🚨 (Original) The trading volume of spot transactions on exchanges is dull, traditional cryptocurrency media is experiencing a drastic decline in traffic, and the new concept of Social+Trade trading methods is emerging, which essentially concentrates attention towards timeliness and proximity to money. A new trading ecology formed around the word 'fast' is beginning to rise ～

01/ Historical Review: The Power Game of VC Hype

From 2017 to 2022, VC + exchanges were the 'power center' of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. VCs not only provided capital but also manipulated market sentiment through hype, collaborating with exchanges and KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) to create trends. Typical examples are the ICO boom of 2017 and the DeFi boom from 2020 to 2022, where projects quickly attracted funds through white papers and marketing, with the secondary market following suit, creating significant wealth effects. The core of this model is information asymmetry: VCs and exchanges hold insider knowledge of projects, while ordinary users often buy in at high points. VCs profit, and exchanges drive trading volume and activity, creating a win-win situation.

02/ The Dilemma of Exchanges: Lackluster Spot Trading Volume

The rise of http://Pump.fun sees more retail investors looking for opportunities on-chain, with exchanges typically listing tokens only after they have experienced explosive growth in on-chain communities. On-chain traders often seize opportunities first, yielding substantial returns and creating a significant wealth effect. To put it bluntly, after manipulating on-chain, they cash out when the token is listed on exchanges; previously, listing on exchanges was the starting point, but now it has become the ultimate goal. Thus, it is difficult to form trading volume and the effect of listing manipulation.

03/ The Decline of Traditional Media: Unable to Keep Up with the 'Fast' Pace

Insufficient information timeliness: The reporting cycle of traditional media (hourly or daily) cannot match the dissemination speed of meme coins and trending projects (minute-level).

Content Homogeneity: Most media rely on PR from project parties or second-hand information, lacking originality and in-depth analysis.

User Attention Shift: Users trust KOLs on platform X, on-chain data analysis tools (such as #Nansen, #DefiLlama), and real-time information from Discord/Telegram communities more than delayed media reports. For example, the explosive rise of $Pepe, $BONK, and $Floki coins was almost entirely driven by platform X and Telegram communities, with traditional media only beginning to report after price peaks, missing critical windows. This includes recent trends in #BSC and #SOL chains' memes.