If every cycle of bull and bear in the encrypted world is an evolutionary experiment about survival, then my act of buying the first NFT with USDD back then was more like trying to exchange a ticket to an unknown tribe in a dense, foggy primeval jungle using a form of 'digital alloy' that had not yet fully taken shape. Looking back at that little image, which had almost zero floor price and completely exhausted liquidity by 2025, I realize that what I lost was the paper value, but what I gained was the deepest muscle memory of the underlying logic of Web3.
It was after 2022, when the shadow of algorithmic stablecoins had yet to dissipate, that **USDD** emerged as a 'decentralized over-collateralized stablecoin' in Sun Yuchen's ecosystem. Many people view it as a replica of UST, but I prefer to see it as an observational sample of a survival experiment. The NFT I bought was not one of those flashy blue chips on the ETH chain, but a community-colored experimental project within the TRON ecosystem.
At that time, choosing **USDD** as a means of payment was based on a game-theoretic consideration of the 'ecological closed loop'. The core mechanism of **USDD** lies in its PSM (Peg Stability Module) and the over-collateralization pool consisting of assets like TRX and **BTC**. From the perspective of 2025, we have become accustomed to a market dominated by strong compliant assets like USDC, but at that stage, participating in the NFT market priced in USDD was essentially betting on the 'internal inflation dividend' of the Tron ecosystem. I invested about 500 USDD, which at the time was not a small trial-and-error cost.
Why do I say 'dropped in value' but have no regrets? Firstly, it’s the cognitive premium from a technical perspective. Through that operation, I deeply dissected the liquidity dilemma of NFTs on non-ETH chains. During the evaporation of that NFT's value, I observed that when the liquidity of an ecosystem's underlying stablecoin begins to concentrate at the top, peripheral assets (such as NFTs on specific chains) shrink rapidly like dehydrated cells. This understanding of 'liquidity stratification' has allowed me to accurately avoid countless similar pitfalls during the inscription boom in 2024 and the explosive growth of synthetic assets in 2025.
Secondly, it’s about practical exercises in economic models. **USDD** is not just simple collateral; it resembles a complex interest rate differential engine. During that period, I learned how to hedge risks by monitoring on-chain real-time data from the Tron reserve pool and how to analyze the functional relationship between the destruction rate of TRX and the issuance volume of USDD. This learning curve that extends from 'buying a picture' to 'deconstructing a financial system' is something that no paid course can offer. As I often say, if the tuition of Web3 is only paid to losses, that is failure; if it is paid to cognition, that is investment.
As of today, December 2025, the market has entered a highly modularized era, and **USDD** continues to pulse within its specific circle, while that NFT of mine has become a 'digital fossil' in my on-chain wallet. It no longer holds any realizable value, but it is a medal from my participation in that crazy experimental era. It reminds me that in the crypto market, the 'value' of assets is often an illusion of consensus, while the 'pricing logic' behind the assets is the eternal wealth.
For current investors, I suggest everyone establish an 'experimental position' when allocating assets. Don't always focus on more certain assets like BNB or SOL; occasionally participate in the ecosystem with controversial tools (such as early algorithmic stablecoins or new cross-chain protocol assets), and you will find your perspective completely different. You can pay attention to stablecoin protocols that are at the critical point of collateralization or undergoing decentralized governance transformation, observing their decoupling risks and re-anchoring dynamics during market fluctuations.
In the coming year, with the further integration of RWA (Real World Assets on-chain) and native crypto stablecoins, we may see more payment vehicles like **USDD** that carry specific ecological intentions. My advice is: participate, make mistakes, but control the boundaries of 'zeroing out'.
That NFT of mine that has dropped in value now quietly lies at the bottom of my wallet. Whenever I plan to heavily invest in a new track, I pull up its contract address to take a look. It silently tells me: in Web3, the most important thing is not how much the assets you hold are worth now, but whether you have absorbed enough evolutionary nutrients from them before they go to zero.
Interactive topic: In your Web3 career, which 'zeroing out' investment became a turning point in your understanding? Feel free to share your digital scars and evolution stories in the comments.
This article is an independent personal analysis and does not constitute investment advice.
