Today I came across a new app featuring the movie "Lychee of Chang'an" and couldn't help but reflect on the recent trends in the crypto space, so I casually wrote a short essay: Yang Guifei's Lychee, the New Coins for Retail Investors In the Tang Dynasty, in Chang'an, Yang Guifei loved to eat lychees. The journey from Lingnan to Chang'an spanned thousands of miles, with horses galloping and whips cracking, all to ensure that the Guifei could peel open a fresh, sweet fruit in front of the palace. The common people watched with heartache: how many horses died along the way, how much labor was exploited, all just to earn a smile from the beauty. Fast forward to today, the scene is almost identical, only the lychee has been replaced with "new coins." Retail investors in the crypto space, for the sake of so-called "hundredfold potential," stay up late in Telegram groups, scrambling for whitelists and waiting for airdrops, just like the couriers of old, desperately running to deliver the "fruit" to the project team's mouths. ⸻ 1. The Illusion of Scarcity Lychees traveling from Lingnan to Chang'an spoil quickly if delayed, making them precious. New coins are similar; once they launch, the first few minutes seem exorbitant, and missing out feels like "missing wealth." In reality, lychees are everywhere in Lingnan, and new coins can be issued anytime on the blockchain—scarcity is merely an illusion; what is scarce is the opportunity to taste fresh fruit. 2. Power and Desire Lychees are delivered for the Guifei, with no relation to the common people of Chang'an; new coins are issued by the project team, and they were never meant to make retail investors rich. Power and capital are always held by a few, while the majority merely watch the spectacle or get harvested. 3. The Huge Cost The urgent journey of lychees over thousands of miles drained the people's resources; the wild fluctuations in the crypto market exhaust the savings and energy of retail investors. The ultimate cost is always borne by the lower class. In the Tang Dynasty, the common people paid taxes and labor; today’s "common people" pay with their principal and confidence. 4. The Brief Delight Lychees enter the palace, and the Guifei consumes two out of three, and the momentary joy is over; new coins launch, and within minutes they skyrocket and plummet, with retail investors becoming the bag holders. The delight is fleeting, while decay and being trapped become the norm. ⸻ The Lychee of Chang'an and the New Coins in the Crypto Space, watching a game that has lasted a thousand years ...