Reflection on the Value of the Blockchain Industry: Beyond the Money-First Mindset

Youth is the future of the nation; their wisdom, wealth, strength, independence, and free spirit directly determine the country's fate. This view originates from Liang Qichao's "On the Youth of China," written in 1900, which reflects his profound thoughts after the failure of the Hundred Days' Reform. Liang Qichao placed the hope of China's prosperity in the younger generation, believing that how youth perceive the world, conduct themselves, and judge right from wrong will shape the future of the nation.

Nowadays, it seems that we have not examined our mental state for a long time. The country is developing rapidly, opportunities are everywhere, and people are busy chasing money, viewing making money as their primary goal, leaving almost no time for in-depth thinking. The criteria for judging the value of things seem to be limited to "Can it make money?", "What benefits does it bring me?" and other utilitarian considerations. Society tends to divide classes into "rich" and "poor". The richness of the spiritual level is gradually becoming niche, seen as "arrogant", "unconventional" or "out of touch with reality". This atmosphere even makes people feel inadequate when expressing these views, as if they do not fit in with the mainstream.

In the blockchain industry, especially in the so-called "crypto circle", this trend is even more pronounced. The saying "a day in the crypto circle is like a year in the human world" reflects the fast pace of this field. Here, it seems that people have no time to think, and everything revolves around "making money". "Whether one can make money" has become the only standard for measuring everything. Many people have quit their original jobs to enter this industry; some are trading cryptocurrencies, some are joining blockchain companies, and some are issuing new coins. The fundamental reason for these phenomena lies in the astonishing wealth creation effect of the crypto circle, with returns often in multiples of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands attracting many. However, are these returns real and reliable? What impact will this atmosphere have on young people who are forming their values and methodologies? Young people are easily tempted by money, especially when getting rich seems to be effortless.

Recently, a well-known figure in the industry summarized a set of methodologies for acquiring wealth and attracting investors in a recording, sparking widespread discussion. Surprisingly, those harmed by this approach continue to follow blindly. In the current cryptocurrency environment, concepts such as "community", "community", and "IP" have deviated from their original meanings and are more often used as tools to attract new investors or to profit again from old investors.

In fact, strategies such as creating personal IPs and forming technical teams are not uncommon in the internet industry. Many in the cryptocurrency circle are keen on building communities and shaping personal IPs, which has led to a surge of media and public accounts. The book "The Crowd" aptly describes the current situation in the cryptocurrency circle, illustrating how groups make decisions in an unconscious state. The communities in the cryptocurrency circle are a typical example of "The Crowd"; in a state of collective unconsciousness, decisions are often swayed by a few "big shots", resulting in subsequent behaviors of delegated investments and taking over the positions. Can such communities really create value? Some may think they will not become the last buyer, but can they guarantee that they won't every time? Even the so-called "big shots" cannot make such guarantees, as evidenced by their recent disputes.

Therefore, we need to reflect: does what we do bring value and progress to society and the industry? We should guide young people to create value and promote progress, rather than making profit the only standard and considering not making money as foolish. When faced with any blockchain project, the first question we should ask is: what practical value can this project bring? Speculation requires hot topics, such as artificial intelligence, but speculation does not necessarily create real value. Therefore, when seeing popular projects, everyone should not act impulsively; first consider what practical role this project can play beyond speculation and hype. Do not only focus on the team, advisors, market performance, or popularity, but look at the actual application value of the project.

Our development has been rapid, and now we need to slow down. We should focus on overcoming technical challenges and strive to establish China's dominance in the open-source public blockchain field. We should patiently build the ecosystem, enabling blockchain to empower the real economy rather than consume resources. We should carefully cultivate the correct values in the younger generation; only in this way will the blockchain industry and the country have hope.

Not everyone is suited to be an educator, IP, community manager, cryptocurrency investor, or article writer. Finding your own position and working diligently is the way to achieve true success.