Exchange and VC coin contradiction: industry pricing mechanism and value discovery function failure.

Author: Haotian; Source: X, @tmel0211

Finally, a project team has risen up!

Zerebro co-founder @omedia_jyu revealed some grievances between the listing on exchanges and market makers: @binance wants $1 million in cash; @krakenfx wants $100,000 to $200,000 plus tokens; @Bybit_Official wants $250,000 plus tokens; @wintermute_t directly asked for 10% of the supply.

These numbers are unusual, and to me, they resemble a heavy bomb being dropped into the crypto industry, brutally exposing the truth behind the so-called 'listing is the peak' in the coin circle.

Of course, Zerebro itself is not a white lotus project either. Jeffy had the “fake death” drama, and to be honest, I, as a retail investor, have also lost 20,000 U in the process.

However, I still feel that I should support him for speaking out this time:

Because he has torn the paper window that the VC project parties, exchanges, and market makers have long kept tacitly understood.

Why is it only erupting now? Everyone is well aware of the listing rules of this exchange and the operational tactics of some market makers, which only evolve in various “forms”. Why is it precisely now?

Because the 1011 black swan event can be regarded as a “subprime mortgage crisis” in the crypto space dominated by exchanges, and the once-zeroed coin prices have exposed a cruel reality: the liquidity of many altcoins has long since dried up.

So, essentially this is the critical point where the era of VC coins has died, along with the collapse of some altcoin projects.

Moreover, this time the exchange got carried away and experienced a backlash of emotions after reaching a peak in life, giving various VC token projects an opportunity to rise up and shout.

In fact, it's not surprising that when VC coins are launched with valuations in the tens of billions but lack corresponding liquidity and user uptake, every link in the profit chain—project parties, exchanges, and market makers—is squeezing each other.

Exchanges need to maintain the proud image of the “Chosen One”, market makers want to obtain excess profits, VCs want to exit and realize returns, and ultimately all costs are passed on to retail investors.

As the intermediary, the project side must bear the pressure from VCs (high valuations, rapid listings), pay exorbitant fees to exchanges and market makers, and face skepticism from retail investors and plummeting coin prices after going live.

Under this pressure of multiple contradictions, someone finally couldn't take it anymore.

So, what is the deeper issue?

It's actually very simple. It's not a question of whether the listing fee is expensive or not. If the market is healthy, VCs can afford the coins. It's not purely the high FDV that has hurt the hearts of many retail investors. Retail investors have been seeking survival amidst huge “token dumping” for several cycles.

The key issue is the failure of the pricing mechanism and value discovery function in the entire industry.

When listing coins is no longer based on project quality, user demand, or technological innovation, but rather on “how much money is given” and “how many coins are locked,” the entire market becomes a pure financial game.

Moreover, the exchange platforms are no longer content with “carefully selecting projects”; instead, they are building their own platforms and creating projects in bulk. Well, the exchange's inner thoughts are, since VC coins are using exchanges as an exit channel, why not just flip the table and stop playing with VC coins?

I think this is the truth behind the conflict between the exchange and VC coins.

The pessimistic thing is that I don't think this exposure will change anything this time? Because in the eyes of many, it's just a tragic play of dogs biting dogs, and there won't be any immediate changes.

But but but! At least it has broken the silence, and I believe that more and more projects on the side of justice can realize that they might be able to stand up and raise a voice against this “dirty game” and the “distorted rules of power”!