Huang Licheng's withdrawal from the NFT circle: is it despair from losses or a calm decision under pressure?

Written by: Shiwen, Odaily

In the past three days, two NFT OGs, "Franklin" and "Maji Dage" Huang Licheng, have announced their exit from the NFT space. "Franklin" and "Maji Dage" are among the earliest NFT players with a certain trading scale and are also major holders of BAYC. Their trading frequency, NFT holdings, and selling prices can significantly impact the NFT trading market and the floor prices of blue-chip NFTs like BAYC.

Previously, Blur founder Pacman stated that "Franklin" and "Maji Dage" are akin to Jump Trading and Jane Street in the NFT field, comparing them to "top market makers," which also implies that both have made significant contributions to the liquidity of NFT trading and the entry of new players.

Therefore, the exit of these two big players adds a touch of uncertainty to an already sluggish NFT market.

Unlike "Franklin," who exited the NFT market due to gambling and investment failures, "Maji Dage" did not specify a reason for his exit. After announcing his departure from the NFT space, "Franklin" sold a large number of BAYC, almost liquidating all his BAYC. In contrast, "Maji Dage" has not sold off a significant amount of his NFTs and tweeted on April 10 that he still loves the BAYC community, even unpinning his tweet about "exiting the NFT space" and replacing it with a pinned tweet about BAYC NFT.

This contradictory behavior has sparked heated discussions in the community, making it even more perplexing. However, based on the content of his tweets and recent NFT trading conditions, we speculate that there are two reasons behind "Maji Dage's" statements.

Speculation One: Blamed for Manipulating the NFT Market, the Big Brother is Upset

Since Blur launched its second season airdrop points activity, "Maji Dage" has consistently dominated the Blur points leaderboard with frequent trading actions. "Maji Dage" holds a large number of BAYC and other blue-chip NFTs, earning trading points through orders and bids while increasing NFT liquidity, which is actually a normal behavior. However, with the recent decline in the NFT market, users earning points have become less active, and traders holding a bunch of NFTs have started looking for ways to sell them off.

Coincidentally, with the launch of the second season airdrop points activity, Blur's liquidity has created favorable selling conditions for NFT traders. The market-making incentive mechanism of Blur allows traders to list NFTs at prices close to the floor, further creating tight bid-ask spreads, making Blur's floor price lower than prices on other markets. This method continuously creates a moat for Blur, increasing bid depth.

In this whale game, "Maji Dage" became a "sacrificial victim," acquiring 71 BAYC and 77 CryptoPunks, with a capital loss exceeding 2000 ETH, and then urgently sold over 1000 NFTs, causing the floor price of BAYC to drop by as much as 25.5%. He then quickly repurchased 991 NFTs. Analysts speculate that "Maji Dage's" actions may have been to first secure some profits, then conduct "wash trading" to earn Blur airdrop points, or it could be "blatant market manipulation." Furthermore, "Maji Dage's" actions have also been questioned for creating panic.

However, whether "Maji Dage" acted intentionally is uncertain to outsiders. After all, the acquisition behavior was not initiated by "Maji Dage," and selling NFTs to recover funds is also a normal trading behavior. However, as a "market maker," every move by "Maji Dage" has a significant impact on the NFT market. Such a large sell-off is bound to become a focal point of public opinion.

"Maji Dage" once wrote: "Because of Blur or me, will Punks go to zero?" which seems to express a sense of helplessness after being criticized by the community.

Additionally, some fans of "Maji Dage" have stated not to mind these comments and to continue doing their thing, letting others misunderstand and criticize them, as it is not their problem. But "Maji Dage" responded, "I'm not Jesus."

Speculation Two: Blur Rewards Extended, Thousands of ETH Lost, Urgently Needs Calm

According to Proof's research director NFTstatistics.eth, "Maji Dage" has lost over 5000 ETH in the Blur game.

Although the first season of Blur airdrops can offset some of the losses, the gap still exists. According to CoinGecko data, BLUR has been continuously declining since its launch, dropping from a high of $1.33 to $0.44, and as of the time of writing, it is reported at $0.72. Moreover, the second season of the Blur airdrop activity is still ongoing and has been extended to May 1, which may further decrease the value for users who are desperately trying to earn points, also meaning that "Maji Dage's" losses could potentially double, making it difficult for "Maji Dage" to justify their losses and leading to an angry comment: "FUCK."

The double loss has made "Maji Dage" more cautious.

In fact, in addition to "Franklin" and "Maji Dage" announcing their exit from the NFT space, one of the BAYC OGs, Jimmy.eth, has also recently sold multiple BAYC and MAYC. Some users have stated that these actions from whale OGs have damaged the community's trust, as their actions are no longer individual trading behaviors but are affecting the entire market. Recent events have also caused the floor price of BAYC to drop from 60 ETH to 54 ETH, disrupting the entire NFT market and leading to the liquidation of many NFTs on BendDAO.

However, it is puzzling that "Maji Dage" still holds 62 BAYC, making him the sixth-largest whale of the project, and he has not sold them off like "Franklin" did upon announcing his exit. His profile picture and Twitter content are also actively promoting BAYC.

Perhaps "Maji Dage's" announcement of "exiting" is just a temporary behavior (in the world of NFTs and memes, nothing said can be trusted), and he, always standing at the "eye of the storm," also wants to take a moment to calm down.