Author: danny

I typed my first line of smart contract code during the ICO frenzy of 2017. As an old Builder who has survived until 2026, experiencing "94", DeFi Summer, the NFT craze, the FTX collapse, and countless "crypto is dead" narratives, I have seen countless projects find a thousand ways to "kill themselves."

I have found that in this long Crypto journey, the definition of "winning" has never been how many billions your FDV reached on TGE day? Is it a grand slam? Rather, it is whether you are still fighting against the entire world for your sovereignty.

Every team with a bit of technical background or resources can at least launch a token. Even if the code is forked, even if the white paper is written by GPT, as long as it is launched on the wind of a bull market, or relying on someone else's support, or if your last name is Trump, anyone can become a temporary "unicorn."

So what does "winning" mean for project teams? Is it that you launched a token, and years later, your protocol is still running? Your contract is still generating real interactions? Or what did you fight against?

Round and round, your "token launch" mentality—the desire to make quick money (as described by @0xPickleCati)—is the root cause that hinders you from building a great protocol.

It is not because tokens can "decentralize," but because fighting back requires tokens.

ps: The cover of the article is a song by Jacky Cheung called "Faith." I was looping this song while writing this long piece. Friends interested can find it to listen to (I recommend the off-key version from "I Am a Singer").

1. When we say "crypto is failing," what are we really saying?

Every bear market, if you go to a dinner party or return home for the New Year, you will always hear voices like:

• "Is your circle dead?"
• "I see the US stock market is at a new high, why are you still falling?"
• "Isn't this thing only used in parks?"
• "Precious metals are skyrocketing? Are you still standing still?"

If you, as a Builder, feel ashamed when you hear these words, or try to explain "we are working on Layer 3 to improve TPS," then you can leave. You don't understand why you are here at all.

Are we competing to see who rises faster than gold, oil, Nvidia, or Google? If it's about pursuing asset appreciation efficiency, you should change your last name to Trump, right? Go buy a Nasdaq index ETF? The Seven Sisters? They are not only more stable but also legally protected!

Are we competing to see whose database write speed is faster? Don't be ridiculous. If you want efficiency, centralized products crush everything. Alipay's TPS is ten thousand times that of Ethereum; AWS's cost is one hundred millionth of on-chain storage. To put it bluntly, the future of decentralization has still relied on AWS for the past ten years. If your original intention for doing Web3 was to create a "more efficient" internet? Or to bring traditional liquidity onto the chain? Then you lost from day one.

Every time Crypto reignites, or rather, the original intention of Satoshi Nakamoto writing the genesis block, has never been for "faster, cheaper." But for resistance.

It is to resist the growing inequality in this world. It is to resist the power that arbitrarily freezes your bank account. It is to resist the tech giants that take your created data to sell for profit without giving you a penny. It is to resist the central banks that recklessly print money, diluting the fruits of your labor.

The so-called "inefficiencies" (Gas fees, private key management, node confirmations) are the taxes we must pay for "fairness" and "sovereignty."

As a project team, you must be extremely clear: your product must contain a characteristic that centralized giants absolutely cannot provide—anti-censorship and independent sovereignty.

• If the answer is "no," it means your users are only here for speculation, and you are just an inefficient alternative.
• If the answer is "yes," it means you have built a truly decentralized path.
• Because Tencent cannot promise to never ban accounts, but you can.
• Because banks cannot promise that cross-border transfers will arrive in seconds without being intercepted, but you can.
• Because game companies can change drop rates at any time, but your smart contract cannot.

So, Builders, stop worrying about TPS. Think about how to return power to users and write open-source into anti-monopoly code. This is the only battlefield where you can win against Web2 giants, and this is the meaning of blockchain.

If it is for freedom, both can be sacrificed. If it is not for freedom, what battlefield are you fighting on?

2. True death is not the decline in token prices, nor just the collapse of those false prosperity indicators, but the moment you stop resisting.

Understanding this underlying logic, let's re-examine "death."

In the depths of a bear market, when your token price drops by 95%, when your Discord is left with only rights defenders and porn bots, you might feel this is hell, this is death.

No, true death often occurs at seemingly prosperous moments, at the moment you hand over your soul to cater to something.

2.1 When the "Dragon Slayer" becomes "Inferior Web2"

We criticize TVL, trading volume, and daily active users as "false prosperity indicators." Now, let's dig deeper: Why do project teams become obsessed with these indicators? Because pursuing these indicators is the safest, easiest, and least "confrontational" path.

This kind of death often cloaked in "pragmatism," "compliance," or "optimizing user experience," quietly begins:

• "To get listed, we took the tokens originally meant for users and gave them to exchanges as protection fees?"
• "To make it easier for users to enter, let's store data on centralized servers first, and we'll talk about decentralized storage later."
• "To suppress competitors and cater to exchange demands, we must start incentivizing volume and buying fake reviews."

One step back, and you keep stepping back.

When you sacrifice "decentralization" for "efficiency," what you get is not a better Web3 product, but an inferior Web2 product. You inherit all the drawbacks of blockchain (slow, expensive, complex, hard to use), but lose its only advantage (permissionless, immutable, anti-censorship).

