“After graduation, you'll have a brief window to make ultra-high-risk investments for elite status, or you'll become a wage slave for life.” - @DegenSpartan

Rules of the crypto game

Once you see the analogy between cryptocurrency and (especially MMORPG) games, you can no longer ignore it.

In difficult times, when there is no new capital inflow, we trade in a 'PvP - Player versus Player' mode. In a bull market, as new retail funds enter, we switch to 'PvE - Player versus Environment' mode.

If you don't like influencers dumping on you, we justify it with phrases like 'Don't hate the player, hate the game.'

We even designed token economics to prevent people from selling by applying various game theory.

Like every game upgrade, crypto games continuously evolve, with new narratives emerging and fading.

For example, Pranksy, once a top NFT player, is now completely out of touch with the memecoin trend. The gameplay has changed, but he still clings to a game that few are interested in anymore.

Of course, memecoins might be terrible, but those who didn't know how to play the NFT minting and trading game said the same about NFTs a few years ago.

In the game, you have two choices: adapt and participate in the game, or opt out and wait for the gameplay to change.

There is also a third, more difficult choice, which is to change the rules of the game itself.

For instance, Cobie launched the Echo platform, allowing retail participants to engage in venture capital and purchase tokens like in the ICO era. Gradually, the narrative of memecoins will be replaced by players determined to change the game.

However, memecoins deserve some recognition for successfully changing the game.

Over the past year, we have been playing a 'points' game. You deposit money into the protocol, accumulate points, and pray for a generous airdrop. I know you love this game because my 'DeFi Newbie's Bull Market Play' is still my most popular post.

In any case, it turns out that many people were played instead.

Due to higher TVL proving higher valuations, the absurd FDV for token issuance only benefits venture capitalists, teams, and those selling airdrops who entered at lower valuations.

Tired of this situation, many turned to memecoins, which are exactly what VC-backed tokens lack.

While Pranksy is losing (or choosing not to participate in the game), the main characters of memecoin Ansem, Murad, and anyone joining their camp are winning.

In the overall metagame, we continuously introduce new mini-games.

You must decide whether to participate. If you participate, make sure you understand the rules, as there will always be opponents.

For instance, DAOS FUN allows trading tokenized funds. However, it is confusing that the top-ranked 'fund'—ai16z—trades at a 52x net asset value (NAV). This trading method resembles memecoins.

All players are trying to understand this at the same time. Squiggly compared the fund to the 'Grayscale structure' or the Friendtech Ponzi scheme. BREAD expressed a different opinion on the FT part.

Who is right?

This is the same product, but players interpret it differently. Find your advantage to profit from it.

It can be quite simple. After the team announced plans to whitelist a new 'fund' on the website, I anticipated that degens holding other 'fund tokens' might sell some old fund tokens to invest in the new fund, causing prices to drop. Sure enough, once the new fund was added, the prices of all old funds dropped by about 50%.

Generally, the more chaotic the gameplay, the greater the knowledge asymmetry you can exploit, which leads to more opportunities for profit.

The allure of cryptocurrency lies in the fact that there are always some degens jumping into new trends without due diligence, and if you do some basic research, you can create profit opportunities.

That being said, I often invest small amounts in some hot new projects before researching how they actually work. Learning by doing. Once you know if you can win in the game, you can invest more capital.

The 'click-to-earn' mechanism of Ton thrives because it is the exact opposite of complex DeFi games—you just click a button on the screen to make money.

However, due to the simplicity of the game, rewards are also low—unless you manipulate it using hundreds of phones via AI fingers.

This is where cryptocurrency becomes ten times more interesting and complex: you can choose multiple layers, roles, and strategies. If you like, you could call them 'side quests.'

Let me give you an example.

Recently, I've been working hard to become an active representative in multiple DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations), especially Lido, Arbitrum, and Uniswap.

DAOs advocate for a vision of decentralized organization, but now everyone knows that most DAOs are far from truly decentralized. For instance, in the Arbitrum DAO, just 14 addresses control over 50% of the voting power. Other DAOs are no different.

