While traditional finance has taken over a century to evolve, the crypto space has made that journey in just over a decade.

Things move quickly here, and the falls can be brutal, so the backbone of an industry is found in those who weather the cycles and still stick around.

I just checked out the Binance Square's (Blockchain 100 People) sessions. Honestly, I highly recommend everyone to take a look.

The episodes planned by Brother Ying and the Binance Square crew are indeed treasure troves of info.

Most of the guests are industry OGs since there aren't many veterans willing to step up and speak publicly, and that number will only decrease moving forward.

I made some notes for your reference. The key takeaways are my own insights; for the specifics on what the guests said, you can check out the original program at the Square.

1. How to judge bull and bear markets, and at which stage we are in the cycle right now?

The first guest, Cowen, advised retail investors not to ask if it's a bull or bear market. Just look at how far Bitcoin is from the last round's peak.

When prices are near the peak and everyone around you is posting their trades, that's a high-risk zone; reduce positions in batches and keep cash on hand;

When the market drops and nobody's paying attention, and the group is silent, that's a low-risk area; that's when you start accumulating in batches.

Also, each round of gains is getting smaller; as the market cap grows, you can't manage this round's positions with the wealth expectations from the last round.

Bao Er Ye typically uses his gut feeling to observe cycles; when people who never touch crypto start asking how to buy, it’s not far from the peak;

When everyone is cursing and no one is mentioning it anymore, that's when you should reconsider.

2. What are institutions and VCs really thinking, and where's the gap in retail investors' understanding?

Retail investors think VCs are in it for the long haul with them, but the truth is VCs have different stakes, costs, and exit timelines that aren't on the same level as yours.

Wan Hui's talk this time was really in-depth. She discussed what VCs truly look like and where the structural mismatches in DeFi are. The most valuable takeaway for retail investors is that the new projects you chase in the secondary market might have already been snagged at a low price by VCs in the primary market, so retail is often receiving other people's exit positions.

So, if you see VCs on stage, there’s no need to get excited; first, check their costs and unlock times to figure out if you're the one lifting their bags.

Another assessment she made is that after all these years, the only truly functional application is stablecoins.

Yi Lihua mentioned how institutions bet in uncertainty at the table. The takeaway for retail is that professional players try not to bet on a single outcome; they diversify and control single losses, rather than going all in on a direction.

3. When are regular folks most likely to lose, and how can they overcome this human tendency?

Retail investors lose money not because they misread the market, but because they can’t control themselves. Chasing highs, panic selling, and over-leveraging are much more likely to lead to losses.

Sun Yuchen and Cowen represent two sides of human nature. Sun Yuchen demonstrates how to leverage others' psychology, turning a $4.567888 million lunch into global exposure worth over a billion; attention itself is his asset. Cowen shows how to combat one's own nature by using data to control emotions first.

No worries about the jokes,

When I first entered the crypto space, I had a thought,

I want to bring these old OGs out to have a good discussion about their observations during this cycle.

The Blockchain 100 at Binance Square is doing exactly what I want to do.

If anyone has guests they think are worth chatting with,

You can also leave a message over at Ying Ge's place @yingbinance,

I'll try to invite anyone I can get in touch with.

After all, the queen said that Binance is now focused on what the community wants, and the community gets it.

@cz_binance @heyibinance