In the cryptocurrency market, there is a nearly cruel iron law: all true bonuses only occur once, like meteors crossing the night sky, fleeting and with no chance of replication. Those who enter during the late stage of a bonus often cannot escape the fate of 'buying at high prices', having to pay for the wealth feast of early profit-takers. Looking back at four key waves of bonuses over the past five years, this rule has been repeatedly validated.
One, Four Waves of Bonus: The Watershed from 'Easy Money' to 'Heavy Loss'
At the beginning of each round of bonuses, there are hidden opportunities of 'low thresholds and high returns', but as market heat rises, thresholds increase and risks steepen, ultimately turning into 'retail investor harvesting machines'.
1. 2020-2023 Airdrop Bonus: From 'Financial Freedom' to 'Data Brush Tool Person'
During the peak of airdrop bonuses, it was truly the 'easy money era' — early participants who interacted with projects like DYDX, ARB, ENS, OP, STRK, etc., did not need to make large investments; they could obtain valuable tokens just through basic operations, with some effortlessly achieving financial freedom and even generating assets worth over a hundred million.
However, when retail investors followed suit later on, the situation completely reversed: project teams set higher interaction thresholds (such as requiring large holdings, complex on-chain operations), stricter qualification restrictions (such as being limited to specific regions or asset holders), and even created anxiety around 'missing out means losing' through 'PUA-style marketing'. In the end, retail investors spent money and time, not only failing to receive the airdrop but also becoming tools for the project teams to inflate their data, wasting a significant amount of Gas fees and becoming 'runners-up'.
2. 2023 Inscription Bonus: From 'Hundreds of Times Surge' to 'Lost Everything'
In the early days of inscriptions, it was a 'celebration' for niche players — at that time, participating in ORDI, SATS, and other inscriptions was almost 'easy money', with token prices soaring from a few cents to dozens or even hundreds of dollars, hundreds of times gains were the norm, and some tokens even created myths of thousands of times gains, with individuals turning a few thousand U into millions, achieving a leap in social status.
However, when retail investors flocked in at the end of the year, the inscription market changed dramatically: new inscriptions flooded the market, with varying quality, and the cost of participating surged; retail investors who followed the trend to buy ORDI and SATS ended up entering at high prices, followed by a catastrophic price drop. Most not only lost their principal but even 'lost their pants', turning the earlier myth of high profits into a nightmare of losses.
3. AI Track Bonus: From '10 Times to 30 Times' to 'Stuck for Two Years Without Breaking Even'
In the early days of AI and cryptocurrency integration, the market was filled with skepticism — most people thought it was 'concept hype' or 'scam', and did not dare to enter easily. But it was this hesitation that allowed a few brave individuals to seize the opportunity: WLD rose 10 times, FET rose 20 times, ARKM rose 30 times, and early holders made a fortune in just a few months.
Until retail investors were completely convinced by the continuous surges and rushed in with a 'fear of missing out' mindset, the market immediately entered 'harvesting mode': AI tokens collectively surged and then fell, with retail investors who entered at high prices getting firmly trapped. Even two years later, most token prices are still languishing at low levels, with no hope of breaking even.
4. 2024 Meme Bonus: From 'Thousands of Times Myth' to 'Zero and Run'
The first wave of Meme coins was a stage for 'grassroots counterattacks' — coins like PEPE, BOME, WIF, PNUT started from 'zero market value', relying on community enthusiasm and market sentiment, surged to tens of billions in market value, with thousands of times gains frequently seen. Some individuals, with just a small investment, achieved life-changing returns.
But now, rushing into on-chain Meme coins has long lost the initial opportunities: the market cap ceiling for new Meme coins has significantly lowered, with most projects only able to reach one or two billion at most, and before retail investors can exit, prices start plummeting; there are also a lot of 'air Meme' coins, which peak upon launch and then quickly drop to zero, with some project teams directly absconding with the funds, leaving retail investors buried upon entry, not even having time to react.
Two, The Paradox Behind Bonuses: Why do 'less knowledgeable' newcomers earn more than 'veterans'?
At the beginning of each bonus, there is an interesting phenomenon: experienced veterans often hesitate and observe, while newcomers dare to go all in, ultimately earning the most.
The reason is simple: veterans, having experienced the cruelty of the bear market, are more sensitive to 'risk' and are often bound by the shadows of past losses. When facing new bonuses, they always get entangled in 'Is it a scam?' 'Will there be a pullback?', thus missing the opportunity; newcomers, however, do not have the burden of 'price anchoring' (not knowing historical highs and lows) and lack the worries of 'bear market trauma', making their perception of market sentiment more direct — precisely because they have 'less knowledge', they dare to rush and chase, hitting the 'golden window period' for bonuses.
Three, Conclusion: There is no 'Regret Medicine' in the crypto world; missing a bonus is forever.
Looking back at these four waves of bonuses, one can easily draw a conclusion: the bonuses in the crypto world are 'one-time consumables'. Once you miss the golden opportunity in the early stages, re-entering later will most likely only make you a 'bag holder'.
The market is always iterating, and new bonuses may still emerge, but please remember: the next time a bonus arrives, it will still follow the pattern of 'early eat meat, mid-term drink soup, late buy the bill'. Instead of getting entangled in 'not earning in the last round', it’s better to maintain sensitivity to the market while keeping to a risk baseline — after all, in the crypto world, surviving gives you the chance to wait for the next bonus; blindly following the trend will only lead to an early exit.
