I've been thinking about this for a while. At some point, projects stopped trying to distribute airdrops as quickly as possible. Now, many deliberately drag out their airdrop campaigns, and it's not always about building a strong community. Airdrop can be an incredibly effective way to generate revenue. But that usually changes once the rewards are actually distributed. In theory, even a project like @HyperliquidX could run 5 more seasons of points farming without ever doing another airdrop. And technically, there would be nothing you could hold them accountable for. At the end of the day, these are businesses, and their priority is print money. I'm actively farming airdrops myself, but it's getting harder to ignore the trend: the average user's upside keeps shrinking year after year. Projects have figured out how to monetize their communities' expectations without making any real commitments in return.

👨‍🍳 Perps are cooking! The Perp DEX meta is here to stay. No exaggeration, Perp narrative has been around for over 3 years, and it's still as relevant as ever. Almost every year, we see at least one project reward its community with a massive airdrop: @aevoxyz, @HyperliquidX, @Lighter_xyz, @variational_io. What makes this narrative so attractive is how straightforward the farming mechanics are. Most Perp DEXs offer a clear and transparent points system. But there's something I want less experienced farmers to understand. When everyone is talking about massive airdrops, it's easy to forget the other side of the coin. For every project that has earned its community's trust and rewarded users generously, there are others that have completely failed to deliver. Projects where people spent months farming, burning through fees, and putting in serious effort, only to walk away with next to nothing. Funny how nobody talks about those stories nearly as much. And that brings me to my main point: farming points is only 10% of the game. Almost anyone can generate trading volume and rack up points. The other 90% comes down to picking the right Perp DEX. One that will actually turn all that time, effort, and capital into a worthwhile airdrop. That's why I believe project selection matters far more than the farming itself. And now, with tokenization gaining momentum, we're seeing more and more protocols enter the space. But let's be real. Out of all the Perp DEXs competing for your attention right now, only a handful will actually be worth your time. Don't just farm points. Farm the right perps.

The next cycle will be more interesting than the last. I'm convinced that crypto is undergoing a fundamental transformation that will reshape market cycles, capital flows, and the way people print money. Many believe the previous cycle never had a proper altseason. I don't entirely agree. There was an altseason. It just didn't look the way we were used to. 1. While many were buying $ZK, $STRK, $OP, $ARB, and other tokens at listing, hoping to catch the next altseason, I was selling the vast majority of my airdrops as soon as trading began. Much of the potential upside had already been reflected in their initial valuations. Remember $STRK launching at a $20B+ FDV? Now compare those valuations with what other projects were worth during previous bear and bull markets. You'll start to see where a significant part of that expected upside (altseason) had already gone. I'd put it even more simply: for many of these tokens, the altseason was already over by the time they started trading. 2. AI has emerged as one of the biggest investment themes in recent years, attracting enormous amounts of capital and attention. It's impossible to say how much of that money would have flowed into crypto without the AI boom. But one thing is clear: crypto is facing increasingly intense competition for both speculative capital and investor attention. Crypto no longer exist in a relatively isolated speculative environment. They're competing for capital with other sectors. 3. Capital within crypto has become increasingly fragmented. Memecoins and prediction markets, with platforms like @Pumpfun and @Polymarket, have created entirely new ways for people to speculate. Previously, a significant portion of retail capital chased returns through altcoins. Today, that same appetite for risk is being expressed through completely different instruments. And it's not just liquidity that's fragmented. It's attention. To me, this is one of the most important shifts of the last cycle. 4. Precious metals have become another major destination for investment demand. Gold's rally is a reminder that investors aren't exclusively chasing higher returns. Capital preservation, reserve diversification, and protection against macroeconomic uncertainty remain powerful drivers of investment decisions. I'm not suggesting that gold has directly drained liquidity from crypto. These markets attract different participants with different objectives. Rather, we're witnessing a more complex allocation of global capital across defensive, yield-generating, and speculative assets. So what does all of this mean for the next cycle? I see two major developments that could fundamentally change the crypto. > First, crypto is gradually moving from selling promises to building real businesses. For years, projects could achieve multibillion-dollar valuations based almost entirely on narratives, technological promises, and expectations of future adoption. That's beginning to change. Actual users, trading activity, fees, revenue, and sustainable business models are becoming increasingly important (Hyperliquid, Lighter, PumpFun, Varitional is a clear example of this shift). I believe the next cycle will place much greater emphasis on these fundamentals. Of course, generating revenue doesn't automatically mean a token will capture that value. But understanding the relationship between a product's success and its token economics will become increasingly important. > Second, tokenization is gradually blurring the line between traditional finance and crypto. Stocks, bonds, and other real-world assets are increasingly moving onchain. Robinhood and other major players are already building products and infrastructure around this opportunity. This could open up entirely new markets, attract different types of users, and create additional revenue streams for blockchain infrastructure. But there's an important distinction here. Growth in the crypto industry doesn't necessarily translate into growth for every crypto token. The biggest winners may be a relatively small number of platforms that actually capture the value being created. And that's where I think the market is heading. I don't expect the fragmentation of capital to simply disappear. Instead, I expect crypto to become increasingly selective. Capital will likely concentrate around products with genuine demand, strong economics, and sustainable business models. Meanwhile, projects without meaningful adoption or a clear economic purpose will find it increasingly difficult to remain relevant (We're already seeing signs of this: @blast shutdown, @blur_io, @Sophon, @AbstractChain, etc). None of this means broad speculative rallies are gone forever. If global liquidity conditions improve and fresh capital enters the market, we could absolutely see another wave of speculation across altcoins. But I don't think the next cycle will reward everyone equally. We may see several independent areas of growth, each driven by its own economics, demand, and capital inflows. My main thesis is simple: The future crypto could be significantly larger, more technologically mature, and more economically interesting than the previous one. However, choosing exactly where to position yourself will matter more and more.

