The top money-making player in the new cycle of cryptocurrency: Bitcoin holders have won big

Author: 1912212.eth, Foresight News

"Last year I lost over a million," Xiao Su told Foresight News.

As a veteran in the crypto space, he purchased a significant amount of VC coins during the last bull market cycle. In 2021, Bitcoin once broke through $67,000, reaching an all-time high, and many VC coins rose even higher than Bitcoin, leading to Xiao Su's first pot of gold.

However, the market is unpredictable. In this cycle, Xiao Su faced setbacks. Since 2024, several of his heavily invested VC coins have performed poorly, continuously declining. As a forced "diamond hand," he couldn't hold on any longer and had to cut losses at the lows. After several rounds of this, he has already given back more than half of his accumulated profits.

"Why is it so hard to make money this time? Who is actually making money in the market?" Xiao Su is quite puzzled. In his view, the past bull market cycles allowed investors to buy coins with their eyes closed and make money while lying down or sleeping. Now, it has turned into a situation where one must "run fast" to earn money. Market participants such as VCs, market makers, exchanges, project parties, retail investors, and yield farming studios all face significant new challenges.

Xiao Su's experience is not an isolated case. Not only veterans like him, but also some well-known crypto VC institutions have recently announced transformations and admitted that this round of primary investment returns has been very disappointing.

However, looking at the history of cryptocurrencies, 2024 to 2025 is expected to be a spectacular year. The approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs has led traditional financial institutions to flock in, and after Trump's return to power, crypto policies have entered an unprecedentedly loose environment. A series of positive developments have allowed Bitcoin's price to break through $100,000 from a low of $15,000, setting a new historical high.

Investor expectations for a raging bull market have peaked.

But another major player in the market, Ethereum, shattered investors' dreams. Ethereum has not even reached a new all-time high in this cycle, and the past two major price boosters, DeFi and NFTs, have not seen a resurgence. Its founder, Vitalik, and the Ethereum Foundation have faced criticism. With ETH's sluggish performance, narratives around Layer 2, re-staking, and ZK have collapsed, and many related ecosystem tokens have performed disappointingly.

The only hot topic—the surge of meme coins—has, to some extent, been a vent for retail investors' dissatisfaction with the high valuations of VC coins. The profits from VC coins had already been largely divided among VCs before the public could benefit, leaving only retail investors to take over and face "endless declines."

In this more brutal "casino," only a very small number of savvy traders, insider traders, and token issuance groups have made substantial profits. Most retail investors who have rushed into meme coins have suffered increasing losses in a series of lottery-like events, ultimately realizing that the so-called wealth effect belongs only to others' "show-off."

So who are the real winners? Foresight News interviewed several crypto practitioners in the field with the above questions, and they provided their answers.

Bitcoin Holders: Winning Big

Bitcoin buyers are undoubtedly reaping substantial profits in this cycle. On May 10, Bitcoin Magazine Pro data showed that only 0.55% of addresses remained in a loss state after Bitcoin broke through $100,000, indicating that most Bitcoin players in the market are in profit. As of the time of writing, Bitcoin has surpassed $110,000, setting a new historical high, and no one has lost money from buying Bitcoin; all buyers have realized profits.

The NDV (NextGen Digital Venture) fund, established in 2022, is one such example. Its founder Jason (@jhy256) told Foresight News that the first phase of the NDV fund was fully liquidated in February this year, achieving a total return of 3.75 times, and recently launched the financing for the second phase of the fund.

Jason has extensive experience in the venture capital field, having worked at Huaxing Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, and other institutions. In 2023, at the age of 34, he chose to leave the family office Blue Pool Capital, co-founded by Jack Ma and Cai Chongxin, to establish NextGen Digital Venture.

Jason stated, "In a broader world, there are still many external buyers. Many institutions don't even have a 0.1% allocation; they might just buy 0.1% first, which is not sensitive to price fluctuations. If traditional big money allocates 1% of their capital to Bitcoin, it would be quite significant for this asset class." In the first year, he allocated most of the fund's positions to GBTC, and after a strategy switch last year, he turned to crypto-related stocks like Coinbase and Strategy. These moves undoubtedly aligned with market trends.

