Author: Yanz, Deep Tide TechFlow
On Chinese social media, the term "kill line" has gone viral in just two days. Starting from a video shared by American blogger "Lao A" depicting the life of street homeless individuals, this concept has swept through platforms like Zhihu, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, and has sparked considerable discussion on X.
The comparison of life between China and the U.S. has gained traction, with more people realizing that while Americans earn high salaries, a significant portion goes towards rent, healthcare, and student loans, leaving little left over. 37% of Americans cannot come up with $400 for emergencies, and for many living paycheck to paycheck, a minor illness, job loss, or car trouble can trigger a chain reaction.
The term "kill line" originally comes from gaming, referring to the point at which an enemy's health drops below a certain threshold, allowing a combo of skills to instantly defeat them. In this discussion, the term has taken on a deeper meaning. It has been borrowed into real life, especially in the U.S., to describe a brutal financial collapse mechanism: once ordinary people's savings, income, or credit fall below a critical point, the entire system automatically pushes them towards an irreversible bottom—unemployment, debt, homelessness, or even giving up on life.
Why has this concept become so popular? I believe it is because it ruthlessly shatters the sweet illusion of America, revealing the harsh reality after the "American Dream" has been broken.
In 2025, with global economic turmoil, U.S. debt exceeding $38 trillion, and inflation pressures threatening the middle class, the kill line is not just a social meme; upon closer examination, if the "kill line" in America shatters dreams, turning our gaze back to the crypto world, the "kill line" here is even more alarming.
The harvesting mechanism in the crypto space is more brutal and globalized than the kill line in American society. While the U.S. kill line slowly reaps through medical bills, unemployment, and debt, the kill in the crypto world often occurs within minutes or hours: liquidation due to leverage, project exits, hacking attacks, leading to total loss of funds overnight.
There is no government safety net, no unemployment benefits, only cold, hard on-chain records, becoming a bloody history.
How can we say that crypto in 2025 is not a large-scale awakening? The anticipated bull market peak has instead become a year of bloodshed for many retail investors. The most unforgettable moment was the flash crash on October 10.
At 4:50 AM on October 11, U.S. President Trump suddenly posted, retaliating by emphasizing that starting November 1, a 100% tariff would be imposed on China. Panic in the market exploded instantly. Overnight, the global financial market underwent a massive upheaval, with all three major U.S. stock indices plummeting: the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.9%, the S&P 500 fell 2.71%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 3.56%, marking the largest single-day drop since April, with European stock markets and the oil market also severely impacted.
At that time, in the liquidity-strapped crypto market, the largest liquidation in crypto history was unfolding: over 1.6 million people were instantly "killed," with $19.3 billion liquidated, Bitcoin dropping 13%, Ethereum diving 17%, and altcoins crashing by 85%, with several small tokens going to zero, creating a scene of carnage.
This was an epic cleansing, but clearly not the only one. Throughout 2025, hacking attacks and rug pulls were rampant.
In February, the Bybit exchange experienced the largest single theft in history, losing $1.5 billion, with over 400,000 Ethereum withdrawn.
In July, the Cetus protocol was hacked for $220 million.
In September, the HyperVault protocol was accused of a rug pull, siphoning off $3.6 million of user funds…
A Chainalysis report indicated that the total amount of crypto theft in 2025 exceeded $3.4 billion, setting a new record, with North Korean hacker groups contributing over $2 billion. These incidents often target retail investors: newcomers FOMO into buying high, leverage all in, blindly trust KOLs' calls, and once something goes wrong, funds evaporate instantly.
It is evident that compared to the slow kill in American society, crypto resembles a blitzkrieg. Emotions and leverage amplify all risks, but the margin for error? Just a laugh, it's almost zero.
Not just nations, any system with low tolerance for error can easily transform into a harvesting machine. The key to resisting the kill lies in strengthening the safety net: improving regulation, controlling debt, and building a multi-layered social safety net, allowing individuals some breathing room and a chance to recover.
Countries can establish social security, provide buffers, and avoid fatal blows. But retail investors in the crypto market, with 24/7 trading, also face the risk of crashing at any time, while the proliferation of leverage tools allows newcomers to easily take on high multiples, and the anonymity and weak regulation increase the risks of getting scammed. These once viewed as shortcuts to wealth freedom have now also become fuel accelerating the arrival of the kill, rushing towards everyone.
The heated discussion around the kill line marks the moment the American dream shatters, and it should also be the moment the crypto dream awakens. Instead of believing oneself to be the lucky one, it might be better to invest more effort in establishing personal discipline and a more risk-resistant asset allocation. Rational participation, building good defenses, perhaps we can jump around "online" for a few more years.
After all, in the reality that follows the awakening from dreams, the most important thing is still to stay alive.
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