I just saw someone saying that virtual currency is a zero-sum game. People who would say this either don’t understand what zero-sum is, or they don’t understand the virtual currency market.

I have long observed that most people who say this have misunderstood what zero-sum is. They think that someone here loses money and someone on the other side wins money, so it is zero-sum. ........wrong! ! !

Take mahjong as an example. Four people play mahjong. After playing for a while, the amount of money someone won is equal to how much someone lost. The sum is equal to 0, so it is called a zero-sum game.

Assuming that you need to pay a venue fee to play mahjong, then the final winnings and losses of these four people, some will win here and some will lose, but the total will be negative (because you have to pay the venue fee), and the total amount of money for these four people will become less. , so this is a negative sum game.

Assuming that there is an appearance fee for playing mahjong (similar to the appearance fee for professional players), then the money of the last four people will be positive because of the appearance fee, so this is a positive-sum game.

The contract market, at first glance, looks like a zero sum, because how much money someone makes on one side means how much money someone loses on the other side, which adds up to zero. .....but! ! ! ! ! Don’t forget that Binance charges fees! ! So the contract market is actually a negative sum game. My side lost 1000, the other side may only make 999, and Binance made 1.

In the spot market, whether it is negative or zero depends on the currency. A currency with value may be a positive sum, a currency without value must be a negative sum (transaction fee), and it is rarely exactly zero sum.

Virtual currencies are not a zero-sum game. Especially the contract, the contract must be a negative sum.