The first batch of post-00s Web3 workers have already started to "exit the circle."

Author: Golem, Odaily Planet Daily

"I don't want to work anymore," I said to the meeting screen, disheveled and with vacant eyes (this time the camera was off, so they couldn't see my appearance). After I finished speaking, the atmosphere in the meeting froze for two seconds, and then the editor-in-chief's voice broke the silence: "Golem, stay behind after the meeting."

Fortunately, the editor-in-chief was genuinely addressing my issues, not me as a problem. After several exchanges (mainly asking what I enjoy doing), we reached a consensus: I needed to get out, change my environment. So, I went to Guiyang for a music festival and then spent a week in Kunming.

Rock enthusiasts from all over the country revel at the music festival

Web 3 is no longer the moonlight in my heart

This low-energy and confused state is not new to me; since 2025, I have repeatedly felt such emotions enveloping me. Many friends are concerned whether it's because of my job, after all, no one is happy being a workhorse.

Those who say this clearly do not understand Web 3. Our industry should be the one with the least office culture ------ higher salary levels than peers, the freedom of remote work, flexible working hours, no clocking in or out, and an open and flat management structure; any of these benefits, when placed in today's competitive job market, is a significant advantage over peers.

If we divide the workplace generations by five years, in today's world where those born after 2005 are starting to emerge in the Web 3 workplace, I, born in 2002, can be considered one of the first "post-00s" workers in Web 3. Although these workplace benefits have not changed, Web 3 is no longer the moonlight in my heart.

I started to get in touch with Web 3 in school in 2021, and in 2023, I formally began systematically studying Web 3 industry knowledge and entered the workforce as an intern. In my impression, this industry should be the one with the most idealists; I initially stepped into Web 3 with a passion for blockchain, decentralization, and a "revolutionary" spirit, believing that this industry could transform our world for the better. Data ownership, personal privacy protection, trustless currency, decentralized finance, open and transparent Web 3… I was ready to fight for my ideals and the career in my heart.

However, reality tells me that this industry only looks at "money." "I may have been too idealistic and superficial in my understanding of Web 3 and blockchain; I hope to gain a deeper understanding in the new year," I expressed this expectation to my boss at the end of 2024 when he asked me about my plans for 2025, just half a year after graduation.

As a journalist, I am, of course, a good observer and learner of Web 3. We input vast amounts of raw, firsthand industry information every day, organize and process it, and then output it to the market. My originally positive perception of Web 3 is also being reshaped. What have we experienced from 2024 to 2025? No one truly cares about technological value anymore; no one talks about ideals, all eyes are fixed on "money."

In the first half of 2024, we began to deconstruct VCs and project parties, unlocking low-priced chips to crash the market, creating false data through airdrops, and adopting a "launching tokens is the endpoint" strategy. We realized that under the tech narrative packaged by VCs, "money" is the goal; later, the Meme season erupted, and players with ulterior motives built communities under the banner of decentralization and shared ideals. Third-rate developers were elevated under the adoration of "AI Agent saints," and celebrities from outside the circle were treated with grand "ceremonies" for issuing tokens, ultimately leading to the outcome of issuing tokens → FOMO → abandoning the community/project; "money" remains the goal. As liquidity was about to be drained, savvy crypto enthusiasts turned their gaze to the stock market, using shell listings and establishing public company treasuries as means to seek "new money," while what these companies do remains unimportant.

Thus, my understanding of Web 3 shifted from "this is an industry that can make the world better" to "this is merely an industry that makes money relatively quickly," and I too began to look at "money."

Although I continue to monitor industry trends and intensively research new projects and directions, my personal Twitter has not updated crypto-related content for a long time. Fans occasionally message me asking why I no longer share projects publicly (thank you for your recognition), and my reason is that aside from speculation, there are no projects that genuinely pique my interest, leading to a loss of desire to share.

"Golem, what you need is a sense of stimulation, even in work," the deputy editor told me. This statement made me nostalgic for the time in 2023 when I officially entered the circle as an intern writing research reports at a major company. Back then, I was immersed in my obsession and excitement for Web 3 every day. I would chase my mentor to discuss how cross-chain bridges actually achieve asset transfers between two chains, what ethical issues the monopoly of L2 sequencers would bring to blockchain, and I would ride my bike along the banks of the Binjiang River in Hangzhou while asking friends: how should account abstraction be understood in layman's terms? However, everything cannot return to how it was.

Some materials I organized for learning Web 3 in the early days of entering the circle

Some people have told me that this is just because the market is bad or that you haven't made money; internal conflicts will intensify in a bear market, and as long as we endure until the bull market, everyone will be happy. Money may be a significant factor, but the real reason is the lack of fulfillment.

