue soar to $27.92 million, but has now shrunk significantly to $8 million. Its trading volume has also plummeted from $2.2 billion to $536 million in a cliff-like fashion. More notably, the Pump.fun platform has seen consecutive days where only 1 token can break the $1 million market cap within 24 hours, and even "zero-volume trades" have occurred.

Meanwhile, capital and attention are shifting towards the BNB Chain and TRON. Each time the wind blows, it may bring a brief frenzy; but each time the wind stops, what's left may be "a mess". In a market environment where "speed-through" and "watering down" have become the norm, how long can this wind last?

Source: Defillama

The Traffic Scramble Among Top Exchanges

As the crypto industry has fallen into a "casino" mode, the competition between exchanges seems to have begun to focus on who can list Meme coins faster and more accurately. As the industry's "locomotive", Binance has also been "going with the flow" in this traffic chase, following the flow of traffic and attention.

According to ChainCatcher's statistics, since 2024, Binance has listed 36 Meme coins on its futures and spot markets, a figure that occupies a significant proportion of its listing map.

Recently, Binance founder CZ and He Yi have personally taken to the community and X (Twitter), playing with memes, posting pictures, catching memes, and creating meme hype materials, seizing the traffic dividends. Regarding this, Jocy, the founder of IOSG Ventures, bluntly said: "The most reputable individuals and organizations in the industry are focusing their attention on Meme coins. Honestly, what's the point of winning this battle?"

Currently, most Meme coins lack substantial empowerment and are more like a game of "hot potato". They have no self-sustaining ability and lack sustainable value support, relying solely on social media hype and celebrity effects to maintain short-term heat, a model that is unsustainable.

Previously, a project's technical strength, ecosystem building, and innovation capabilities were the focus of market attention, but now, short-term gains and social media heat have become the key to success or failure. The voice of long-term thinking is gradually being drowned out by the clamor of speculation, and the development trajectory of the crypto market is deviating from its original intention, becoming increasingly short-sighted and restless.

Do You Still Remember the Original Intention of Crypto?

As speculative sentiment runs high, the survival space for true value investors and quality projects is shrinking. Crypto KOL Rick Awsb pointed out that the Meme-ification trend has exacerbated the phenomenon of "bad money driving out good money", and PVP has made true value investors increasingly scarce, with the "desertification" of the industry in the short term becoming an undisputed fact.

Developers focused on technological innovation and ecosystem building are gradually marginalized, and the luster of technology and innovation is obscured by the clamor of the market. Lurpis, a builder of Bifrost, bluntly stated: "In the Web3 field, creating 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, and although their voices seem weak amidst the market's din, these steadfast ones keep the industry moving forward even in the turmoil. As Crypto KOL Blue Fox said: "The industry is like a caravanserai, with comers and goers. It's indeed very difficult now, but there is still a small part that is holding on, and even if it's a small part, they will weather this winter."

Although the winter is cold, the footsteps of spring have never stopped.