The Temptation of Wealth from Sentiment Assets

The performance of Trump Coin in early 2025 was nothing short of crazy—rising from $0.18 to $77 in just two days, a gain of over 400 times. The underlying logic of such assets is actually very simple: driven by sentiment and consensus. A meme, a trending joke, or a tweet from a celebrity can trigger a market explosion. Looking back at 2021, Dogecoin surged over 7,000% just because of a tweet from Elon Musk.

The reason why "土狗币" (local dog coins) can attract so many people is straightforward—low barrier to entry and quick profits. Early investors indeed had the chance to earn hundreds of times their investment in just a few days. But this also means that 99% of projects will eventually go to zero, with rapid pump and dump cycles making price swings dizzying.

If you really want to play this game, you need a screening standard. The contract address should have at least 3 tokens; the project must have an official website and social media presence; the white paper should be public, and the code open-source and continuously updated; Dextool score should be above 95; a liquidity pool of at least 400,000 USDT is a relatively safe baseline. Most importantly, execution capability—timely cash-out, quick capital recovery, avoid all-in bets, treat it like a lottery, and maintain a stable mindset to prevent collapse.

Ethereum: Long-term value through technological accumulation

Turning to Ethereum, the rhythm is completely different. As of January 2026, Ethereum is around $3,115, with a 24-hour decline of 0.46%, but the four-hour chart still maintains a short-term upward structure. The price is firmly above the Ichimoku cloud, which acts as support. More noteworthy is the shift in institutional attitude—Morgan Stanley has submitted an application for Ethereum trust approval, and Bitmine is also seeking to increase holdings through acquisitions.

From a technical perspective, the daily price is below major moving averages, with dense resistance overhead. If the closing price breaks through $3,350 with volume support, the trend could revive, targeting $3,600; if it cannot hold above $3,000, it might fall back to $2,800.

The December 2025 Fusaka upgrade introduced PeerDAS, directly reducing fees and alleviating network congestion—solid infrastructure improvements. Looking ahead, 2026 is expected to see larger fluctuations—January’s range is between $3,562 and $4,127, potentially reaching between $5,364 and $6,264 by December.

The real potential lies in 2030. With the large-scale adoption of DeFi and Web3, institutional funds will continue to flow in, and Ethereum’s price could reach $26,536. This is not a baseless guess but a logical projection based on ecosystem development.

How to choose? Dog coins are sentiment bets, quick money relying on luck; Ethereum is an asset allocation, slow money earned over time. Those with high risk appetite can try small amounts of dog coins for surprises, but core holdings should be assets like Ethereum with solid fundamentals—this is the right way to navigate cycles.