In my three years in the crypto world, I finally understand what it means to get "cut the chives."

When I first started, I really thought I was here to make money. But I realized I was always the one being harvested like a chive. The first year was the worst—joining all kinds of airdrop groups, new coin launch groups, project team chat groups. Whenever someone shouted "XX coin is going to rise," I’d jump in. I got liquidated twice in a month and ended up with a bunch of air coins. That was truly the harshest time, but I didn’t realize what was happening.

In the second year, I started to get smarter. I thought following big V traders would help me get in early, but in reality, I was just being used as liquidity to absorb the sell-offs. Only later did I understand that the so-called "signal calls" are really just "dump signals" — the organizers had already set the stage.

The most ironic thing is that by the third year, I built my own circle, observed many projects and people, and finally truly understood the logic behind the game of cutting the chives: it’s not about directly scamming you, but designing a script that makes you rush in yourself, then slowly harvest.

The routine is actually just a few steps. First, they paint a picture—whitepapers are hyped up, communities full of "financial freedom" talk. Then they create FOMO, telling you now is the best time to enter, and if you miss it, there’s no chance again. Next, they find endorsements—big V recommendations, exchanges about to list, institutions investing—all kinds of signals flooding in. When retail investors jump in, they start pumping the price, and finally, the project team and early players dump their holdings and cash out. You think you’re investing in a project, but they’ve already scripted the whole play.

Now I only believe in three things. First, a project must have a real product and use case, not just hype around concepts. Second, judgments must be supported by logic, not just gut feelings like "I think it will go up." Third, risk control awareness is essential—never go all-in on a single shot.

In the end, the crypto world is a battlefield that amplifies human desires, not a paradise. Those who cannot control their greed will inevitably fall into the trap of getting cut the chives. This has been my deepest realization over the past three years.