Last night I got educated by myself again. I originally wanted to grab a bargain on-chain, but when I saw the price looked “about right,” I hit confirm with one click. The slippage was a bit too high, the pool depth was just so-so, and that one trade got punched straight through. Looking back, it feels like I was the one actively sending a little bit of fee to someone else… To put it plainly, it wasn’t that the market was trapping me—it was that my pace was too fast.

When I think back, it’s actually pretty simple: I stared at the screen and only watched the price move, not even taking a second look at the depth. I couldn’t be bothered to place the order in several smaller parts slowly. On-chain stuff is sometimes not a question of right or wrong—it’s a question of who has more patience. Lately, the Layer2s have been arguing about TPS, fees, and subsidies, and I’ve been watching the commotion too. But the moment it actually came time to place an order, whether the experience is good, whether the depth is there, and whether it’s congested—my body is the most honest.

There was also a small twist: I saw a brand-new pool and everyone was chatting about it pretty enthusiastically. I couldn’t understand how its mechanism worked, and I wanted to follow along. My hand was even on the confirm button—yet in the end, I still closed the page… Oh well. If I don’t understand it, I won’t move first. Missing out is better than making a mess. From now on, I’ll go slower, split my orders, and keep an eye on the depth—no more fighting with myself.