Pulling the mill game never ends? Uncovering why there are always new opportunities in the crypto market

Reflecting on the Meme Fever

Recently, while organizing some thoughts, I focused on a question regarding the craze around Meme coins: We should believe in the power of traffic, but never trust its wisdom.

Digging deeper into this idea reveals an even larger proposition—the “end of history” in the crypto industry.

Have you heard of it? “After BTC, there are no more cryptocurrencies; after ETH, no more smart contract public chains.” With each cycle of bull and bear markets, a group of people turn bearish, claiming there’s no opportunity left in the coin space—too many coins issued, market saturation, no room for innovation. This line of reasoning sounds very convincing, much like the “end of history” theory proposed by that Japanese-American scholar years ago.

But in reality, this logic is completely wrong.

Why Does the Market Still Go Crazy Despite Supply Exploding?

Think back to the token issuance boom of 2017. Back then, there were few tokens and lots of hot money, so prices skyrocketed. But what about today? ERC-20 standardization, inscriptions, zero-threshold launch platforms… Tokens are now exploding like a geyser, with thousands of new coins emerging every day. By all logic, the market should have been saturated and cooled down long ago.

But what is the reality? Every time people think there’s no room for innovation, smarter minds will find new ways and come up with fresh ideas. Meme coins are just such examples of emergence.

Why? Because scarcity isn’t in the coins themselves.

What is truly scarce is the opportunity to make money. The illusion of getting rich overnight.

Hot Money Chases Not Coins, But Dreams

No matter how many coins there are, they can’t satisfy the market’s craving for quick riches. What hot money is really pursuing is that rare possibility—rapid profit. As long as this scarcity exists, there will always be room for new opportunities.

The scarcity of earning potential and getting rich quickly is almost eternal. What does this mean? The chase for hot money never ends; there is no final destination.

The Donkey Being Driven and the Mastermind Behind the Wheel

You can think of hot money as a blindfolded donkey pulling a mill. The donkey is attracted by the grass just out of reach on its forehead, spinning in circles and galloping wildly.

That grass is the dream of making money. The mill is the various new investment targets—from coins to NFTs, from DeFi to different race tracks.

The key point is: You can never say that this current mill is the last one, or that the era of stone mills is over. Because truly clever operators will always design new mills to lure the donkey forward.

As long as the donkey (retail investors) keeps coming, there will be endless opportunities to run the mill (manipulate markets). It’s not that the donkey exists because of the mill, but rather the mill exists because there are donkeys pulling it.

Just like the existence of leek harvesters (retail investors) gives rise to operators—never the other way around.

Every Round Packaged as a New Opportunity

Why are there always new games? Because there are always blindfolded donkeys running. Each new game is carefully packaged as a “new money-making opportunity” or a “new story of getting rich overnight,” widely promoted. The boom of Meme coins, the outbreak of a new public chain, the appearance of various new tracks—all are driven by this logic.

The Harsh Truth

But how cruel is reality? The relentless pursuit of quick profits and getting rich ends often in losses and being wiped out.

Donkeys have limited lives, but mills are endless. Using a limited life to chase infinite rounds of play—this ending is already predestined.

The only people who truly profit big are three types: the owner of the mill, the operator behind the scenes, and the platform that creates dreams.