After the flash crashes of $ZKJ and $KOGE, Binance Alpha saw a significant decline in activity. According to Dune data, the number of alpha traders plummeted from a high of 233,000 on June 12 to 195,000 on June 15, a significant drop of nearly 40,000 in just three days. As of today, the number of users who actually transact on the platform has further shrunk to 70,000, showing a cliff-like decline in user enthusiasm and willingness to participate. At the same time, the marginal cost of scoring has risen significantly, and the price/performance of alpha games is rapidly deteriorating.
At the same time, some of Binance Alpha's recent online projects have shown signs of "pouring when they go online".
BlockBeats calculates the profit of VELO, the new Binance Alpha points claim project, and under normal circumstances ($1,000 principal), the current Alpha user income is in a slightly profitable state. Alpha tokens can be traded between tokens for $4 per day, $224 for 30-day expected returns, $120 for 30-day expected costs, $104 for 30-day expected profits, and $3.5 per day.
!
Starting from 00:00 on June 17, 2025 (UTC), Binance Alpha will officially enable the new rules, and the trading volume between Alpha tokens will no longer be counted in the calculation of Alpha Points. This means that strategies that once relied on arbitrage such as ZKJ/KOGE will no longer be effective, and users will face a higher threshold for earning points and a more complex liquidity structure.
It is foreseeable that, affected by the sharp decline of $ZKJ, the incentive model of Binance Alpha is entering a period of adjustment. The direct consequence of this mechanism replacement is that a large number of users who were originally active in the Alpha ecosystem are choosing to exit. Some have incurred losses while leaving the $ZKJ/$KOGE dual currency pool, while others have found that the marginal returns from score manipulation have fallen below trading costs and are no longer willing to invest effort.
In this exclusive interview, BlockBeats interviews a number of alpha users, ranging from LP providers who suffered actual losses in this round of crashes, to ordinary participants who have tried to "brush up on arbitrage" but did not make as much as expected. Some of them have already decided to quit alpha altogether, while others are still hesitant to continue looking for new opportunities. In their narration, we were able to restore the real emotions and thoughts behind this "cliff-like resignation wave".
Those Who Have Given Up
"The upfront income is really high, and the handling fee is low, especially when I eat Adventure Island. In late May, the number of accounts was added to 20 one after another, and because of the frequent faces, I handed over the account owner's account to them to take care of by themselves, and the actual transaction volume of $16,000 was maintained every day."
However, as the number of participants increased and competition intensified, Jiang Jiu stated that he had already sensed something was off in mid-June: "On the 14th, I noticed something was not right. That day, a few accounts incurred massive losses, totaling 160U, which was too unusual. However, due to my distress over how to change strategies, I ignored the risks that were about to come or that I was unwilling to acknowledge, and I was still overly optimistic."
What's even more regrettable is that during the ZKJ crash, a friend of Jiangjiu mistook it for urging because of his sentence "Is it finished", and hastily increased ZKJ's position, and finally lost as much as 60%. Jiang Jiu recalled that at that time, he originally wanted to wait for his friend's reply before reminding him not to continue brushing and wait and see the situation first, but the other party misunderstood his intentions and immediately closed the transaction. After buying, I found that I couldn't sell it smoothly, so I asked Jiangjiu for help. And Jiang Jiu didn't have time to explain in detail how to get out quickly at a low price, and in the end, his friend could only watch the price fall. In this regard, he said frankly that the core of this loss is not luck, but the cost of information research and communication.
!
When asked whether he had contacted the project party, Jiang Jiu stated that he had not tried to seek feedback, "This kind of thing is too common in the crypto circle. Unless the trading platform is willing to take the lead, retail investors will just lose money, and there is no place to reason about it. One still has to remain cautious."
He also added that since the loss of low-fee trading pools such as ZKJ and KOGE, the loss of points has increased significantly, and the rewards for each period have dropped to about 50-60U, but the score threshold is getting higher and higher, and he is on the verge of giving up, "but I still want to struggle to see the income of the next few periods, and I can only give up if I am not satisfied."
