Before this trip to 2049, I returned to China for several weeks. Since I never stop exercising, every time I go back, I find badminton partners on Xiaohongshu and Xianyu. They’re usually Gen-Z girls—some are professional athletes from top-tier sports schools, others are amateurs who’ve trained for years and reached peak skill. During two-hour singles matches, we chat about everything under the sun, including romantic relationships. And I noticed a relatively common attitude among these girls: Regarding romance—they’re not opposed, but they’re not optimistic. Regarding marriage and children—they’re not interested for now; some are even resistant. This is completely different from how us Gen-Xers thought back then—it feels like a different world. The more I thought about it, the more it reminded me of crypto. 1. Gen-X love was like the crypto market before 2021: Back then, if you committed to someone, you got married, bought a house, and walked the path together. It was just like buying crypto during those years—believe in a narrative, buy in, hold tight, HODL. Sure, there were scams, countless ICOs and altcoins that went to zero, but the beta was huge. BTC and major coins were just a matter of time before they recovered. You basically made money no matter what you bought. Marriage was the same: economic growth, rising wages, soaring housing prices—getting married and having kids felt like going long on the future. Many relationship problems were buried under the tailwind of the times. It’s not that Gen-Xers understood love better—we just happened to be in a bull market. 2. Gen-Z love is like crypto after 2022: LUNA, FTX, high FDV with low circulating supply… after getting rug-pulled so many times, and with Hyperliquid’s rise, people’s first reaction to any narrative is: “Don’t just tell stories—show me the data.” This year, it’s even starting to feel like stock market investing—looking at revenue, users, buybacks… narratives have become just a foot in the door. Gen-Z’s approach to relationships is the same: How much do you earn? What’s your family background? Do your parents have financial burdens? Are you emotionally stable?… Countless relationship influencers have emerged—women follow Ququ, men follow Li Xinye. Men fear becoming exit liquidity; women fear investing years of youth only to get rug-pulled. Everyone’s doing their due diligence, managing position sizes. Many even choose to stay out of the market entirely. Back in our day, phrases like “I’ll succeed one day” or “I’ll love you forever” were big enough to convince many women to invest. Now? Those empty promises don’t work anymore (girls aren’t easy to fool). The current viral “yellow hair and thin muscles” theory feels like Pumpfun-era vibes—when long-term value is hard to build, just grab short-term attention and eyeballs! Beta is gone; now you have to find your own alpha. It’s not that Gen-Z doesn’t believe in love—they just can’t help viewing it through a lens of risk pricing. We Gen-Xers were just lucky—we lived in an era with massive beta. Gen-Z faces a market where they must pick their own alpha. Just like those who entered crypto in 2013 became OGs by lying low; those who entered in 2023 fought hard and ended up as cannon fodder. It’s timing. It’s fate.
