National Day Holiday Crypto Bloodbath: What Did the Meme Coin Roller Coaster Reveal?

National Day Holiday: Stock Investors Crowd Tourist Spots, Crypto Players Ride a Wealth Rollercoaster

During the A-share market break, the crypto world practically exploded.

A few unheard-of meme coins—Meme4, PALU, and one called “Life”—saw their market caps multiply dozens of times in just a few days. The Chinese-speaking crypto community was in a frenzy, with some posting screenshots of million-dollar profits, and the comments were full of envy and shouts to “ape in.”

And then? That was it.

Starting October 9, these coins dropped like kites with broken strings, in freefall. Some dropped 95% in a single day, over 100,000 people were liquidated, totaling $621 million. The myth of getting rich overnight instantly turned into a chorus of “I’ve been wrecked again” laments.

Sound familiar?

Remember the 2021 GameStop madness? Reddit retail investors pumped a near-bankrupt game store’s stock to the moon, leaving short-sellers in disbelief. The US SEC chairman called it a “milestone in behavioral finance”—as long as the trading is real and information is transparent, even the most absurd prices are “part of the market.”

Americans have a curious approach: bubbles? Let them happen, they drive new innovations.

If this happened on NASDAQ, Wall Street would have already launched a “Meme Stock ETF,” packaging social hype into financial products; The Wall Street Journal would write a 10,000-word feature praising “retail capitalism”; the SEC might study “social media manipulation,” but would likely conclude: this isn’t fraud, it’s collective mood swings in the algorithm era.

If the same thing happened in A-shares? Regulators would quickly issue risk warnings, media would call for rational investing, and the whole thing would be labeled “speculative anomaly,” ultimately serving as a cautionary tale in investor education.

The underlying logic of the Chinese market is ‘seeking progress while maintaining stability’—excitement is fine, but order must not be disrupted.

But the crypto world belongs to no one

The problem is, meme coins live in a no man’s land.

They’re not under the SEC, nor the China Securities Regulatory Commission. This is a gray experimental zone organized by code, liquidity, and narrative. The American social speculation mechanism (( viral information + collective momentum )) and the Chinese grassroots wealth psychology (( community resonance + participation )) magically converge here.

Exchanges are no longer neutral platforms but “narrative machines”; KOLs aren’t bystanders—they’re price amplifiers; retail investors hype themselves up (and burn out) in cycles of algorithm and consensus.

The most surreal thing: prices are no longer determined by cash flow, but by the speed of narrative spread and the density of consensus.

We’re witnessing the birth of a new species—“emotional capital.” No financial statements, only cultural symbols; no company fundamentals, just consensus curves; no pursuit of rational returns, only chasing emotional peaks.

The data doesn’t lie

Look at the numbers: In the first nine months of 2025, 90% of top meme coins crashed in value; in Q2, 65% of new tokens dropped over 90% within six months.

It’s like a digital gold rush—most prospectors lose everything, only the shovel sellers always win.

When money starts telling stories, the entire logic of finance is rewritten.

In traditional markets, price reflects value; in crypto markets, price creates value. This is the ultimate expression of decentralization, but could also be the dangerous edge of shifting responsibility. When narrative replaces cash flow and emotions become assets, we all become guinea pigs in this experiment.

So, what’s the way out?

Web3 now stands at a crossroads. Should it continue indulging in the short-term thrill of “emotional capitalism,” or shift to building a “value-driven ecosystem” for the long haul?

Possible solutions include:

• More transparent community governance mechanisms
• A moderate regulatory framework (( that neither stifles innovation nor allows unchecked speculation ))
• Systematic investor education

Only then can decentralized technology truly drive financial fairness, instead of becoming a playground for a select few to harvest the many.

One final piece of advice

Next time you see a KOL hyping a “100x coin,” ask yourself: Am I participating in financial innovation, or just paying for someone else’s financial freedom?

When money learns to tell stories, what you need most isn’t FOMO (( fear of missing out )), but the ability to think calmly. After all, who the scythe swings toward often depends on who loses their head first.