Expensive Lessons from the "Metaverse – NFT – Web3" Bubble in the Crypto Market

The crypto market is not short of fairy tales, but it is also full of “pie in the sky” schemes painted with glamorous colors to attract FOMO capital. The classic combo that has caused millions of investors to fall into traps is: Metaverse – NFT – Web3. Once, just attaching the label “metaverse,” “NFT,” or “Web3” was enough for a project to raise tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. People talked about virtual worlds, digital assets, decentralized ownership, the future of the Internet… but most of it remained at the presentation slide level and distant promises. When the market is still euphoric, “drool” is still wet, projects are alive. But when the cycle turns, liquidity dries up, bubbles burst, the truth reveals: most projects lack real products, real users, and do not generate sustainable cash flow. Metaverse & NFT – Paper Paradise Metaverse was once depicted as a parallel universe where people work, entertain, buy land, build houses, and run businesses… in a virtual world. NFTs were promoted as unique digital assets, both collectible and investable. But what is the reality? Actual user engagement is extremely low Game and virtual world experiences are shallow, lacking depth NFT value mainly relies on speculation Unable to create a sustainable economic ecosystem As a result, many projects “disappear” from the crypto map. Web3 – A Catchphrase That Sounds Good but Is Disappointing in Practice Web3 is promoted as the decentralized Internet, empowering users. But most projects are controlled by investment funds, token distribution is skewed, and teams and VCs hold most of the supply. On the surface, it talks about freedom, transparency, decentralization. But internally, it’s a model of token dumping, liquidity farming, and exit scams for teams. They loudly shout “pork belly,” but it’s all fat they eat. Historical Crashes The market does not lie. Price is the clearest answer to real value. APE – once an NFT icon, down over 99% FLOW – billion-dollar blockchain infrastructure, down over 99.8% RACA – once a famous metaverse, down over 99.8% BLOK – virtual world once heavily promoted, down nearly 99.98% Hundreds of other projects share the same fate: losing 100 times, 200 times, 500 times, even 1000 times their accounts. Lessons for Investors Crypto is not a place to get rich quickly for those lacking knowledge and discipline. The market always has cycles, and bubbles will burst eventually. Important lessons: Don’t believe the stories, look at the products Don’t trust KOLs, look at on-chain data Don’t trust roadmaps, look at real users Don’t FOMO on trends, understand the business model Ultimately, the market will bring everything back to its true value. Crypto is not evil. Blockchain is not a scam. But greed and naivety of new investors are fertile ground for “pie in the sky” schemes to thrive. Those who survive this cycle will have the strength to move forward in the next cycle.