The digital asset market is undergoing a significant transformation period, which is expected to eliminate the vast majority of individual investors. This is not alarmism, but an inevitable trend in the development of the market.

Like any emerging industry, the digital asset market has gone through several stages from infancy to maturity. The real boom period can be traced back to the bull market of 2017. Prior to that, there were very few participants, and the market size was relatively small. At that time, the major trading platforms had not yet been established, and early trading data could only be viewed on a few foreign exchanges.

2017 marked the beginning of a massive entry of ordinary investors into the market. Notably, various high-risk, high-reward investment models played an important role during this period, attracting a large number of investors. This phase was characterized by the ability of newcomers, even those with very little knowledge of the industry, to profit from the rising tide of the market.

At that time, there were only about 100 types of tokens circulating in the market. In contrast, that number has now ballooned to millions. During that period, almost all tokens experienced tenfold or even twentyfold increases. Some outstanding projects even achieved a hundredfold growth, such as EOS. Even more astonishing were projects like NEO (formerly known as AntShares), which reached a maximum increase of a thousandfold.

Entering 2021, the digital asset market has entered a development phase. Developers began exploring more possibilities on mainstream public chains like Ethereum. However, as the market matures, the difficulty of investment has also increased. Now, it is challenging to achieve considerable returns just by chasing hot trends; investors need to possess more specialized knowledge and sharper insights.

This transition signifies that the digital asset market is moving from the early phase of 'everyone can make money' to a more complex and specialized stage. In this new phase, only those investors who truly understand the technology and have unique insights can stand out in the fierce competition.

For ordinary investors, this is undoubtedly a severe challenge. However, it is also a necessary path for the market to mature. In the future, we may see more participation from institutional investors and a more regulated market environment.

Although the elimination rate may be high, this does not mean that individual investors have no opportunities at all. On the contrary, this stage is precisely the best time for learning and growth. Investors who are willing to invest time and effort, continuously learn and adapt to market changes, still have the chance to find their place in this challenging and opportunity-filled market.