I used to be an urban planner and designer. Some of my designs won awards like the IFLA-APR Outstanding Award, for neighborhood renewal projects in old districts, but most stayed just as plans on paper, due to things like low budgets or changing policies.
It hurt to see creations unappreciated and unrealized. It seemed like design and art were at the bottom of the economic value flow. Who cares about a small designer’s tears and frustrations?
Luckily, I got a chance to go back to school, and dive into a new field at biz schools, PKU and NUS - top2 in Asia, where I studied finance and economic management. Meanwhile, I landed a full-time gig in the crypto world.
As a CEX analyst, I learned how heavy the word ‘Listing’ can be—some celebrate, but most are left disappointed. I won’t deny the economic importance of ICOs and TGEs, but it seems not many artistic works reflect or think about this. Behind the price fluctuations of cryptocurrencies, many emotions and stories go unnoticed—this is our collective memory, our crypto history.
Sometimes, the designer in me clashes with my financial analyst side. Like with the SoP proposal—I almost gave up on participating in PILL, thinking it wasn’t worth mentioning, and that no one would care.
Among my friends in crypto and finance, many are obsessed with price changes, barely eating or sleeping as they chase the latest market trends and trade like crazy. They’ve made good money but are still not satisfied, feeling lost and alone deep inside. Sometimes, I think about gifting them a book of poetry, but I know they wouldn’t have time to read it. I’ve naively tried introducing them to interesting art and design, but unless it’s an expensive NFT with investment potential, they’re not interested.
I’ve heard it said, “Art is just an economic calling card.” I’m not sure whether to argue.
So, this PILL piece is my response—art isn’t just an economic calling card; it’s a container for economy with emotions.
Humans are emotional monkeys chasing status, and economic and market actions are choices made by emotional beings. Crypto history is also a history of our emotional fluctuations.
I hope this container can hold the ups and downs of the crypto world over the past few years, reflecting our shared emotions and serving as a small piece to comfort those who’ve been around and warn the newcomers.
That’s my story and confession behind this proposal.