Been seeing a lot of debate around @Pumpfun lately. I get why some people are fading it. But let's not forget... It's the Wild West out here. Everyone plays by their own rules. You can argue all day about what's right or wrong, but the market doesn't owe anyone a damn thing. Over the past 3 months, $PUMP has gone from $0.0014 to $0.0065. And from the looks of it, this move is far from over. A new ATH could still be ahead of us. You can keep debating, fading @Pumpfun and its team. While some are busy arguing, others are busy making money. You're either printing or watching. Pass the f*cking baton!

baton is going to zero! baton has dropped from a $20M mc to just $7.5M. Looking at the chart, it's no surprise that some people are starting to question the baton thesis. But let's take a look at the bigger picture. The thesis hasn't changed. The largest holders are still holding onto their bags. Yes, some are selling, but others are using this opportunity to accumulate even more. What we're seeing looks like a typical memecoin correction ($cate pattern): tokens changing hands, supply being redistributed, and new holders stepping in. And that brings me to my main point: nothing has fundamentally changed to invalidate the $baton thesis. There hasn't been any new information that would justify this selling. If anything, this is just another example of the market testing people's conviction. Don't lose sight of what matters most: $PUMP SZN = $BATON SZN. When $pump eventually breaks its ATH, $baton holders will be rewarded handsomely. Stay calm and pass the baton: pump.fun/join/theaaar

batoooopium💊 buy $baton and enjoy

No Risk, No Rari. Looks like we've finally found the bottom. Now's the time to load up on $RARI before it's too late. Sitting at just a $400K mc is the biggest stock-paired meme on PumpFun.

buy the solana:Hg5Ja55T5wESq4vyFoiVCMeHXtGyVA69X2UHq8hgpump dip 💊

No Risk No Rari 🏎️

Bro literally made Lambo thanks to $baton 💀

🍿 The fun is closer than most people think. solana:Hg5Ja55T5wESq4vyFoiVCMeHXtGyVA69X2UHq8hgpump still looks seriously undervalued. Even without any additional catalysts,it should already be trading much higher. Now imagine solana:pumpCmXqMfrsAkQ5r49WcJnRayYRqmXz6ae8H7H9Dfn reclaiming a $5.5B mс and pushing even higher. A lot of things are lining up here, and once they all come together, solana:Hg5Ja55T5wESq4vyFoiVCMeHXtGyVA69X2UHq8hgpump is going to have a massive run. Stay patient and enjoy the ride. xitter.cf/BrainGMI/status/210709…

$PUMP SZN IS $BATON SZN xitter.cf/sadcrissy/status/21070…

pass the baton @blknoiz06 xitter.cf/BrainGMI/status/210520…

Bullish for @arcus_xyz Arcus infrastructure is being integrated into @RobinhoodCrypto Wallet, bringing an extra boost for users. → Robinhood Wallet Boost: If your Robinhood Wallet swap is executed through Arcus, it will be eligible for boosted Arcus points.