"Shanzhai 312" and "BTC New High", who made money off your losses during the crash?

Author: Jaleel Jia Liu, BlockBeats

"If you only look at altcoins and not Bitcoin, I would have thought it was 312." This is a helpless sigh from a community member.

This sigh is not unfounded. On-chain data presents a grim picture: the red downward trend ruthlessly devours the community's hopes, with cries of despair everywhere. Taking the BIO ecosystem as an example, $URO has plummeted by 36.2%, and $RIF is not far behind, dropping by 21.8%.

The Flood of Profit-Taking

Since Trump confirmed his return to the White House, the altcoin season has surged like a tsunami, with crazy price increases and fierce, brutal PVP. The waves have sifted through the sand, creating a new generation of wealthy individuals in the crypto space.

For example, a smart money address "GcYC1…quyt6" built a position in $RIF at a low point in late September when the DeSci Meme narrative had not yet taken off, turning an investment of $14,000 into a profit of $1.05 million, achieving a return of 7400%. This is a myth that no trading market would dare to imagine, only possible in the crypto world.

Another example, according to Lookonchain monitoring data, within just 20 days, a trader bought URO for $800 and ultimately made a profit of $572,000; he also purchased RIF for $300, earning $957,000. This means he turned an initial investment of $1,100 into a position worth $1.62 million, achieving astonishing growth of 3503 times and 714 times, respectively.

Such examples are countless. These profits were gradually sold off during the altcoin rally, leading to the crash of altcoins and ushering in today's "altcoin 312."

So where will these profits go? Today's market has also provided us with an answer.

As altcoins collapsed en masse, Bitcoin's price broke $97,000, reaching a new high. Funds flowed out of the altcoin market, returning to trading platforms, and ultimately flowing into Bitcoin. Bitcoin once again reaffirms its role as the stabilizing force in this market through its price.

The End of Altcoins is Bitcoin

At this moment, I am reminded of the story of SBF wanting to keep BTC below $20,000.

In the trial regarding the FTX incident, Caroline Ellison, CEO of Alameda Research and SBF's ex-girlfriend, testified that SBF instructed Alameda to continuously sell Bitcoin if it exceeded $20,000, attempting to keep the price of Bitcoin below $20,000.

As for the reason behind this, although they did not mention it in court, insiders in the community provided an answer: "The common practice of market makers on trading platforms is to pump up Crypto (mainly targeting a few Top 20 coins like ETH) while suppressing the Crypto/BTC exchange rate. This is not just FTX's approach; other trading platforms do the same."

Doing so can gradually erode people's confidence in Bitcoin, attracting all funds to Crypto, and once users' trading habits are cultivated, they can smoothly dump large amounts of junk coins onto lower-tier players.

After all, after getting used to the explosive trends and overnight gains in the crypto space, how many people have the patience to hold onto Bitcoin, even when it is almost certain to double?

Today, the reasoning remains the same. The unique fervor and impatience of the crypto community have never changed. And those truly large capital players have long understood the value of Bitcoin, exchanging junk altcoins for the Bitcoin in your hands, laying out long-term strategies and waiting for harvest.

The best example is MicroStrategy. As of the time of writing on November 21, MicroStrategy's Bitcoin holdings have reached a new all-time high: 331,200 Bitcoins, with an average purchase price of $49,874. They have easily doubled their cost price.

Not to mention Wall Street giants like BlackRock; if they started buying Bitcoin in advance while applying for a Bitcoin ETF, their costs would likely be controlled between $20,000 and $60,000, and no one knows how many chips they have accumulated in the process.

Perhaps for ordinary investors, the wisest choice is: hold onto Bitcoin, and have fewer fantasies of getting rich overnight. Use a large position to lay out Bitcoin, and only use a small portion of funds to "gamble." Do you really think you are smarter than Wall Street elites like BlackRock and MicroStrategy?

Finally, let me conclude with a story I saw on Twitter today:

"When Bitcoin was at $100,000, looking at the altcoin in your hand that was still down 30%, you mixed feelings as you retweeted the news of Bitcoin breaking $100,000. Your friends and family all liked your post, saying you must have made a fortune by entering early, and you replied through tears, 'Not much, just a small profit.'"

I hope this is not a reflection of most of us.