Azu increasingly feels that one of the easiest things to mislead people in the crypto world is our tendency to frame asset management as 'short-term stories'. When the market rises, we feel closer to freedom; when the market falls, we feel our life plans have been put on pause. But the real world does not stop because of the curves in your account: you still need to change houses, pay for your child's tuition, and if a sudden medical expense arises, it won't first ask you 'Is it a bull market or a bear market now?'. So if Falcon can only be regarded as a short-term speculative tool, it is merely another kind of emotional amplifier for you; however, if you are willing to link it with significant financial milestones in life, it may actually become the starting point for you to seriously 'write your dollar plan on paper' for the first time.
First, let's lay the reality on the table. Large expenses generally fall into three categories: the first category is housing-related, such as down payments, buying a new house, renovations, or even a temporary mortgage buffer; the second category is education-related, whether it's the international school fees for children, study abroad costs, or even enrolling in a program yourself, they are typical examples of 'fixed time, significant amount'; the third category is the hardest to articulate but the most critical—medical expenses and family emergency funds. They might not happen, but once they do, what you need is cash flow certainty, not a gamble on returns.
Many people say, 'I have reserves, I keep some stablecoins or dollars in my account.' The problem is that the term 'emergency funds' actually has two layers of meaning, and most people only address one layer. The first layer is currency form: do you need dollars or your local currency? Some expenses are inherently priced in dollars, like tuition fees for studying abroad, overseas medical expenses, or cross-border purchases; others rely more on local currency cash flow, like daily living expenses, mortgage payments, or short-term bills. The second layer is return/preservation form: are you letting this money sit completely idle for maximum certainty, or are you allowing it to earn interest within controlled boundaries for better capital efficiency? Many people mix these two layers together, leading to an awkward situation: when they need money, they find it in an inappropriate currency, and when they shouldn't touch it, they put it in the wrong place chasing returns.
By separating these two layers, you can understand the role that USDf/sUSDf may play here. It is more like a candidate tool for 'medium to long-term dollar reserves' rather than a storage place for money needed in three months. Why? Because if you are preparing for a significant expense in the next three to five years, your core demand is usually: I hope this dollar reserve is not idle, I hope it has a relatively explainable source of returns, and I hope I can continuously monitor its structural changes to ensure it still matches my risk tolerance. USDf, as synthetic dollars and a settlement unit, is more suitable for fulfilling the demand for the 'dollar base'; sUSDf is more like the part you are willing to give time, allowing it to bear attributes of 'long-term dollar-denominated but not wanting to be idle.' The key is that you must first acknowledge that they belong to 'asset management tools,' not 'short-term cash machines.'
The watershed here can actually be summed up in two words: duration matching. Azhu's principle is simple and cruel: money needed within three months should not enter any system that requires you to explain the source of returns, no matter how alluring the returns may be; money likely needed within a year should prioritize liquidity and certainty; only funds for large goals that are three years or more out qualify to consider a 'dollar + moderate returns' combination. Because once you place short-term cash flow into any strategy or structure, you will be forced to make decisions at the worst possible time: the moment you need money may coincide with the market's worst, the worst sentiment, and the highest exit costs. The mission of emergency funds is to save lives, not accelerate them.
When you look at Falcon this way, you will find that the rule changes it brings are not about 'Can I earn a little more?' but rather 'Can I prepare in advance for a specific life goal?' Once you bind your position with your goal, many meaningless impulses will automatically disappear. You will no longer increase your position because someone in the group says 'annualized returns have increased,' nor withdraw everything because of two weeks of poor returns. You will be more like someone making a plan: if this money is for your child's tuition, then arrange it according to the tuition schedule; if this money is reserved for buying a new house, then set limits and exit conditions according to the home-buying window; if this money is an emergency fund, then it must maintain the highest level of certainty, and no returns can override 'available at any time.'
Azhu finally gives you a straightforward action suggestion that doesn’t require any complex strategies: Starting now, choose one major expense target that is most important to you in the next 3-5 years, and clearly write down the amount and timeline. Then ask yourself three questions: Does this money need to be in dollars or your local currency? How much volatility or structural risk can I accept over these years? Am I willing to take the time every quarter to review its status? Next, divide this target fund into two parts: one part must be absolutely certain and available, kept in the form that gives you the most peace of mind; the other part, if confirmed as medium to long-term dollar reserves, can consider using a method like USDf/sUSDf, which combines 'dollar base + moderate returns' for early positioning. You will find that once you write it down this way, your Falcon position is no longer a vague gamble, but a clear component of your life plan.
Real asset management is not about chasing the brightest numbers with all your money, but rather ensuring every dollar knows where it is going in the future. Those who can write housing, tuition, and emergency funds into the dollar reserve account are the ones who have truly started using Falcon as a tool, rather than as an emotion.
