Back from the holiday, I found that some people were taking photos at the scenic spots, while others experienced a $600 million liquidation in the crypto market.

Coming back from the holiday, some are taking photos at scenic spots, while others are experiencing margin calls in the crypto market.

While you’re still posting travel photos on social media, the crypto world has already completed a full cycle of “wealth creation - harvesting - running away.”

In a major exchange ecosystem, several tokens whose names are too lazy to even be properly named—like Meme4, PALU, and some “XX Life”—saw their market caps skyrocket by dozens of times within days. Early investors’ paper gains easily surpassed seven figures in USD. The Chinese-speaking community exploded with excitement, with Twitter filled with cheers of “wealth code” and “get in now” notices.

And then? Starting October 9th, these tokens, like a roller coaster without brakes, plunged straight down.

A 95% single-day drop—what’s that? Over 100,000 liquidations, $621 million wiped out in an instant. Yesterday, influencers still hyped the “hundredfold myth,” but today they’ve shut down comments.

Honestly, I’ve seen this show too many times. Whether on Wall Street or Lujiazui, human nature has never changed.

Do you remember the GameStop saga?

In 2021, Reddit retail investors banded together to beat hedge funds shorting GameStop, pushing the stock price to the sky. The SEC chairman at the time said something quite thought-provoking: “This is a milestone in behavioral finance”—meaning, even if prices are absurdly high, as long as trading is genuine and information is transparent, it’s “part of the market.”

What is the core of American logic? Let the bubble burst on its own. Because every bubble burst spawns new financial instruments.

If this Meme coin frenzy had happened on Nasdaq, things would be completely different:

• Wall Street would quickly launch a “Meme Stock ETF,” packaging social hype into quant factors
• The Wall Street Journal would publish long articles discussing “the comeback of retail capitalism”
• The SEC would initiate studies on “whether social media constitutes market manipulation,” but most likely conclude: this isn’t fraud, it’s a collective emotional financial expression

And what if “XX Life” appeared in A-shares?

Regulators would immediately warn of risks, media would call for rationality, and the entire event would be labeled as “speculative abnormal movement,” becoming a negative example in investor education.

The underlying logic of the Chinese market is “steady progress.” It can be lively, but must be orderly; innovation is welcome, but risks are borne by investors.

But in the crypto world, no one can really control it.

This is the most magical part.

Meme coins are neither constrained by the SEC nor regulated by the CSRC. They live in a gray area where code is law, liquidity is truth.

Here, American-style social speculation, information viral spread, and collective momentum intersect perfectly with Chinese-style grassroots wealth psychology, dreams of getting rich quick, and community fanaticism. Exchanges transform from neutral platforms into “narrative creators,” KOLs shift from spectators to “price amplifiers,” and retail investors indulge in cycles of algorithms and consensus, ultimately self-destructing.

The game has changed: prices are no longer determined by cash flow but by the speed of narrative dissemination and consensus density.

We are witnessing the birth of “emotional capital”—a new form of capital with no financial reports, only cultural symbols; no fundamentals, only consensus curves; no pursuit of rational returns, only emotional explosions.

Sounds cool? The data will tell you the truth.

When algorithms match emotions, money becomes a joke.

Cold statistics:

• In the first nine months of 2025, 90% of top Meme coins’ market caps collapsed
• In Q2, 65% of new tokens lost over 90% of their value within six months

It’s like the gold rush of the digital age. Most people lose everything, only the shovelsellers profit.

In traditional markets, prices reflect value; in crypto markets, prices create value. When narratives replace cash flow, and emotion becomes an asset, every participant is a guinea pig in this experiment.

This is both the ultimate expression of decentralization and possibly the ultimate de-responsibilization.

Where is the way out? Don’t expect others to give you answers.

The Web3 industry stands at a crossroads:

• Continue indulging in the short-term frenzy of “emotional capitalism”?
• Or move towards long-term building of a “value-driven ecosystem”?

There is only one real way out:

• Make community governance transparent
• Establish regulatory frameworks
• Educate investors beyond slogans

Only then can decentralized technology truly empower global financial fairness, rather than becoming a tool for a few to harvest retail investors.

Next time you see a blogger shouting about “hundredfold coins,” ask yourself: Am I participating in financial innovation, or paying for someone else’s wealth freedom?

When currencies start telling stories, what you need most isn’t FOMO—fear of missing out—but the ability to think calmly.

After all, this market has never lacked stories. What it lacks are people who can tell stories and walk away intact.