When analyzing Bitcoin's price increase, he emphasized the significant role of the spot ETF launch. "Traditional financial money can flow directly from ETFs to BTC, which is also a key reason why BTC can continue to outperform many altcoins. Perhaps Trump's election and token issuance will provide new opportunities for other digital currencies."

In January 2024, the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs became a milestone event in this cycle. So far, the total net inflow into Bitcoin spot ETFs has exceeded $42.7 billion. Institutions represented by BlackRock and Fidelity have aggressively purchased Bitcoin spot ETFs, becoming the clear winners in the market due to their early entry, low costs, and steady holdings. These funds mainly come from hedge funds, pension funds, and family offices, marking a shift in the crypto market from retail speculation to institutional investment.

Moreover, various publicly listed companies have also joined the Bitcoin purchasing frenzy and made substantial profits.

The US-listed company Strategy, with its aggressive purchasing style, has seen not only a significant rise in its stock price but also astonishing unrealized gains. As of May 18, 2025, Strategy holds 576,230 Bitcoins, with a total purchase price of approximately $40.18 billion, averaging about $69,726 per Bitcoin. After Bitcoin broke through $109,700, its unrealized gains once exceeded $23.039 billion. The Japanese listed company Metaplanet has accumulated 7,800 Bitcoins, with a historical average purchase price of 13.51 million yen per coin (approximately $941,657). Based on Bitcoin's price of $109,000, Metaplanet's holdings have unrealized gains of $12.1 million.

Since its inception, Bitcoin has consistently rewarded diamond hands, and even the continuously increasing holdings of El Salvador have unrealized gains exceeding $357 million.

Naturally, mining machines, crypto infrastructure companies, and financial derivatives derived from BTC have also profited significantly. Taking Canaan Creative as an example, financial reports show an 80.9% increase in revenue and a 312.5% increase in mining revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company mentioned that customer orders for the first quarter of 2025 have already been scheduled into the second quarter, indicating a continued momentum in mining machine sales.

Meme Big Winners: Making Millions on Single Coins

"My total profit has reached a hundred times, mainly from last year's AI, deSci, and TRUMP," yuyue told Foresight News.

The well-known on-chain KOL yuyue became famous for seizing the TRUMP opportunity and earning millions of dollars. According to community images, she spent $158,000 to purchase TRUMP, with unrealized gains exceeding $2 million at one point.

She entered the crypto space in March 2022, initially just looking for an internship. Later, through airdrops and community engagement, she met more people and reviewed market opportunities. Ultimately, when the opportunity arose, she dared to take a position and achieved significant results.

In the past year, the most wealth-generating sector in the crypto world has undoubtedly been "Meme." Since the beginning of 2024, meme coins have sparked an unprecedented frenzy in the crypto market. From WIF and BONK on the Solana chain to PEPE and TURBO on Ethereum, and to the rapidly rising DEGEN and MOCHI on the Base chain, even meme assets within the Bitcoin ecosystem have attracted tens of thousands of retail investors and speculators with each new hot topic.

Meme has become more than just entertainment; it has turned into a new experimental ground for wealth distribution mechanisms. According to statistics from CoinGecko and Dune Analytics, throughout 2024, the total market capitalization of meme coins skyrocketed from less than $2 billion to over $60 billion, with an annual increase of over 2900%. Among them, meme coins on the Solana chain accounted for more than one-third of the total market cap. WIF surged from an initial market cap of less than $1 million to over $3 billion, with early holders even achieving returns exceeding 100,000 times. Some users purchased a new meme coin BOME for less than $200 in April 2024, and within just 72 hours, their account value skyrocketed to over $2 million.

These meme coins often lack traditional technological backgrounds and do not even rely on complete project white papers; they can ignite millions of dollars in trading volume with just a catchy slogan or a simple dog avatar.

The most frenzied wealth effect from meme coins belongs to the TRUMP meme coin before Trump officially took office. Traders like 0xSun, Dayu, Lengjing, and CryptoD made tens of millions of dollars on single coins, igniting the entire crypto circle, leaving countless people in awe. However, the players who made such enormous profits on single coins are ultimately very few. Position management and risk preference are also a significant study.