Unlike Jiangjiu, Mosquito Coils operates four accounts, with a total profit of about 5,000U before the crash. The day before the crash, he discovered the abnormal fluctuation of ZKJ, but because the price of the currency rebounded at that time, it only increased his luck psychology.
"The day before, I noticed that ZKJ fluctuated. I held on for an hour and saw it bounce back, making a profit of 5U. When the market crashed that day, I noticed the spikes were significant, thinking it would be the same as the day before."
This kind of lucky mentality led to the incense coil being trapped at 30U on the first account, yet still using the second account to continue entering the market. "I thought it would be the same as the previous day, inserting pins normally, so I didn't touch this account and continued to do tasks with the second account for 1800U. As a result, the second account also started to plummet."
In the end, Mosquito Coils decided to cut the meat and leave the market when the currency price fell to 0.8, with a total loss of more than 2,000U, "I still don't pay enough attention to the risk, we should observe the size of the pool more, and the pool did withdraw in large quantities that day."
!
Mosquito Coils believes that the Alpha project is nearing its end, "The input and output are not proportional, and if they are caught a few times, they will play in vain, and today all the numbers have received the subsistence allowance and withdrawn."
Not just mosquito coils, in an interview with BlockBeats, several interviewees mentioned that the input-output ratio of Binance Alpha has declined, and many no longer choose the multiple account strategy.
The bonus window for Alpha may be closing.
Under the sunk cost, the score farming continues
Jie Ge is a builder of the BSC ecosystem community, and has been involved in Alpha activities since the very beginning with Shell's new launches. As an information disseminator within the community, he also could not avoid this systemic risk.
"I felt at that time that when 'stablecoins' are no longer stable, there will be a lot of price fluctuations. In fact, I could already sense the gray rhino approaching. However, due to the management work of the accounts and the time spent on trading, it filled my personal life, which led to not being able to control it in time," said Brother Jie.
During the crash, Brother Jie stopped the loss as soon as possible and notified the members of the group, but he still faced a large loss. He believes that this loss cannot be attributed entirely to luck: "I can only say that I need to pay tuition to the market again. There are still many ways to avoid this. It's just that I just caught up with this time when I was brushing a large amount, and two numbers were brushing at the same time, so I couldn't avoid the situation of being cut in half on the spot."
This experience made Jie Ge reflect on his risk control strategy, especially the importance of on-chain monitoring tools, and he felt that he needed to introduce some on-chain monitoring tools in the future.
Nevertheless, Brother Jie stated that he would continue to participate in Alpha, "If there are profits, it's worth continuing to work hard. Of course, I also look forward to more innovative and fair launch models from Alpha."
"Initial strategy: 33 trades at the 60,000 level, then 66 trades at the 130,000 level. The returns have not been calculated in detail yet," Siner introduced. This high-frequency, high-value trading strategy can bring considerable returns during stable market periods, but it also exposes greater operational risks.
His main losses did not come from market fluctuations, but from human error: "The majority of losses are due to mistakes made by myself; the first one was forgetting to sell Koge on the 16th, then deciding to aggressively place an order at 130,000, which was a bit too aggressive. The account I forgot to sell has now dropped from 1000u to 400u."
Large-scale account operations also pose efficiency challenges. "I usually brush the whole part in 1-2 hours, but the workload of 170,000 gears is too large, resulting in four or five days of continuous brushing, and there is a situation of empty brushing."
Unlike users who are leaving the market, Siner remains confident about the future of Alpha. When asked whether he would continue to engage with alpha, Siner said, "I must continue; I just found a no-loss method." This means he will continue to seek speculative opportunities within the Alpha ecosystem, even after the rules have been adjusted.
