Not long ago, when I was in Guangzhou, I visited the Baihua Ancient Temple to meet with a Zen master. I inquired about investing in cryptocurrencies, which gradually made me feel unhappy. How can I resolve this?
In 2016, I resolutely resigned from my job at a brokerage research institute and went all in on the crypto market. Based on its principles of transparency, fairness, and justice, I saw light and hope, believing I could gain value through genuine research and thought, rather than through financial fraud and opaque operations in the A-share market. I vaguely remember the excitement of reading the Bitcoin white paper for the first time in 2016, the concept of peer-to-peer payments, and the idea of a non-sovereign currency, which kept me awake all night. As a staunch advocate of Austrian economics, I have a near-religious faith in the ideas of Hayek, and Bitcoin is the empirical evidence of that faith—a great attempt to translate ideals into reality.
However, after being in the industry for so many years, I have never wavered, even during the VDS hype in 2019, mining DeFi in 2020, and the GameFi and NFT boom in 2021. But now, I have never felt so confused and unhappy. The root of this lies in the series of celebrity coin launches after Trump issued his coin, where the rapidly expanding market capitalization in the short term contrasts sharply with the value projects that drive industry development. The quick returns from these short-term gains have ignited human greed and anger, causing many to lose interest in research and advancing their core businesses. Many project teams have discussed with us whether to join the meme craze to gain attention and provide liquidity to the main project. We generally reject such suggestions, as the core business is the backbone of the project; abandoning it for the sake of trends is not worth the loss!
Yet, as an investment institution, we cannot avoid participating in this wave, as new things often offer higher alpha returns. In this process, we try to use data-driven thinking to quantify the investability of meme investments. Although we achieve decent results, I still feel unhappy. If the industry continues to transform in this way, what will become of it? Those so-called #Web3+ initiatives that aim to change the industry, trustworthy networks that bring value sharing, and on-chain access that offers efficiency and transparency may overshadow some more interesting and valuable applications and products!
The master did not discuss the short-term trends of the industry with me but instead engaged me in a larger topic: "What is the meaning of life?"
Confucianism says: Cultivate oneself, regulate the family, and bring peace to the world.
Taoism says: Embrace the uncarved block and wander with all things.
Buddhism says: Break attachments and see the true nature of the mind.
All of this is due to the two words: life and existence.
Our hundred-year-old bodies will eventually turn to dust.
Only a single point of clarity can endure through the ages.
Why be shackled by the chains of fame and fortune?
Why drown in the mire of desires?
Why be trapped in the cage of gains and losses?
In the end, none of these can be taken with us.
Only karmic obstacles (good or bad karma) accompany us.
Achieve sudden enlightenment and openness!
Today, I write down these words (as shown in the image), as a shared encouragement! I also thank #OKX for the little notebook, which I basically take with me whenever I go abroad. I haven't written in a long time, so please excuse my poor handwriting. 🙏
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