Is the market dead? What is the encryption industry experiencing from TRUMP to MEME?

I have been researching the new gameplay for the x402 track these days, and when I opened my eyes this morning to check the market - I was completely stunned.

No more talking, I've held it in too long and have to complain a bit.

Liquidity has already been drained.

To be honest, the market has already entered a bear market. After that wave from TRUMP, liquidity basically hit the bottom, and those small rebounds afterwards? They are purely emotions holding up the market.

Looking at altcoins again, they have been in debt since the day of the TGE. There used to be loyal fans willing to hold for the long term, and developers genuinely contributing. But now? Airdrop hunters are everywhere, VCs are eager to cash out and run, exchanges are crazily siphoning off profits, and project teams that have persisted for years also want to cash in — everyone wants to exit, the question is who will take over?

MEME can't save this situation either.

Many people view MEME coins as a lifeline, believing they can counter those overvalued VC coins. Indeed, its mission can be considered accomplished, providing retail investors with another avenue.

But the problem arises: MEME coins have zero technical barriers, are produced on an assembly line, and the so-called fair launch is just a facade. Without the kind of technological innovation from VC coins that supports a leap from 0 to 1, the popularity of MEME is essentially just PVP internal consumption, which will ultimately hollow out the entire industry.

The exchange has started to take action itself.

What is the original positioning of CEX? To undertake the spillover effect of on-chain innovation and amplify liquidity.

But when platforms like Pumpfun, GMGN, and Hyperliquid emerged, the wealth generation effect was too strong, and the exchanges couldn't sit still, starting to engage in “internal market” self-rescue. The result is obvious — those selling shovels began mining themselves, breaking the entire logic of the gold rush ecosystem.

The project team is going through a dark moment.

Why are so many projects flocking to TGE? Why is the market no longer patient in polishing products? Why does all the blame ultimately fall on the project side and VCs?

This issue is too complex for anyone to provide a standard answer. But one thing is certain: builders and VCs in the crypto space are facing mass bankruptcies and outflows. What’s more terrifying than liquidation to zero? It’s that the entire industry is being undermined, leaving empty buildings.

Writing this feels a bit like complaining.

But this is precisely why I have always emphasized on-chain innovation—our Crypto industry is no longer the hopeful place it once was. It is sick, old, and it can even be said to be terminally ill.

The only way out is to start over from scratch with a narrative driven by technological innovation on the chain. Only in this way can everything be reorganized.