In this market cycle, the ability to make money varies among different groups, similar to the effects seen in various types of altcoin pump-and-dump schemes. Most ordinary retail investors may not make much or may even lose money, while some prominent figures around them are consistently profiting, sometimes even at a faster rate than before. I believe the following points have widened the gap:
1. Principal
Many retail investors may only have a few tens of thousands of USDT, with some having hundreds of thousands. Once they heavily invest in a certain coin and get stuck, their remaining usable balance is low, and they may even miss out on good opportunities due to lack of funds.
Whales have capital exceeding 10 million. In a bull market, the interest from financial farming (funding rates, options price differences, Pendle finance, staking projects, etc.) is enough to cover their daily expenses and the profits from participating in degenerate activities.
A retail investor losing a bet might lose half their principal, while a whale losing a bet only loses a day's or two's interest, and they can recover it in a few days.
2. Information acquisition ability
Most retail investors lack timely and reliable channels for information. Many may only have Binance Square, Weibo, and similar platforms on their phones. Being able to search for information on Twitter is already beyond what many retail investors can do, and knowing how to use Equation News to check news means having strong information retrieval capabilities.
Refer to the recently launched project, $BIO.
Low-level retail investors: They have little understanding and only learn about a new coin when they occasionally check their phones and see that Binance has launched a new launchpool, or they find out belatedly when it officially goes live.
Intermediate retail investors: They quickly learn about the launch information of $BIO through platforms like Rhythm and Equation News, and they read announcements carefully to understand project details, circulation data, etc.
Whales: As soon as the investment news from Binance Labs comes out, they directly research the IDO mechanism of $BIO and participate in early IDOs. Or they might have already participated in understanding the narrative of DESCI and invested in 1-2 rounds of IDOs. After LABS investment and endorsements from CZ and Vitalik, they fully invest during the 2-2.5 rounds of IDOs. They also gather related information to anticipate coins like $VITA $RSR and even $RIF $URO, profiting by positioning themselves before the narrative gains traction.
3. Actionability
I believe that actionability can be divided into three dimensions: investment research capability, technical capability, and self-motivation.
Investment research capability: Can you achieve a strong level of investment research in your area of focus? For example, in the IDO new project field, are you paying attention to the IDO of $BIO and calculating the odds? Similarly, in the airdrop field, have you calculated the odds of a single airdrop share based on the project's financing amount and launch valuation, as well as the airdrop value of a single NFT?
Technical capability: If you discover a good opportunity but need technical skills, can you solve it independently or find reliable partners to help? For instance, when minting EVM inscriptions during IDOs, can you quickly mint EVM inscriptions in bulk? Or, if a certain airdrop project can be achieved through scripts for bulk account creation, are you still just slowly clicking through multiple accounts with a fingerprint browser?
Self-motivation: Discover an opportunity, immediately research it, and place a bet. Confirm it is a big opportunity and place a heavy bet as soon as possible.
I believe that ordinary retail investors may not meet any of the three conditions mentioned above. Being able to perform well in one of them is already impressive. However, some whales I know can excel in all three through exceptional individual efforts or teamwork.