Uniswap DAO didn't know that Unichain would launch a project with $UNI staking functionality. This also explains why the $UNI fee switch has been off for months—insiders knew that once UNI staking was implemented, the fee switch would no longer be necessary. Meanwhile, the DAO was completely unaware of this.

DAOs realize that concentrated voting is a big issue. To address this, they launch representative incentive campaigns to attract new participants. As an active representative, you can earn between $3,000 to $10,000 from each DAO.

However, it's not easy.

You need to actively follow forum discussions, write comments, and vote on proposals. The hardest part is obtaining the tokens delegated to you. This is where politics starts to come into play.

After tweeting about aligning token holders and protocol incentives, an anonymous whale delegated 2.5 million LDO to me. Frankly, I got this delegation because my posts on X are quite renowned. Playing the popularity game on X opened many opportunities for me that few know about within the crypto space.

Now, several protocols reach out to me, thanking me for voting on their proposals or requesting my support for future proposals. Every DAO has an important relationship-building process, which doesn’t necessarily manifest in the dynamics of X or DAO forums.

Honestly, I love this game.

I genuinely believe in a decentralized future and hope to make an impact. Therefore, if you hold LDO, UNI, OP, ARB, or AAVE, I hope you will delegate these tokens to me.

This is my address for all DAOs: 0x3DDC7d25c7a1dc381443e491Bbf1Caa8928A05B0

Player mindset

Did you know that Vitalik Buterin started developing Ethereum shortly after 'Blizzard removed the damage component of the beloved Warlock's life siphon spell'?

“I cried myself to sleep the day I realized the horrors brought by centralized services. I quickly decided to quit.” — Vitalik (his personal profile has now been removed from the about.me page).

Vitalik decided to quit (World of Warcraft) because he felt he had no influence over the game rules.

One cool thing about cryptocurrency is that each of us has the opportunity to participate and be able to influence the game rules.

Like blockchain, crypto games are decentralized. Venture capitalists, retail investors, developers, KOLs—we all have our roles, some of which have more influence.

Ansem, Murad, and other memecoin influencers drive the memecoin cycle, but you can choose not to participate in their game. Just don’t talk about or buy memecoins.

A bit off-topic, but I'm actually surprised by how little influence venture capitalists have in shaping the narrative. Crypto VCs should be defending their investments, yet their attention on X is minimal.

Do they really care? Or are they playing different games?

A notable example is Multicoin's Kyle, who is pitching for his investment bag. More venture capitalists should share their vision for the industry, advocate for their investment protocols, and provide in-depth research to clarify current developments.

Based on my interviews with cryptocurrency venture capitalists, the possible explanation is that they are essentially retail degens with more money at hand.

There's a strange twist in this matrix; while Vitalik was playing (World of Warcraft) (2007-2010), I was playing another MMORPG—(Lineage 2).

In (Lineage 2), you can choose a race (human, elf, orc, etc.) and a class (warrior, mystic).

Gain experience (XP) by completing quests and defeating enemies to level up. After leveling up, new abilities, better equipment, and access to more challenging content will be unlocked.

I spent two years grinding intensely, sleeping only a few hours each day. Those memories are deeply etched in my mind and have shaped my view of cryptocurrency trading.

Just like gaining experience in a game, in the cryptocurrency space, you gain experience through understanding blockchain, learning DeFi, studying token economics, etc. The harder you work, the better you'll grasp it.

While fighting monsters, you also have to keep an eye on your HP (health points) and MP (mana points).

HP and MP are like your health, financial stability, and emotional resilience. Whether in cryptocurrency or gaming, constant effort is required, which can lead to fatigue. In the crypto space, the pressure to stay ahead, continuously monitor the market, and the fear of missing trends creates a high-pressure environment, much like being in an endless game where logging out is simply not an option.

I was severely fatigued from the last bull market cycle, so now I take breaks every three months to manage my 'HP.'

Is my perspective on cryptocurrency strange?

Similarities extend to demographics: cryptocurrency is male-dominated, while only about 35% of MMORPG players are female.

