Why “Easy Money” in Crypto is Gone

The CIO of Sigil Fund has claimed that the “easy money” era in crypto has ended, noting that the market has become significantly more competitive and challenging. 

This shift has profound implications for retail investors. They now face a market increasingly dominated by sophisticated players and structural challenges.

Easy Money in Crypto is Over, Warns Sigil Fund CIO

In the latest X post, Fiskantes noted that the most lucrative phase of cryptocurrency investment started in 2014. Nevertheless, he added that it is over now. While cryptocurrency remains a highly active space, he suggested that other markets now provide similar risk-to-reward opportunities.

“And all the games that made crypto are being eaten by players who know what they are doing,” he wrote.

The executive outlined three primary reasons for this change. Firstly, he pointed out the decreased retail participation in private and public arbitrage opportunities. 

For context, arbitrage refers to exploiting price differences for the same asset or product in different markets or exchanges. However, these opportunities are closing more quickly, making them less appealing and accessible to individual investors.

As a result, many retail investors turned to more speculative activities, such as trading meme coins or investing in low-cap tokens. 

“So they jumped into the “trenches” which in turn got botted, cabaled, rugged and MEVed to death,” Fiskantes remarked.

Notably, meme coin rug pulls, and scams have escalated recently. From the LIBRA token controversy to social media accounts being hacked to promote fake meme coins, these incidents have resulted in significant investor losses.

Another concern the CIO raised is venture capitalists’ overinvestment in crypto infrastructure. This has led to an “overhang”—an excess supply of tokens that can depress the price. He suggested that this supply glut will take years to resolve, further dampening the prospects of investors seeking short-term gains.

Fiskantes also revealed that identifying truly innovative products has become increasingly difficult as the market becomes more competitive. The pace at which new trends are capitalized on is accelerating, with everyone now scrambling to stay ahead of the next big narrative. 

Therefore, this environment has made it harder to gain a first-mover advantage. Those who can anticipate emerging trends quickly seize opportunities.

“In the long run, the market is sufficiently efficient in taking money from those who want to get rich fast and giving it to those who have systems and tools to exploit them,” he added.

Thus, the window of opportunity for getting in early on groundbreaking innovations is shrinking, and staying ahead requires an increasingly proactive and diligent approach. Along with this, the CIO believes that succeeding in the space now requires far more than just early adoption.

“But to really make a splash instead of just earning a few k here and there its not enough to just be early anymore…now you need to be diligent, hard working and smarter than others,” Fiskantes concluded.