The first batch of post-00s Web 3 workers have begun to withdraw or fade away from the circle

While social media is filled with stories of post-00s becoming rich overnight through crypto trading or commanding the Web 3 workplace, a portion of post-00s Web 3 workers have quietly withdrawn from the circle. Many former colleagues have turned to other industries.

Wang Yue is a post-00s individual with a similar experience to mine; he interned at a VC in 2023 and later worked at a Web 3 company. However, at the end of July this year, he chose to resign and start a foreign trade business. Wang Yue told me that leaving does not mean he will no longer pay attention to Web 3 and crypto trading; if opportunities arise, he will still dive in, but he no longer invests as much as before. "Actually, I don't have much confidence in my speculative ability in crypto trading; comparatively, working in a tangible industry might suit me better," this was his final statement to me.

Wang Yue discussing entrepreneurial ideas with his foreign trade partner

More and more post-00s are beginning to realize that the crypto circle is a suitable financial choice, rather than a suitable career choice. Taozi is a post-00s graduate student from Zhejiang University, who was active in student blockchain organizations during her studies and interned in Web 3 projects, but after graduation, she became a civil servant in her hometown. "I am an experiential person, and I believe that life is greater than work, so I only regard Web 3 as a side business for financial management," Taozi explained to me why she chose not to pursue a full-time Web 3 career after graduation.

Even some post-00s entrepreneurial teams have begun to abandon Web 3. "When I joined, the project had Web 3 plans, but for various reasons, it is still purely a Web 2 model now," said post-00s Xiaoyu, who interned at a Web 3 fund before graduation and later joined a startup related to the Japanese ACG community, where she just took over as CEO this year. We used to discuss Web 3 in the same community, but since 2024, Xiaoyu has not focused her energy on Web 3 anymore. As a startup, Xiaoyu told me they are still trying to find ways to complete their business loop and are not considering Web 3 planning in the short term.

But one similarity is that whether as a civil servant or an independent entrepreneur, those who have been in Web 3 can no longer tolerate the high-pressure environment of traditional industries. "My main job now is actually as a fortune teller, and my side job is working," Meimei strongly agrees with the view that "once a person has rolled through Web 3, they can no longer work a bit." Meimei is not a standard post-00s, but as someone born in May 1999, she was once my learning object.

However, she recently told me that she is gradually withdrawing from Web 3. One reason is the company's business transformation; Meimei's company originally focused on Web 3 games, but now they are engaged in investment businesses unrelated to Web 3. "Web 3 games are not part of the narrative in this cycle, and the boss wants to do something he likes and is interested in," Meimei explained the reason for the company's significant transformation.

Unlike others who still regard the crypto circle as a financial choice, Meimei's withdrawal from the circle is quite complete; she has even stopped investing in Bitcoin. "I think people who have no feelings for money really aren't suited for Web 3, because if you can't understand the psychology of speculators, you won't feel the excitement," Meimei said she is that kind of person; Web 3 makes her feel exhausted.

Fewer people are treating Web 3 as a lifelong career. Dahe is a junior from my university who deeply engaged in Web 3 during his college years. As a fresh graduate, he joined a Web 3 company and received a monthly salary of over ten thousand, which is not uncommon in Web 3 but surpasses many fresh graduates. However, he recently told me, "While young, I should make some money; if the bear market hits in the second half of the year, I will consider taking the civil service exam." Hearing such a response surprised me; why does someone enjoying the benefits still distrust Web 3? He said, "I just feel that working in Web 3 is too unstable; once I make enough money, I will eventually withdraw."

The mountains are not mountains, the waters are not waters

The above conversations took place around the time I returned from my trip to Kunming.

As the crypto industry intersects more deeply with traditional finance, global regulation embraces Web 3, and Bitcoin, Web 3, and blockchain have become well-known to the public. But there have always been two Web 3s: one that only values the attributes of crypto assets, allowing it to be swallowed by the traditional financial system; the other is one that continuously devolves into an ecosystem filled with projects that have no hope of breaking the circle, only serving crypto elites.

These are two distinctly divided Web 3s. I once plunged into the latter, but aside from seeing projects with lifecycles of only a few months, aside from the fluctuating "joy beans" of accounts, and aside from feeling emptiness, I began to understand why Wang Xiaer would give free meal vouchers to sanitation workers after making money. Does this industry, aside from having various methods and models to redistribute wealth, really make the world a better place?

In the Dianchi Lake of Kunming, there are several floating grass squares swaying with the waves, contrasting with the vast lake surface. I specifically checked, and these grass squares are measures to improve water quality and reduce the degree of water eutrophication.

But this scene, where the wind and waves dictate, truly reminds me that I too am in this vast ocean of Crypto, losing direction, buffeted by the wind and waves.

Note: The names Wang Yue, Taozi, Xiaoyu, Meimei, and Dahe are pseudonyms.