The fervor of Koreans for cryptocurrency is comparable to their obsession with esports (like (League of Legends)), even surpassing their love for 'real sports.' No wonder the narrative of GameFi sees so many bull markets in cryptocurrency.

What I'm trying to convey is that a player's mindset can help you stand out in the crypto space. Just choose the right game and understand your role in it.

In his famous short post (How to Get Rich (Without Getting Lucky)), Naval mentioned 'game' and 'play' 15 times! His advice is:

• “Ignore those playing identity games. They gain identity by attacking those playing wealth creation games.”

• “Choose an industry where you can play long-term games with long-term partners.”

• “Play iterative games. All returns in life, whether in wealth, relationships, or knowledge, come from compounding.”

My favorite quote:

• “Building specific knowledge for you feels like playing, while to others, it seems like work.”

So, what game are you playing in the crypto space?

What is your role in the crypto space?

In recent years, cryptocurrency has become more complex. Before 2020, success often meant simply investing in ICOs and trading on centralized exchanges (CEX). Since then, the cryptocurrency space has seen an explosion of niche sectors: DeFi, L2, NFT, RWA, runes, memecoins, and more.

How do you keep up with these changes?

Are you focused on a specific field or trying to 'collect them all'?

In MMORPGs, you first choose a race and then a class. In (Lineage 2), I decided to choose the least popular option because I wanted to stand out and increase my chances of becoming a 'hero.'

I chose the human mystic, focusing on warlocks, and then arcane lords as I gained experience. This profession is the least popular because it relies on pets to defeat enemies.

Similarly, in the cryptocurrency space, you can start by learning the basics and then focus on active trading, DeFi yield farming, memecoins, DAO representation, etc.

Many lack the determination to learn specific skills, often jumping between different narratives without truly understanding them. They miss the opportunity to acquire the knowledge needed to grasp the complex mechanisms behind a field and ultimately become exit liquidity.

In fact, jumping from one narrative to another while earning funds can become a specific skill. In this case, you realize the game of capital rotation and manage to sell high before funds flow to another narrative. Are you good at this?

That said, I believe that in this market phase, focus can yield excellent results.

Focus can be anything:

• Crypto Koryo excels at creating and monetizing work on Dune dashboards.

• X, priced in dollars, focuses on the stablecoin market, navigating market complexities to extract maximum yields.

• Andy is fully invested in modular narratives, even though this is the most questioned area in the crypto space.

• wale.moca is an account focused on NFTs (a truly steadfast belief!)

• Bold Leonidas posts crypto comics daily.

But be sure to pay attention to what influencers say, as their incentives often differ from what you think. The game they play is different from the game they publicly propagate. You don’t want to participate in a game that’s against your interests. For example, Ansem guides celebrities and somehow :) profits from it.

Why do you think I'm posting on X?

I post on X to: 1) stay updated on the market, 2) attract clients to my DeFi creator studio Pink Brains, and recently also 3) build my influence and gain token delegated votes.

This strategy allows me to explore multiple themes, even if I'm not an expert in a particular field.

But when you start to grow your followers on X, you need to choose a niche you love. As your attention grows, diversify your topics. Posting content can increase your influence, so everyone should do it.

Being an influencer is like being a hero in (Lineage 2). Your character gains a special aura that not only enhances your attributes but also allows you to spread your message across the entire server. In fact, I chose the least popular character to reduce competition for becoming a hero.

Many of you work in crypto companies, which forces you to focus on roles like marketing, market making, or private sales. This gives you an advantage over those who play as a hobby—leveraging industry connections, gaining insights, and even influencing the game rules.

Focus is where the real potential earnings lie.

While holding BTC or ETH may be a solid choice, achieving 100x returns now requires deeper digging, like mining for gold in a previously explored area. As Naval said, find jobs that feel like games to you.

Whether it's DeFi, on-chain wallet tracking, or potential opportunities in DAO forums, let your curiosity guide you. By building specific knowledge, you'll be able to discover opportunities others have missed.

This niche market—small enough to evade the radar of big players but large enough for you to win—might just be your goldmine in the crypto game.