Stop believing in the "end of history" theory: Why does the crypto market always have new retail investors and new predators?

Recently, while reviewing this wave of meme coin frenzy, an idea suddenly popped up: The power of traffic is awe-inspiring, but the wisdom of traffic? Don’t take it too seriously.

Following this train of thought, the more I think about it, the more interesting it becomes — isn’t this the best rebuttal to that old, tired “end of history” theory?

Remember Fukuyama’s theory? Every bull and bear cycle, many people become disheartened and quit, muttering: “There are too many coins issued, this industry has no future.”

Listen to these familiar arguments: no true democracy after the US. No more cryptocurrencies after BTC. No blockchain innovation after ETH. No meme coin miracles after some meme…

All nonsense.

BTC has never been the end point of cryptocurrencies; it’s just the starting point.

We must accept both the “uniqueness of BTC” and the idea that “the market always offers new opportunities,” which may seem contradictory, but it’s actually quite mind-bending. Yet, that’s precisely the key to understanding this market.

The Illusion of Supply and Demand Imbalance and the Eternal Pursuit

The 2017 coin issuance frenzy was fundamentally caused by a supply-demand distortion—too few tokens, too much hot money.

But what happened afterward? ERC-20 standardization, inscription gameplay, various launch platforms lowered barriers to zero — now the token supply is exploding like never before, with thousands of new coins emerging daily.

Logically, the market should be saturated by now, right?

But no. Just when everyone thinks “there’s nothing new,” sharper minds emerge, creating new explosive points and rewriting wealth myths.

Because scarcity is never about the coins themselves.

What’s scarce is the opportunity to make money, the possibility of getting rich overnight.

No matter how many coins are issued or how fast, they can’t satisfy retail investors’ and hot money’s greed for “scarcity” — their endless desire for quick profits and sudden wealth.

Hot money isn’t chasing a specific coin; it’s chasing the illusory promise of the “next hundred-bagger.”

As long as this pursuit continues, the market will always have room to create new opportunities.

And the scarcity of wealth-creating opportunities is almost eternal — this ensures that hot money’s pursuit will never end.

The Donkey Towing the Mill and the Eternal Millstone

In this game, hot money is like a donkey blindly pulling a mill.

It desperately chases the grass just out of reach, circling the mill endlessly, tirelessly galloping.

You can never say that the current mill is the last one, or the “end of the mill’s history.”

Those who see through this game can always design a new mill and lead the donkey to keep turning.

The mill exists because of the donkey, not the donkey because of the mill.

Just as the existence of retail investors spurs the market makers, not the other way around.

As long as the donkey keeps blindly running, new mill games will keep emerging.

Every new game is carefully packaged — “a brand new track.”