For Tian Ge, who did not incur losses in the ZKJ crash, exiting Alpha means that the sunk costs from the initial investment cannot be recovered. "There was already a sunk cost of two hundred percent in the early stages, and if I give up, it would be equivalent to losing everything. Moreover, if a good project comes to Alpha later, I could recover my investment in one go."
Brother Tian summarized the mindset of participating in the Alpha project like this - "Brushing points and harvesting wool, all are garbage projects, don't get emotionally involved."
Conclusion
Jiang Jiu admits that the income from Alpha brushing can no longer cover the operating costs, "Now the reward is only fifty or sixty U, the score threshold is high, and the transaction slippage is getting bigger and bigger, and you may only earn three or four yuan a day." The ZKJ/KOGE crash took away not only the principal, but also a low-cost arbitrage path. Once the Alpha project removes the rule that the trading volume between token pairs is counted in points, users will face higher transaction wear and tear and a more complex points game structure.
Binance Alpha was once regarded as an innovative mechanism to revitalize on-chain activity and user participation, but the current points model clearly overestimates the effectiveness of trading volume and LP's long-term incentives while underestimating the risks of structural runs.
With the implementation of Binance's new regulations, Alpha is gradually shifting from a score-based arbitrage tool to an incentive mechanism that emphasizes real interaction and value capture. This means that point acquisition will no longer solely focus on trading volume or LP quotas, but will lean more towards dimensions such as holding duration, interaction depth, and real demand.
However, for many users who rely on low-cost score刷分 strategies, this shift forces them to reevaluate the significance of participation. If future Alpha wants to restart the growth engine, it must find a new balance between fair distribution and risk control mechanisms.
For users still exploring the Alpha ecosystem, it is advisable to enhance risk management awareness, focusing on indicators such as pool structure, token fundamentals, and LP concentration, to avoid becoming a bag holder during the next systemic risk exposure. After all, in this ever-evolving Web3 world, arbitrage opportunities are always present, but the costs of stepping on landmines have never diminished.
The content is for reference only, not a solicitation or offer. No investment, tax, or legal advice provided. See Disclaimer for more risks disclosure.
100,000 people left, those who lost money in Binance Alpha.
Written by: shushu
After the flash crashes of $ZKJ and $KOGE, Binance Alpha saw a significant decline in activity. According to Dune data, the number of alpha traders plummeted from a high of 233,000 on June 12 to 195,000 on June 15, a significant drop of nearly 40,000 in just three days. As of today, the number of users who actually transact on the platform has further shrunk to 70,000, showing a cliff-like decline in user enthusiasm and willingness to participate. At the same time, the marginal cost of scoring has risen significantly, and the price/performance of alpha games is rapidly deteriorating.
At the same time, some of Binance Alpha's recent online projects have shown signs of "pouring when they go online".
BlockBeats calculates the profit of VELO, the new Binance Alpha points claim project, and under normal circumstances ($1,000 principal), the current Alpha user income is in a slightly profitable state. Alpha tokens can be traded between tokens for $4 per day, $224 for 30-day expected returns, $120 for 30-day expected costs, $104 for 30-day expected profits, and $3.5 per day.
!
Starting from 00:00 on June 17, 2025 (UTC), Binance Alpha will officially enable the new rules, and the trading volume between Alpha tokens will no longer be counted in the calculation of Alpha Points. This means that strategies that once relied on arbitrage such as ZKJ/KOGE will no longer be effective, and users will face a higher threshold for earning points and a more complex liquidity structure.
It is foreseeable that, affected by the sharp decline of $ZKJ, the incentive model of Binance Alpha is entering a period of adjustment. The direct consequence of this mechanism replacement is that a large number of users who were originally active in the Alpha ecosystem are choosing to exit. Some have incurred losses while leaving the $ZKJ/$KOGE dual currency pool, while others have found that the marginal returns from score manipulation have fallen below trading costs and are no longer willing to invest effort.
