Recently, I saw some tragic cases from the XPL competition that left me speechless. Some players, in order to climb the rankings, forced themselves to achieve a trading volume of over 9000, but ended up stuck in the 21-50 position, receiving token rewards of less than 3000, resulting in a net loss of over 6000. Even more desperate are the participants outside the top 50 — they burned several million in transaction volume, and the fees swallowed several thousand, ultimately receiving tokens worth just over a hundred.

This is not about shearing wool at all; it's a money grinder disguised as a competition. The project team uses "generous rewards" as bait to attract those who blindly believe that "volume equals victory." In the end, they didn't get any wool and ended up being skinned themselves.

Similar scenes are played out repeatedly in the circle. Each time is like a warning light: when we chase uncertain, high-risk external returns (like competition rewards and airdrops), have we really drawn a line that we absolutely cannot cross for our principal?

This question leads me to think - in high-intensity activities like farming and competing, how should one protect themselves? The simplest answer is actually very straightforward: use the money you can afford to lose completely to experiment and gamble, but your core principal and existing profits must be securely locked in stable assets.

Why do I say this? Because stablecoins are like a strict measuring tool for your "speculation budget." When competing in races like XPL, you need to clearly understand: what this money means to me, and how much I can lose in the worst-case scenario. The money that I cannot afford to lose—such as living reserves and realized profits—should be protected in the form of stable assets. This way, when chasing opportunities, you won't risk putting all your assets on the line.