As Bitcoin hits historic highs, have you noticed a strange phenomenon: traditional 'value coins' and VC-backed infrastructure projects are being ignored, while completely useless meme coins, on-chain dogs, and political betting on Polymarket are extraordinarily popular?
If you are still using 'irrational exuberance' or 'the leeks have no culture' to explain all this, you may not understand this version anymore.
We are experiencing a paradigm shift from 'financial markets' to 'super casinos'. The driving force behind this is not merely greed, but a collective social psychology known as 'Financial Nihilism'. When hard work cannot afford a home, and traditional asset returns cannot keep up with the money printer, becoming a 'gambling dog' has even become one of the most rational survival strategies.
1. The broken social contract: Why are young people no longer buying it?
“By saving and investing diligently every day, I still won't be able to afford a toilet in the city center after twenty years.”
This is the harsh reality faced by contemporary young people. The traditional “social contract” — that if you work hard, save prudently, and invest in blue-chip stocks, you can achieve a decent life — has completely broken.
The despair of class solidification: South Korea's “three throwaway generations” (giving up on romance, marriage, and having children) and China's “lying flat generation” are not about not wanting to work hard, but about realizing that the return on effort is negative. When wage growth can never keep up with asset inflation, labor loses its function of changing fate.
Rational “all-in”: For someone with only $500 in savings, buying a financial product with an annualized 5% return is meaningless, as this little profit won’t change anything. But if you throw that $500 into a Meme coin that could go to zero but might also multiply by 100, it becomes the mathematically optimal solution.
This is why communities are willing to rush in even though they know PEPE and DOGE are worthless. Because that is the only “lottery” in their eyes that can break down class barriers.
2. Only volatility is real: From 0DTE to Meme.
In the eyes of financial nihilists, fundamental analysis (P/E, TVL, active users) has already failed. The price itself is value, and narrative is fundamental.
The gambling nature of the stock market: Don’t think it’s only like this in the crypto world. In the US stock market, the trading volume of zero-day-to-expiration options (0DTE Options) has already taken a significant share. These purely speculative tools on intraday volatility are essentially no different from opening 100x contracts on-chain.
The rise of Polymarket: Why will prediction markets thrive? Because it strips away all disguises. People no longer care about the long-term development of companies, only about whether “Trump will win” or “Will the Federal Reserve cut interest rates next week.” Polymarket has become the best vehicle to legitimize and financialize this “gambling instinct.”
3. The “Ouroboros” game: Left foot stepping on the right foot to heaven.
If retail investors are playing Meme, then institutions and giants are playing a more sophisticated “Ponzi scheme” — the Ouroboros economy.
The closed loop in AI: Look at the relationship between Nvidia and tech giants. Microsoft spends money on Nvidia's graphics cards -> Nvidia's revenue skyrockets and stock prices soar -> Nvidia has money to invest in AI startups -> Startups use that money to buy Microsoft's cloud services and Nvidia's cards. The funds circulate internally, and everyone's books look good, like a snake eating its own tail.
The replication of Crypto: This model is more common in the crypto circle. LST (liquidity collateral), Restaking, circular lending. We have created countless derivative assets, locked in liquidity, and inflated nominal value (FDV), but the source of real returns underneath has become increasingly blurred.
4. Conclusion: How to survive in nihilism?
Admit it, the market has changed. Blaming it as a “casino” won’t help you make money. In the era of financial nihilism, you can choose to despise or choose to adapt.
Stop believing in the “high-end” narrative of VCs: Retail investors have awakened and are no longer willing to take on the burden for institutions with a hundred billion FDV. This is why “not taking the bait” has become the norm.
Understanding the macro inevitability of “gambling”: As long as the global wealth gap does not narrow, and class mobility does not recover, the frenzy for Meme coins and high-risk speculation will not stop. This is not a momentary trend; it is an inevitable product of the macroeconomic environment.
Stay sober in participation: Since it’s a casino, you must follow the casino's rules. Embrace the bubble, but remember to leave before the music stops. After all, in a nihilistic world, only the USDT you cash out is the only reality.