In this exclusive interview, BlockBeats interviews a number of alpha users, ranging from LP providers who suffered actual losses in this round of crashes, to ordinary participants who have tried to "brush up on arbitrage" but did not make as much as expected. Some of them have already decided to quit alpha altogether, while others are still hesitant to continue looking for new opportunities. In their narration, we were able to restore the real emotions and thoughts behind this "cliff-like resignation wave".
Those Who Have Given Up
"The upfront income is really high, and the handling fee is low, especially when I eat Adventure Island. In late May, the number of accounts was added to 20 one after another, and because of the frequent faces, I handed over the account owner's account to them to take care of by themselves, and the actual transaction volume of $16,000 was maintained every day."
However, as the number of participants increased and competition intensified, Jiang Jiu stated that he had already sensed something was off in mid-June: "On the 14th, I noticed something was not right. That day, a few accounts incurred massive losses, totaling 160U, which was too unusual. However, due to my distress over how to change strategies, I ignored the risks that were about to come or that I was unwilling to acknowledge, and I was still overly optimistic."
What's even more regrettable is that during the ZKJ crash, a friend of Jiangjiu mistook it for urging because of his sentence "Is it finished", and hastily increased ZKJ's position, and finally lost as much as 60%. Jiang Jiu recalled that at that time, he originally wanted to wait for his friend's reply before reminding him not to continue brushing and wait and see the situation first, but the other party misunderstood his intentions and immediately closed the transaction. After buying, I found that I couldn't sell it smoothly, so I asked Jiangjiu for help. And Jiang Jiu didn't have time to explain in detail how to get out quickly at a low price, and in the end, his friend could only watch the price fall. In this regard, he said frankly that the core of this loss is not luck, but the cost of information research and communication.
!
When asked whether he had contacted the project party, Jiang Jiu stated that he had not tried to seek feedback, "This kind of thing is too common in the crypto circle. Unless the trading platform is willing to take the lead, retail investors will just lose money, and there is no place to reason about it. One still has to remain cautious."
He also added that since the loss of low-fee trading pools such as ZKJ and KOGE, the loss of points has increased significantly, and the rewards for each period have dropped to about 50-60U, but the score threshold is getting higher and higher, and he is on the verge of giving up, "but I still want to struggle to see the income of the next few periods, and I can only give up if I am not satisfied."
Unlike Jiangjiu, Mosquito Coils operates four accounts, with a total profit of about 5,000U before the crash. The day before the crash, he discovered the abnormal fluctuation of ZKJ, but because the price of the currency rebounded at that time, it only increased his luck psychology.
"The day before, I noticed that ZKJ fluctuated. I held on for an hour and saw it bounce back, making a profit of 5U. When the market crashed that day, I noticed the spikes were significant, thinking it would be the same as the day before."
This kind of lucky mentality led to the incense coil being trapped at 30U on the first account, yet still using the second account to continue entering the market. "I thought it would be the same as the previous day, inserting pins normally, so I didn't touch this account and continued to do tasks with the second account for 1800U. As a result, the second account also started to plummet."
In the end, Mosquito Coils decided to cut the meat and leave the market when the currency price fell to 0.8, with a total loss of more than 2,000U, "I still don't pay enough attention to the risk, we should observe the size of the pool more, and the pool did withdraw in large quantities that day."
!
Mosquito Coils believes that the Alpha project is nearing its end, "The input and output are not proportional, and if they are caught a few times, they will play in vain, and today all the numbers have received the subsistence allowance and withdrawn."
Not just mosquito coils, in an interview with BlockBeats, several interviewees mentioned that the input-output ratio of Binance Alpha has declined, and many no longer choose the multiple account strategy.
The bonus window for Alpha may be closing.
Under the sunk cost, the score farming continues
Jie Ge is a builder of the BSC ecosystem community, and has been involved in Alpha activities since the very beginning with Shell's new launches. As an information disseminator within the community, he also could not avoid this systemic risk.
