Prelude

A friend asked me to help her get into Crypto.

My response was;

Don't get into Crypto if you only want to make money

She was perplexed.
**
"Isn't that why you get into cryto?"**

It is just one of the reasons you get into crypto.

Being in crypto is like being on a roller coaster. You can either stomach the ups & downs, or you can't.

Then I rattled off the list of Crypto that I have, or have had, or are planning to have, stating the structure of it, the development, my motivations and -

and then I saw her brow furrow & her eyes glaze over.

Chickens Metaphor

Crypto investors are like "Chickens running out of a barn".

Why do I say this?

Because people are reactive to their environment. Crypto is the most reactive. That is why you see the major swings up and down.

As soon as somebody posts a method of gains. Then you watch the horde clamour to profit from the "current thing".

You see it in Splinterlands currently.

To Bot, or Not To Bot, has seen some bots take off in value. The ethics of botting, which is the best bot?, what are the returns?, how to bot? and it takes off in multiple directions. Just like gas filling a container.

Card rentals is another hubub. You see a whole array of mechanisms enter that side of the environ. There are 3rd parties to rent your cards, to auto rent your cards, so forth.

Robust or Go Bust

The trauma that can occur can be vicious.

It can destroy a coin, an exchange, basically, when you have so many people clamouring for opportunity, or run with fear, you are really testing the environments robustness.

Another analogy, is like being on a boat. If somebody sees a whale on one side, and everybody wants to see the whale, the boat has a high chance of tipping over if everybody disrupts the balance and run all to one side.

Diminishing returns

The self regulating nature of Crypto means that, the law of diminishing returns, comes into play.

a principle stating that profits or benefits gained from something will represent a proportionally smaller gain as more money or energy is invested in it.

At first, you may achieve astronomical returns.
The habitat is abundant with opportunity.

I recall enjoying huge profits from some AMM (a form of liquidity pool fee returns). In my first day, I earned something like USD 275! It was amazingly profitable.

But not for long.

Very soon, that liquidity pool suddenly became inundated with investors who were trying to profit like I did.

Then the coin, that was the basis of the liquidity, was no longer popular.

My returns kept decreasing, from the peak of $275, to just $0.03.
It was a great idea, so long as we didn't overcrowd it.

Market Forces

In the Crypto world, the market forces are as volatile, and as violent, as the elements.

It is a storm of human behaviour. Right there on your little screen. You have an impact on how the Crypto world behaves. Millions & millions of you. Of me.

A global slice of many yous, and mes. From first world countries, to third world - it all gets reflected in the good and bad of human nature.

The thieves and the haters, the frauds and manipulators, are the demons trying to find the weaknesses. The points of exploitation.

The builders and programmers, the altruism and philanthropers, are the angels wanting to build a better representation, and meaning, to this existential brain fart.

It creates an operatic experience.

Are you a chicken? Are you running hither and dither to find the next patch of seed to consume?

Are you a solitary figure, relying on stability? Being a steward and embracing your coins of choice?

Why are you in Crypto?
What brought you here?

(images taken from google image search)
(post a reflection on the recent activity on the splinterlands platform)