I only took a sip of the coffee once it had gone cold, and it reminded me of that chain game from last week—the pool’s depth was about the same as the bottom of this cup.

Their economic model was designed pretty well. The output curve was as gentle as a wealth-management ad, but once more players came in, the tokens were minted faster than the game coins. When I entered, the APY looked fine, but within a couple of days, inflation diluted the rewards like liquor that’s been watered down. The early entrants had already run off, and as for me—someone who joined in the middle—the lock-up period hadn’t even passed before the pool started to thin out.

Now the regulatory winds outside are tightening again. Every time I think about moving funds in or out, it feels like something’s always hanging over my head. With high-turnover setups like chain games, once capital hesitates, the death spiral comes even faster. To put it plainly, if you play chain games, you’d better figure out clearly whether what you’re earning is the game’s revenue—or the principal of the latecomers. Next time I get tempted and make a reckless move, I’ll wait for the pool to cool down first.