Just now, my phone popped up another red-dot notification saying that a certain project had “milestone achieved + treasury expenditure disclosure.” My first reaction wasn’t excitement—it was to check whether their wallet started drifting around again… In other words, for projects that take things seriously, the way the money is spent usually follows a routine: first the kinds of expenses that are explainable—development, audits, operations—and the addresses are relatively stable. For projects that don’t take things seriously, the treasury is like a self-serve buffet: today they pay out to a “consultant,” tomorrow to a new wallet, and after a couple hops it ends up in an exchange. No matter how beautifully they write up the milestones, it’s still hard to believe.

Recently, it’s back to the whole “meme and celebrity shill shoutouts” cycle—who’s shouting for who. And that line from old players, “don’t grab the last baton,” isn’t just about staying steady—it’s because they’ve seen too many cases where the treasury talks about lofty visions while quietly running ahead.

Anyway, now when I read announcements, I don’t care about the wording—I look at the money and permissions. The little telltale signs in the project team’s wallets are far more honest than those long Twitter threads.