Encryption Speculation Evolution: Entering the "Mature Era" Market, From Speculation to True Holding

We have walked from trading worthless air to today, where we can finally truly possess solid, durable, and most importantly, on-chain assets that will determine the future world. This article is sourced from @0xkyle__ and organized, compiled, and authored by Zen, PANews. (Previous summary: Is the retail investor speculation bubble reappearing in the US stock market? This time it might be different.) (Background supplement: The ultimate guide to Web3 VC, which venture capital institution to follow to make money?) The term Internet Capital Market encompasses many meanings. In today's context, the Internet Capital Market refers to the results of "chain alchemy" born purely out of the advantages of blockchain technology: fintech that disregards geographical boundaries. You can lend using "magical Internet currency," tokenizing treasury bonds and private credit, and issuing stablecoins — in today's world where traditional finance and digital assets intersect, people refer to all of this as the "Internet Capital Market." But for veterans who have been born and died in the on-chain trading field and breathe the essence of this asset class, the meaning of the Internet Capital Market is not just "on-chain treasury bonds" — it refers to NFTs, DeFi, ICOs, and various speculative tools invented over the past decade, as well as tokens that have been tradable since the first smart contract deployment on Ethereum in 2015. This article aims to focus on the original logic behind coins, narratives, tenfold, hundredfold, and airdrops, analyzing this aspect of the Internet Capital Market. We are about to welcome a "new Metaverse" (new meta) as described by OG crypto players. To analyze this, one must first observe these capital formation mechanisms and the differences they bring. The evolution of market financing mechanisms Looking back over the past few cycles, we see the market financing mechanisms constantly changing. From ICOs to Centralized Exchange alts (CEX Alts), to meme coins... The above has already been summarized, which can be briefly summarized as: Original ICOs (2017 era) In this mechanism, funding is based on the "promises" of the project party, with the aim of selling to bigger "fools." The technology is almost not real or has no value-added. Most of the time, it is a "pass the parcel" game. Typical cases include Bitconnect, Dentacoin, etc. VC Paradise (2021 Bubble Period) This wave attracted institutional capital, but looking back, it caused great harm to the industry — ridiculously high valuations and poorly designed incentives (who would still work with a hundred million dollars?). However, this wave also brought more reliable products — so it cannot all be dismissed. Although inflationary valuations were serious, many of the protocols you love today were born from it. Take Ethena as an example: I really like it, but the mechanism of "giving too much too early" did indeed harm its early performance of "token appreciation"; however, it is undeniably one of the best crypto products today. This was also the era of the rise of projects like Solana and Uniswap. Even though there may be disagreements about their governance or operations today, it is undeniable that it was not all bad. Polarization Extreme Regression After the FTX collapse, the crypto field faced an existential crisis — distrust spread, and many began to conclude that "everything is a scam." I once thought so too, but it is necessary to see the nuances within. Although it seems like a casino, not everything is a casino — stablecoins and tokenization are uncovering great value in real scenarios, not just creating memes or trading pairs in dollars as niche assets. In this phase, pure memecoin projects like dogwifhat, pepe, and more "serious" narratives like AI agents emerged. Valuations plummeted, and you might ask, "Is it all just memes?" But in reality, once labeled as "meme," it does not mean it is destined to remain at that label stage. Maturity is a slow process; some projects have crossed from "label" to "serious," like REI. Legitimacy and the combination of digital markets We are entering the "adult era" — institutions have arrived, and they are genuinely excited. But having been "inside the factory" for so long and having seen how "sausages are made," it is hard not to hold a pessimistic view towards Circle's IPO. Knowing too much has become a curse — branding everything with the "meme" label will only cause you to lose faith. Looking back at Ethereum: it was the worst-performing asset for two years, many heavy investors cut losses and left, and the media's negative commentary was endless. However, look at the current situation: do you think Tom Lee knows (or cares) about the awkward video of the Ethereum Foundation leaders singing and dancing on stage? Do you think institutions like BlackRock launching tokenized funds on Ethereum care about the Ethereum Foundation's "soy-boy mentality"? The answer is no, and this is something you must internalize. Most cryptocurrencies have forgotten how to "dream," while traditional finance is learning to "dream" again. This will bring more opportunities — as digitization and mainstreaming progress, more high-quality builders will participate. The future landscape of the Internet Capital Market This is what I refer to as the Internet Capital Market. We are ushering in an unprecedented boom period in the past five years — the perfect combination of regulation, technological strength, and capital, much of which will happen on-chain. I am not joking when I say I believe that some of the most valuable companies will issue tokens on-chain in the coming years. In fact, this is already happening. Hyperliquid is the pinnacle representative of the Internet Capital Market. It did not accept VC investment, nor did it have equity burdens, but is purely an on-chain token project that initially did not go live on exchanges. To emphasize again: Hyperliquid was once a company with a market capitalization of $40 billion, with no roadshow materials and no equity structure burden. This purely on-chain giant occupied the market's dominant position as soon as it appeared, and is now moving towards an annual revenue of $1 billion — from zero to one. It is the purest embodiment of how the Internet Capital Market operates. But please do not misunderstand, I am not praising Hyperliquid. I believe that there will be more such cases in the coming years. Isn’t it exciting? We are moving towards a bountiful era — don’t let your cynicism stifle past dreams. Sadly, this is obvious to many, yet they are busy chasing 50% returns from some random garbage coin because that is what we have been trained to do over the past four years. It is time to have bigger dreams — the script has already been written. Nowadays, the shackles that bound us no longer exist. People have long been bound by past structures — but in the era of the Internet Capital Market, possessing 5-10% of your own currency and turning it into a product worth $100 million to $1 billion will yield returns far exceeding people's expectations. Yes, financing is still necessary, and ICOs are also justifiable. But looking back at Hyperliquid's path: if you have confidence in the product, issue an on-chain token, retain sufficient shares, and let the market, the arbiter of truth, determine value. What is the problem with capitalism? It makes participants have a short-sighted view. It does drive innovation in the right direction but fails to genuinely promote innovation. Too many people are satisfied with quick money and miss out on the greater returns brought by long-term compound interest. Long-term thinking often leads to exponential rather than arithmetic results — for example, 2 ...