The process of switching to a player at the liquidity exit.
I have been thoroughly reading the articles by my long-time favorite, Ponyo (@13300RPM), and Jay (@JayLovesPotato). I love Korea. Should we see Korea as a foolish liquidity exit or as a smart collaboration partner?
: : Will You See Korea as a Dumb Exit Liquidity Pool — or as a Smart Strategic Partner? Koreans are often described as “creative.” While many factors contribute to this perception, one trait stands out: a keen sensitivity to trends, coupled with a fast and active engagement with them. When a new wave emerges, Koreans don’t just observe — they dive in, reinterpreting it in unique ways and often producing outcomes that surprise even the originators. Crypto has been no exception. Although the underlying philosophy and technological trends began in the West, Korea rapidly absorbed and evolved them. As a result, Korea has consistently ranked among the top in global trading volume — regardless of market conditions. In some cases, like the rise of Terra (though it ultimately ended in failure), Korea even led the global narrative for a time. Of course, due to a lack of regulatory clarity, Korea’s crypto scene has long skewed toward speculation rather than serious investment or building. This environment created and sustained vast pools of liquidity, and over time, many global projects began to view Korea primarily as a source of “exit liquidity.” But let’s be clear — Koreans are far from dumb. We observe, we learn, and increasingly, we are co-architecting strategies that maximize mutual benefit. If you’re still counting on Korean retail to blindly buy into your token — the foolish one might actually be you. More importantly, Korea is laying the groundwork for transformation at a remarkable pace. The government is actively restructuring regulations in a more crypto-friendly direction, and we at @FourPillarsFP are receiving a growing number of consultation and collaboration requests from local institutions and policymakers. Seminars are becoming routine, and the national discourse has begun to shift — from caring speculation to meaningful innovation that can create real-world impact. Fueled by a high density of talent and a sharp rise in industry literacy, Korea is now moving into its next chapter — faster than ever before. Global projects that have sensed this early are already engaging deeply to build long-term synergy in Korea. Some are sourcing talent directly. Others are facilitating genuine collaboration through initiatives like developer sessions. These are not the same as short-sighted marketing pushes or empty meetups that burn through budgets and disappear without leaving trust or impact. So, who will be the real winner in the long run?
The messages sent by both of you at the same time explained the points of disappointment regarding the self-built aspects that were overshadowed by speculative perspectives in the Korean market, and you provided a viewpoint that can be sufficiently optimistic about a better future.
Clearly, South Korea secured a fast position in the last cycle. Many investors quickly grasped the narratives with each cycle, and while it didn't start in South Korea, there were many metas that South Korea led.
3 / In 2017, I participated in a multi-level ICO, and with ICON (ranked 30th by market cap), when the DeFi summer started in September 2020, it raised $500 million in liquidity in just one day from $KIMCHI finance, along with Klaytn, which was then ranked 6th by market cap, and the algorithmic stablecoin $LUNA.
4/ Unfortunately, many attempts ended in failure and crashes, but there were certainly meaningful attempts that existed.
5/ In light of these failures, there was an influx of laws aimed at preventing the repetition of such mistakes before creating better infrastructure and products, intending to protect users. However, I believe this ultimately led to hindering attempts at technological advancement.
6 / Conversely, if you think about it, the remaining projects that have disappeared from the top 100 market cap rankings, excluding Korean projects, were overseas projects. Countless rug pulls that we can't see are still happening globally.
7 / The problem is that for advanced crypto countries, the only action left to take in the face of the global big players defining the market frame is to predict their actions and invest accordingly. Additionally, the timing where success greatly depended on how well one researched and invested in early overseas projects is passing.
8 / It seems that these initial overseas project investment opportunities are gradually closing off to individuals. Early investment deals in stablecoins, payments, exchanges, etc., are no longer opened through ICOs and are now selectively available only to financial institutions and VCs in the form of private LP deals, CBs, etc.
@justinsuntron, who was thought to be following a late narrative every day, has ultimately succeeded in linking the Tron chain with the DeFi ecosystem, two CEX exchanges, and the issuance of stablecoins, while also establishing the Tron chain itself as a stable global remittance chain. This generates an annual revenue of 1-2 trillion.
10 / It seems that the MEV groups and transaction fees associated with transactions colluding with validators on chains based in specific countries like Solana and Base will be hard to intervene in the future.
11 / However, I honestly don't know if we should only view the current situation, where overseas projects are only coming to Korea, pessimistically.
12 / Currently, crypto-friendly policies are being gradually passed in response to global pressures, and I personally believe that investors in Korea are at a stage where they are maintaining their positions while learning about the larger market.
The biggest problem with the current situation feeling like it's being plundered is the late emergence of a killer app, which is far from quick investments and judgments.
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