"I felt at that time that when 'stablecoins' are no longer stable, there will be a lot of price fluctuations. In fact, I could already sense the gray rhino approaching. However, due to the management work of the accounts and the time spent on trading, it filled my personal life, which led to not being able to control it in time," said Brother Jie.
During the crash, Brother Jie stopped the loss as soon as possible and notified the members of the group, but he still faced a large loss. He believes that this loss cannot be attributed entirely to luck: "I can only say that I need to pay tuition to the market again. There are still many ways to avoid this. It's just that I just caught up with this time when I was brushing a large amount, and two numbers were brushing at the same time, so I couldn't avoid the situation of being cut in half on the spot."
This experience made Jie Ge reflect on his risk control strategy, especially the importance of on-chain monitoring tools, and he felt that he needed to introduce some on-chain monitoring tools in the future.
Nevertheless, Brother Jie stated that he would continue to participate in Alpha, "If there are profits, it's worth continuing to work hard. Of course, I also look forward to more innovative and fair launch models from Alpha."
"Initial strategy: 33 trades at the 60,000 level, then 66 trades at the 130,000 level. The returns have not been calculated in detail yet," Siner introduced. This high-frequency, high-value trading strategy can bring considerable returns during stable market periods, but it also exposes greater operational risks.
His main losses did not come from market fluctuations, but from human error: "The majority of losses are due to mistakes made by myself; the first one was forgetting to sell Koge on the 16th, then deciding to aggressively place an order at 130,000, which was a bit too aggressive. The account I forgot to sell has now dropped from 1000u to 400u."
Large-scale account operations also pose efficiency challenges. "I usually brush the whole part in 1-2 hours, but the workload of 170,000 gears is too large, resulting in four or five days of continuous brushing, and there is a situation of empty brushing."
Unlike users who are leaving the market, Siner remains confident about the future of Alpha. When asked whether he would continue to engage with alpha, Siner said, "I must continue; I just found a no-loss method." This means he will continue to seek speculative opportunities within the Alpha ecosystem, even after the rules have been adjusted.
For Tian Ge, who did not incur losses in the ZKJ crash, exiting Alpha means that the sunk costs from the initial investment cannot be recovered. "There was already a sunk cost of two hundred percent in the early stages, and if I give up, it would be equivalent to losing everything. Moreover, if a good project comes to Alpha later, I could recover my investment in one go."
Brother Tian summarized the mindset of participating in the Alpha project like this - "Brushing points and harvesting wool, all are garbage projects, don't get emotionally involved."
Conclusion
Jiang Jiu admits that the income from Alpha brushing can no longer cover the operating costs, "Now the reward is only fifty or sixty U, the score threshold is high, and the transaction slippage is getting bigger and bigger, and you may only earn three or four yuan a day." The ZKJ/KOGE crash took away not only the principal, but also a low-cost arbitrage path. Once the Alpha project removes the rule that the trading volume between token pairs is counted in points, users will face higher transaction wear and tear and a more complex points game structure.
Binance Alpha was once regarded as an innovative mechanism to revitalize on-chain activity and user participation, but the current points model clearly overestimates the effectiveness of trading volume and LP's long-term incentives while underestimating the risks of structural runs.
With the implementation of Binance's new regulations, Alpha is gradually shifting from a score-based arbitrage tool to an incentive mechanism that emphasizes real interaction and value capture. This means that point acquisition will no longer solely focus on trading volume or LP quotas, but will lean more towards dimensions such as holding duration, interaction depth, and real demand.
However, for many users who rely on low-cost score刷分 strategies, this shift forces them to reevaluate the significance of participation. If future Alpha wants to restart the growth engine, it must find a new balance between fair distribution and risk control mechanisms.
For users still exploring the Alpha ecosystem, it is advisable to enhance risk management awareness, focusing on indicators such as pool structure, token fundamentals, and LP concentration, to avoid becoming a bag holder during the next systemic risk exposure. After all, in this ever-evolving Web3 world, arbitrage opportunities are always present, but the costs of stepping on landmines have never diminished.