At this point, your project becomes the so-called "Web2.5"—a hybrid that is neither efficient nor free. This is true death. You are no longer the rebel trying to overthrow the old order; you have become a clumsy imitator of the giant you once tried to resist.

You realize you are no longer that cyberpunk, or perhaps you never were.

2.2 "Can't be evil" vs "Don't be evil"

Why is it said that "not resisting" is death?

Because the core value proposition of Crypto is built on the foundation of "distrust." Because you distrust anyone, it means you need to assume the external environment is hostile: you need to assume someone will question you, someone will censor you, someone will freeze you, someone will shut you down.

As a Builder, your mission is to build a system that can still operate when these assumptions hold true.

• If the DEX you build requires front-end KYC to trade under regulatory pressure, what is the essential difference between you and Nasdaq?
• If the L2 you build always has the sorter in your hands, who can cut in line or refuse transactions at any time, what is the essential difference between you and Alipay?
• If the GameFi you build has item drop rates that can be changed at any time by your backend database, what is the essential difference between you and Tencent Games?

Google's slogan is "Don't be evil," but that depends on their conscience and compassion; Bitcoin's logic is "Can't be evil," and that is determined by the code layer.

When you abandon that kind of confrontational design of "even if the whole world wants to shut me down, they can't," and instead seek a gentle compromise with the old world, your protocol loses its reason for existence. Why would users endure high Gas fees and the risk of losing private keys to use you? Just to see that so-called "decentralized" declaration you posted on x?

Come on, bro, wake up— you (once) were that boy who would fight the dragon with a wooden sword!

3. Alchemist S's Manual: How to Transform "Mercenaries" into "Missionaries" and Become Your M?

I know what you're thinking. "Old Lantern, I understand what you're saying about resistance, sovereignty, and not compromising… but if I don't do incentive tasks, if I don't offer high APY, no one will come! How do I do a cold start?"

This leads to the core pain point of Web3 entrepreneurship: Your startup funds usually come from "enemies" (speculators), but your final defense line must be guarded by "comrades" (believers).

Many projects fail because the founders become mentally split: either they refuse all speculators with high-mindedness, leading to the project starving to death; or they grovel to speculators and end up being drained dry.

You need to become an S, clarifying which M you are dealing with at each stage of this upward spiral, and how to train mercenary capital (Mercenary Capital) into missionary consensus (Missionary Consensus).

3.1 Identifying People: The Two Types of M You Face

A. Mercenaries (The Mercenaries) — They are rational profit-seekers of the Pump and Dump church.

• Characteristics: Large funds, sensitive to slippage, no loyalty, use scripts to operate.
• Behavior: They go wherever the APY is high. You provide subsidies, they come; you stop the subsidies, they withdraw faster than light.
• Your Misconception: You think they are using your product. No, they are mining your tokens. You think those beautiful daily active user numbers are growth, but in fact, you are selling your tokens cheap.
• Tactical Value: They are good stress testers and cold start fuel. Use them to test your contract's security, use their money to create early wealth effects (Attention). This M's affection is a bit intense and has a time limit, so don't fall in love with them, nor expect them to love you.

B. Missionaries (The Missionaries) — They are the ones with IQ 5 / 150, who (truly?) resonate with your narrative, culture, or technical vision.

• Characteristics: Funds may not be large, high tolerance, will spontaneously answer questions in the community, will defend you on Twitter.
• Behavior: They use your product because it is "useful," "cool," or "represents justice," not just because "there's money to be made."
• Tactical Value: They are your moat. When the token price drops by 90%, they are still discussing product improvement directions in Discord.

3.2 Alchemy: The E-N-L-C Four-Step Transformation Method

How to transform those mercenaries who only know how to mine and sell into devoted missionaries? You need to construct a E-N-L-C (Emotion-Narrative-Liquidity-Consensus) spiral model in your mind. (The author has been mesmerized by some unknown cone theory, reference: https://x.com/agintender/status/2013595231027900486?s=46)

Step 1: Emotion — Ignite the Fuse

• Goal: Attract attention.
• Method: Don’t start by talking about industry scale or technical details. Talk about "anger" or "greed."
• Tell the mercenaries: “Here’s your last chance to get rich.” (Greed)
• Tell the missionaries: “The banks are stealing your money, and we have a counterattack plan.” (Anger)

A project without emotion is like bread without yeast; it won't rise. Slaying dragons is an emotion.

Step 2: Narrative — Encapsulate Value

• Goal: Give incoming funds a reason.
• Method: Narrative is not a lie; it is a "falsifiable grand vision."
• If you are doing L2, don’t say “cheaper fees,” say “Ethereum’s private haven.” (Does it feel a bit A16Z?!)
• The role of the narrative is to make mercenaries feel “this is not just a scheme, but a big scheme,” and make missionaries feel “we are making history.”

Narrative is a sieve. It will filter out pure gamblers and leave those willing to listen to the story.

