Already 56 days into stacking my terminal cashback without touching it—watching the SOL rewards pile up. The crazy part? If this keeps going, I might actually end up claiming enough to buy something substantial lol. That's the whole appeal of letting cashback compound in the SOL ecosystem I guess.

Recently, the performance of several mainstream cryptocurrencies in the market has indeed been worth paying attention to. UNI and LTC have successively hit all-time lows, while popular coins like SOL, DOGE, and PEPE are also approaching their historical lows. It seems to be a general pressure. The question is—what does this trend really indicate? Is it merely a technical correction, or is the market releasing deeper signals? Multiple coins hitting new lows simultaneously, liquidity shrinking, and panic sentiment spreading. However, on the other hand, all-time lows are often seen as opportunities by long-term investors. What do you all think? Should we continue to wait and see for rebound signals, or have some already started to buy the dip?

In the past two weeks, I looked at the crypto job market and found an interesting phenomenon—hiring numbers have been cut in half. The specific figures are as follows: around 1,192 positions during the same period last year, only 85-90 at the beginning of this year, which translates to an average daily increase from 38 to 6.5. At first glance, it does seem a bit bleak, but upon closer reflection, this is not a sign that the "industry is over," but rather indicates that the market is moving toward a more practical and mature direction. **Companies Are Really Starting to Screen Candidates** This year's job postings show that 65% are mid-to-senior level positions, mostly requiring over 5 years of experience. Management roles have even higher thresholds, generally starting at 7 years. What does this mean? Companies are no longer looking for potential, but for people who can directly get the business running and generate immediate growth. "Practical" talent is in high demand, while "potential" talent is no longer favored. This is a very straightforward signal—companies are aware of what they need and understand which types of people can truly solve problems. **Funding Is Now Following Profitable Tracks** The new positions are mainly concentrated in three areas: infrastructure, stablecoins, payments, and fintech. Looking at the commonalities among these tracks, there are only two: proximity to money and proximity to users. Speculative sectors are cooling down, while those that can truly be commercialized are becoming more attractive. This indicates that capital is shifting its focus from "where is the next hot spot" to "how to make money." **Projects That Have Completed Funding Are Still Hiring** Although the overall market has cooled, teams that have completed Series A/B/C/D funding rounds are still expanding. They are not chasing hot trends but are focused on cash flow and sustainable growth. When the market is not doing well, fundraising ability becomes a lifeline, or alternatively, projects that can generate their own revenue. **Talent Is Flowing Toward Solana** One of the most noteworthy data points: the proportion of new developers on Solana has reached 22%, surpassing Ethereum's 16% for the first time. This change is highly symbolic. Talent movement often reacts faster than capital, and capital tends to lead application deployment. So, behind this data may be a sign that developers are already preparing for the next wave of application opportunities. **From Emotion-Driven to Fundamentals-Driven** Last year's market was more driven by emotion, with everyone piling in. This year is different; the industry is starting to focus on real metrics like business models, user scale, revenue structure, and technological barriers. From another perspective, the crypto industry is not cooling down but entering a "fundamentals era." The bubble has burst, and now it’s about who can stay. **What This Means for Job Seekers** To be realistic, there are three points to note: 1) Simply "understanding the industry" is no longer enough; results must be delivered. 2) "Technical + product + operations" combined skills are now more valuable. 3) When joining early-stage teams, it’s crucial to see if there is enough runway and a real business closed-loop, not just storytelling. The sharp decline in hiring volume is not a sign of market saturation but a natural filtering process—after the bubble deflates, the market is seriously discussing who can survive.