The Violent Delight

Author: DoveyWan, Founder of primitivecrypto
Compiled by: zhouzhou, BlockBeats

Editor's Note: This article explores the impact of the politicization of financial populism, likening it to a dual black hole system, showcasing the distortions and chaos in society. Using crypto traders as an example, it emphasizes that success comes from sustained effort and self-awareness. It points out that technological and social changes are driving the formation of a new order, and the future leaders will be innovators who can transcend East-West boundaries and navigate global thinking and populism.

The following is the original content (reorganized for readability):

In the past 24 hours, we have witnessed two historic moments. TikTok has become collateral damage in the ongoing new Cold War between the U.S. and China, while the U.S. President has launched his own meme coin, a currency once considered a marginalized field and a breeding ground for scams.

This is a microcosm of the coincidence between geopolitical tensions and financial populism colliding on the same day. I am confident about the future of our industry, believing it to be the most sovereign and globally permissionless experimental field, but I want to remind everyone to remain cautious at this stage of the cycle, as many signs of violent delight echo the violent endings of past cycles.

Politicized Financial Populism

What we are witnessing, aside from TRUMP's violent delight, is that the exchange rate of USDT to RMB (onshore RMB) has reached a historic premium, reflecting the strong demand for over-the-counter trading in the mainland. This is also the first time in this cycle that a large number of Chinese retail investors are experiencing FOMO, even more than previous hype around Bitcoin, NFTs, Ordinals, etc.

In the last cycle, DeFi and GameFi attracted global liquidity, while NFTs were more about Western liquidity, followed by Eastern liquidity; in this cycle, on-chain meme coins were initially issued mainly on Base and Solana, primarily assets dominated by U.S. 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 a large influx of users into Solana, topping the app rankings, a pattern reminiscent of the last cycle when Moonpay saw a large amount of USD fiat deposits flowing directly into OpenSea through ETH.

Coinbase's exit from SOL has led to severe withdrawal delays, just as I predicted earlier, centralized exchanges will serve as ATMs for the on-chain economy in the long term. Meanwhile, similar to the last cycle where the DeFi explosion and NFT frenzy accelerated ETH scaling solutions, the Phantom wallet experienced a surge of over 8,000,000 requests per minute, a $3 billion wallet infrastructure that failed to anticipate this surge.

We are undeniably in a bull market, but only a few 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. The new Trump regime will undoubtedly create opportunities, but when the market becomes overly reliant on a few leading figures, sustainability will face risks.

The Distorted Cosmos Behind the Dual Black Hole System

When financial populism is politicized, it resembles a dual black hole system—two massive sources of gravity interacting in a powerful dance. Just as this cosmic phenomenon distorts the surrounding cosmos through extreme gravitational lensing, even pulling spacetime itself into chaos, we are witnessing the unsettling distortions of this world. Social discontent is surging, tensions are palpable, and entropy has reached historic highs. History shows that the delight of violence often ends violently, but this time, we have the opportunity to consciously choose an alternative monetary trajectory/resource allocation path, which may provide a more peaceful solution.

Missing the 100x Opportunity

In my ten years in this industry, I have never experienced "getting rich overnight." I have missed countless 100x opportunities, but that's okay; the allure of quick, large returns is undeniable, but sustainable success comes from self-awareness and understanding the rules of your game.

In the long run, the market will provide the next 100x opportunity that aligns with your strengths, as long as you continue to accumulate. This is also the advice I gave when facing ManoppoMarco's first 100x miss as a crypto investor.

If your natural advantage lies in being a meme coin PvP player or a momentum trader with agile reactions, embrace it and continuously refine your strengths. Take 0xWangarian Darryl and his Pigeon account as an example. While some view him as a "virtual role player of a rich second generation," thinking he is just "dumping on others," those who understand his background and past records know he has a great passion for systematic trading execution and market analysis, just like any focused underground trader.

For those trench warriors who turn meme coins into "easy eight-figure" victories, we should not overlook the tremendous effort behind them. Countless sleepless nights on-chain, constant reconnaissance, and a steadfast dedication to their craft are the true driving forces behind these life-changing outcomes.

I have deep respect for these trench warriors. Crypto remains the last frontier where anyone can achieve financial transformation with just a computer, unwavering perseverance, and profound insights. It is a meritocratic battlefield where effort and skill can still rewrite personal growth trajectories.

But if this is not your strength, chasing the delight of violence may be a game of self-destruction. Wealth will not be "easily obtained" unless it aligns with your strengths. Understanding who you are, what game you are playing, and which trench you belong to is the foundation of personal growth. The market has its rhythm, but success comes from finding your own melody and confidently dancing to it.

Not Ending in Violence

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 evolving into currency code
• Machine programs reshaping the social contract
• Human language becoming programming language

Behind every significant socio-economic transformation lies the "harvesting of entropy"—creating a new order, often appearing in the form of new value supply chains, fundamentally changing how humans coordinate (economically or politically).

The Industrial Revolution redefined the social contract through mechanized programs; the rise of the internet and cryptographically protected private property (i.e., native internet currency) transformed binary code into currency code. Today, we are entering an era where human language itself serves as programming language, empowering individuals to become not just "10x people," but even "100x people."

The future has begun to manifest, although its distribution is uneven. Those who dare to step onto the left side of the hype curve, integrating East-West globalization thinking and participating in supranational populist games, will rise as the protagonists of that era, defining their own legendary chapters.