Step 3: Liquidity — Buy Time (The Most Dangerous Step)

• Goal: Develop user habits.
• Method: This is the only purpose of issuing tokens, doing airdrops, and offering high APY.
• You give mercenaries money to buy their time.
• During this time bought with money, you must frantically polish the product to create path dependence for users.

If you haven’t taught users to use your product without money before the subsidies stop (before liquidity runs out), then that’s it.

Step 4: Consensus — Solidify Form

• Goal: Form inertia.
• Method: When subsidies stop and token prices drop, who remains?
• The habits that remain are consensus; the infrastructure that remains is consensus.

Consensus is the product of alchemy. It is the "behavior" that still exists when "profits" disappear.

3.3 Soul-Searching Questions: Has Your Alchemy Succeeded?

In the quiet hours of the night, ask yourself these three questions:

• "Stripping Test": If I stop all token incentives (points, airdrops, mining) tomorrow, will anyone still open my DApp?
• "Topic Test": In my community, are there more people discussing "token price/listing/airdrop" or more discussing "product/governance"?
• "Distribution Test": When I issue airdrops, am I rewarding "capital" or rewarding "contribution"?

A harsh reality: historically, no mercenary group would be pleased to see their lord dominate the world.

Mercenaries can help you conquer cities (pump the price), but only missionaries (IQ 5 or 150) can accompany you in expanding your territory.

4. What Did Those Projects That Crossed Cycles Do Right?

Finally, let’s talk about mindset. In a bear market, watching other mediocre projects skyrocket 100 times a day, while your hard-written code goes unnoticed, that sense of loneliness and self-doubt can be fatal.

Based on personal observations, those founders who survive have the following traits:

1. Reject "False Diligence" and Return to "First Principles"

Many project teams go crazy "doing things" in a bear market: today they make a chain game based on trends, tomorrow they rename it to do AI, the day after they do SocialFi. This is called "false diligence." You look busy, but you are actually avoiding core issues. A true Builder will ask themselves: What irreplaceable problem does my protocol really solve?

Don’t expect to follow in the footsteps of predecessors to find a different path. In a sailing race, the second place cannot surpass the first place by mimicking their posture; trying to experiment when the scale is still small? (Otherwise, use AI for simulation)

2. Establish "Transparent Contracts" Instead of "Price Promises"; Save Every Bullet: It’s Hard to Go from Luxury to Frugality

Don’t promise token prices. Never do it. As a project team, your promise should be: “We will always maintain transparency, we will always deliver code, we will always ensure the security of the protocol.” When token prices drop, if you can honestly tell the community: “Hey, the market is bad, our treasury can last for 3 years, and we will continue to develop this feature,” you will find that trust is a more valuable asset than liquidity. Consensus will always cycle.

Don’t spend extravagantly; those who fight against the world don’t need yachts, luxury cars, and young models. Cut unnecessary expenses, take the bus that requires waiting, walk the longest road. Your inner self doesn’t need a Patek Philippe or a Ferrari to highlight it.

3. Endure Loneliness, Don’t Fumble, Enjoy the "Building Dividend"

Bull markets are the noisiest times. Investors will urge you to issue tokens, exchanges will urge you to list tokens, and users will urge you to pump the price. It’s hard to calm down and write a good underlying architecture. Bear markets are a gift from God to Builders. Only when no one cares about you can you experiment at low cost, recruit truly passionate employees (not speculators coming for options), and focus on creating value without fumbling.

4. The Manifestation of Self-Discipline is Physical and Mental Health

You will find that the founders of projects that cross cycles generally manage their bodies well, not because they are exceptionally gifted. They eat well, sleep well? It’s because they have high standards for themselves. Here, having high standards means: deliberate practice + time honing.

Those who are tough on themselves generally do not produce poor work.

5. Conclusion: To Those "Fools" Who Stay at the Table

This process is extremely painful. You will be seen as an outlier, mocked for not keeping up with "trends," and treated as a fool by agencies. You will experience team turmoil filled with betrayal, unpredictable hacker attacks, and the looming shadow of regulation hanging over you.

But if you can survive, you will gain not only wealth but also the power to define a new way of collaboration. The code you build will become the law of the future digital society; the mechanisms you design will become the bridge of trust between strangers.

The crypto space has never lacked smart people—those who are extremely rational, extremely self-interested, and ready to cash out at any time. What it lacks is "fools." Those who know the road is long and arduous, who know that doing "real work" is far less profitable than "playing the market," yet are still willing to stay at the table for that glimmer of possibility to change the world.

That’s why I am here. That’s also why you are here. All the smart people in the world are working on AI, SaaS, and quantitative trading because that’s where efficiency is highest and money is made fastest. Only we "fools" are stubbornly tackling these inefficient distributed ledgers. But it is this disdain for "efficiency" and obsession with "fairness" that is the spark allowing the crypto industry to be reborn from countless death sentences.

If you are such a Builder, welcome to this endless marathon. Even if you are in the abyss now, do not extinguish the torch in your hand. Even if surrounded by layers and core circles, retain your rebellious spirit in your own way.

We will meet at the peak during the next true "consensus upgrade."

— This article is dedicated to all the Builders who remain unruly in the dark, and to myself.

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