Establishment (venture backed crypto) vs people’s trenches (memecoin games) is the defining story of this crypto market cycle so far. The oft-overlooked thing is even if we assume crypto VCs are wholly exploitative (they’re not) Their very business model requires continual vintages + reinvestment into the industry. Meme trenches games on the other hand are purely extractive; money obtained by rug pulls does not re-enter. This is effectively what has happened in alts where the cycle collapsed under the weight of its own excesses as the average participant gets poorer. A cynic would say that was it, the cycle is irreversibly over. A realist would say that was a natural maturation of the market.