Lately, looking at the PFP/membership setup, it’s starting to feel more and more like a “brand tax”: what you’re buying is an identity that can get into groups and be seen—not necessarily the artwork itself. There’s definitely long-term value, but only if community operations are truly doing work; it’s not enough to post a couple of posters and call yourself “culture.” Plainly put, when the hype is up, everyone looks like they’ve got a beauty filter on; when it cools down, you’re left with only a few people in the group still replying to messages.

The other day, my mom watched me change my avatar back and forth and asked, “Did you buy this picture—so you can get a discount?” I said, pretty much… it’s not a product discount—it’s a discount on attention.

Also, lately the L2 ecosystem has been going back and forth over TPS/fees/subsidies, and it looks a lot like a war of membership cards: you offer how much “wool,” and I’ll bring how many people. In any case, I’m more focused now on what the people who stay are talking about—rather than everything being just airdrop check-ins. For now, let’s leave it at that.