Lately, I’ve been paying more attention to the market sentiment on interest rates. To put it simply, when interest rates are high, money staying in risk-free assets feels pretty attractive, market risk appetite shrinks, and the liquidity on-chain becomes even more frugal—slippage, front-running, and sandwich attacks all get more aggressive—because everyone is trying to profit from the same pot. When expectations of rate cuts rise, traders dare to increase their positions, and as sentiment loosens, MEV becomes less “profitable,” but you’re more likely to get slightly robbed when everything seems to be going smoothly.

Airdrop season also aligns well with this rhythm: the point system makes earning tokens feel like clocking in at work, and the stricter the anti-witchcraft measures on task platforms, the more anxious and aggressive everyone gets. Gas fees rise, and in the end, what you pay is just an “invisible tax.” I currently have two strategies: when macro conditions are tight, I do less; diversify positions and avoid chasing hot trends. If I really want to go all-in, I first check the transaction path, slippage, and signing permissions—don’t treat your wallet like an ATM.

I’m off to work.