Yuyue admitted that she is quite flexible in position management and does not hold other long-term positions besides Bitcoin. In terms of trading style, "Currently, there are sweeping chain styles and second-stage styles, which are distinctly different, but I lean more towards the second-stage style, which emphasizes narrative."

She stated that market participants must have their own judgments about the targets. For example, if focusing on the second stage, one needs to pay attention to narratives and market cap estimation ranges, and trade based on these foundations. The narratives are not fantasies but can be supported by K-lines and market conditions.

On-chain OG player "Bit Factory" has also made substantial profits in the meme coin gold rush. He told Foresight News, "After achieving dozens of times high returns with SHIB in a matter of weeks during the last cycle, I began my on-chain trading journey. In the past year or two of meme trading, I have made profits in the millions, seizing opportunities with ORDI, GOAT, TRUMP, and other targets."

However, achieving high returns is not easy. "Those around me who have achieved significant returns often invest considerable effort in on-chain research and time; this is what they deserve, which ordinary people may not be able to do." He lamented.

Trading meme coins tests players' skills more than mainstream coins. Bit Factory stated that meme trading must grasp the big players, big trends, and big narratives, and major hot topics are also crucial. Searching for keywords or contract addresses on Twitter can also be used to observe short-term heat.

His profits from meme coins will also be used to purchase Bitcoin. "Currently, 85% of my position is in Bitcoin, around 13% in Ethereum and BNB, with some remaining in altcoin meme coins."

The wealth myth of meme coins temporarily cooled down amid a sluggish market, and even large share-outs were rarely seen on social media. Many meme coin players with dreams of getting rich faced repeated setbacks in lottery-like events, anxiously oscillating between zero and selling off. Some chose to return to mainstream altcoins, while others ventured into other sectors for profit.

Perhaps every meme player unwilling to leave is waiting for the moment when the altcoin market fully rebounds. Some market players have achieved significant results through effective strategies and perseverance; they are the airdrop players.

Sudden Airdrops: From National Celebration to Competitive Involution

"In 2023, the Arbitrum airdrop became my most rewarding project, approximately 30 million RMB." Well-known airdrop player Fengmi told Foresight News.

He has spent over a decade in traditional finance, working in hedge trading and investment banking. He entered the crypto space in 2017 due to ICOs and discovered yield farming opportunities through DeFi in 2020, leading to an unstoppable wealth accumulation speed that far exceeded mining or trading coins.

After that, "In 2024, Wormhole brought even higher paper gains, with the corresponding value at TGE exceeding ARB. Unfortunately, I did not grasp the timing for claiming and selling, resulting in only a brilliant paper profit with limited actual gains."

The golden age of airdrops is not far behind us. During the crypto bull market from 2020 to 2021, the surge of DeFi, NFTs, and Layer 1/Layer 2 projects provided fertile ground for yield farming. Airdrop activities from DeFi protocols like Uniswap, 1inch, and dYdX often brought thousands of dollars in profits, attracting a large number of retail investors and early studios. During this period, the threshold for yield farming was low, and ordinary users could participate through simple wallet operations or social tasks. It was indeed the golden age of yield farming. At its peak, top yield farming player Fengmi told Foresight News, "The airdrop rewards for ENS exceeded 100,000 RMB per single number, and multiple numbers directly led to wealth. For PSP (Paraswap), one number started at $10,000."

Subsequently, the yield farming industry gradually shifted from wild growth to specialization. Studios improved efficiency through bulk account creation and automated scripts. However, even so, the industry still had a significant airdrop wealth effect.

Airdrops from testnet projects like Aptos and Sui further fueled the yield farming craze, with some studios achieving million-dollar-level profits through "multi-account strategies." To prevent "witch attacks" (Sybil Attacks), project parties generally raised airdrop thresholds, such as introducing identity verification, on-chain behavior analysis, or community contribution requirements. This made it more challenging for retail investors to yield farm, while studios with technical advantages and resources gradually took the lead.

