I just swept an on-chain path and almost fell for the “coincidental transfers” routine. An address pulls funds out of an exchange to a new wallet, then disperses them into a dozen-odd small accounts, and then consolidates them to mine a certain new L2 protocol. Finally, at precisely timed points, it sells the coins to recover the funds. On the surface, it looks like random actions—but once you break down the path: the withdrawal timing, the distribution ratios, the mining cycle—everything is planned. In plain terms, it’s whales mining, picking up, and selling—packaging “coincidence” as “natural inflow.”

Long-time users complain that “mine-pick-sell” isn’t without reason. When these new L1/L2 programs roll out incentives, the on-chain data is right there, glaringly obvious—it's just that many people can’t be bothered to look. I almost followed and copied a similar address, thinking it was a major player setting up a position, but then I found out it was a high-frequency testing bot address. Good thing I didn’t get on board.

What’s scary is that if you really follow along, you end up getting taken for a precise harvest. In any case, those “coincidences” on-chain—nine times out of ten—are carefully designed routes. Instead of playing along with the mystique, it’s better to directly check whether the protocol’s fee switches show any activity.