Fengmi candidly shared his insights, stating that first and foremost, choosing the right project is crucial. "Airdrops that can truly change lives must come from projects with products, innovation, capital, and vision. It's not something that can be compensated by brushing 100 low-quality activities. It's better to heavily invest in 3 well-chosen projects than to cast a wide net over 30 uncertain projects." Secondly, participants must learn to understand what kind of people they want to filter out, comprehend protocol logic, and understand protocol characteristics. A very clear overall judgment, resembling a "real user" and adopting a "developer's perspective," will make it easier to be included in high-quality weight distribution rules and reward models in the future. Additionally, just like professional traders' sensitivity, one must be decisive when to stop losses and let go cleanly.

In his view, yield farming is not an isolated activity but a typical structural arbitrage method. Participants can treat yield farming as a stable income "left hand": low cost, high odds, trading time for opportunities. Meanwhile, they can use their "right hand" to allocate positions in the secondary market, holding foundational assets like BTC/ETH or boldly betting on some long-term high-elasticity speculative projects like meme coins. The left side ensures certainty, while the right side takes on uncertainty. "Currently, this is what I see as a more stable and resilient combination across cycles."

The airdrop sector remains hot in 2024. Projects like Starknet, Hyperliquid, Magic Eden, and Pudgy Penguins have distributed hundreds of millions of dollars in tokens through airdrops. Subsequently, the market situation changed dramatically, shifting from a peak to a trough. Those who initially chose to sell maintained substantial profits, while those who chose to hold and wait became the "fast runners" who exited the liquidity.

In response, Fengmi reflected, "Yield farming has never been a mechanical operation on an assembly line. Every account, every TX, and every project token behind them is something I interact with, record, and wait for, even at a loss. They are not just numbers; they resemble a series of strategies and luck games, infused with intense emotional investment. A project requires a lot of effort and time, gas, and capital. Because of this, it is an emotional investment. But it is precisely this 'emotion' that became my biggest mistake this round: being reluctant to sell when I should have, hesitating when I should have left. As a result, I handed over the profits that were already in hand to the market, just accompanying it for a while."

Market players experience both wins and losses, and the winners are always a minority. Subsequently, whether individuals or studios, they are repeatedly counter-farmed. When airdrops like zkSync and LayerZero were released, the market was filled with cries of despair. Small retail investors received very few airdrops, and yield farming studios suffered heavy losses, with some even forced to shut down. Project parties faced intense criticism, but they maintained a strong stance. From then on, most projects in the market began to follow suit, issuing fewer or even no airdrops.

Fengmi told Foresight News, "The wild era of yield farming has long ended. The window for everyone to earn their first pot of gold from the chain has closed. It is no longer a stage where one can earn rewards just by casually interacting with a few buttons."

As yield farming players generally find it difficult, persisting becomes even harder. Many players miss wealth opportunities due to a lack of patience. Fengmi analyzed that the root cause of many players' inability to persist lies in "the airdrops being delayed, gas costs continuously rising, interactions becoming dull and tedious, tasks becoming increasingly formalized, and points becoming overly diluted. When returns are delayed, doubts gradually erode execution power, leading to complaints. But the real big results often lie just after you almost want to give up, just after you think it’s ineffective. You must believe—results never happen first; they are first believed in before being realized."

Fengmi also shared a failed case he encountered during his yield farming process, "I did a lot of BTC staking interactions on Babylon, investing considerable funds and attention. The result was an extremely limited airdrop distribution, with profits so dismal it was hard to bear." Additionally, he heavily invested in the entire Move ecosystem, including Aptos, with investments exceeding $4 million at its market cap peak, but the ecosystem projects collectively underperformed, and the official direction and top operational capabilities were lacking.

Airdrops come with various ups and downs.

However, compared to buying coins, yield farming may still be one of the few avenues where one can earn big money from an initial small capital. Multi-account strategies and premium account strategies remain practical methods, but they also require more careful approaches. The game of outsmarting project parties still tests yield farming players' cognition and execution capabilities.

Conclusion

The only constant in the crypto market is change. A day in the crypto world is like a year in the real world; although it may seem exaggerated, it reflects the rapid pace of change. If you cannot grasp opportunities, they will be lost. For those in the industry constantly pursuing more wealth, this is undoubtedly the most torturous experience.

However, the most enchanting aspect of the crypto space is that every time market participants believe they have reached the end of the wealth effect, there is always a thriving area in some inconspicuous corner, nurturing for the next rise, continuously attracting curious young people to come and mine through another astonishing wealth effect.