This article is compiled from the keynote speech given by Dashan, founder of Waterdrip Capital, at the Wanwu Island Sharing Session.

The macro environment is deteriorating - the crisis is forming a new order

This article is compiled from the keynote speech given by Dashan, founder of Waterdrip Capital, at the Wanwu Island Sharing Session.

As the global economic landscape undergoes rapid transformation, entrepreneurs in the Web3 space are charting new courses and exploring innovative models for sustainable growth. In this context, Dashan, founder of Waterdrip Capital, recently shared his insights on the current market environment, entrepreneurial opportunities, and the future trends of capital integration with a focus on crypto startups.

Here are some highlights from his speech:

1. Macro Environment Deterioration - Crisis Forming New Order

Since Trump returned to the White House, a series of unexpected economic and political measures have continued to turmoil the global market. Among them, one of the measures that caused the greatest shock was the escalation of tariff policies: from April 5, 2025, the United States will impose a unified 10% “base tariff” on all imported goods, and impose higher “reciprocal tariffs” on 60 countries including China and Vietnam (the tariff on China was once raised to 125%). In the short term, Trump’s tariff stick caused huge fluctuations in the global market: U.S. bonds suffered a sell-off, and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield soared to more than 4.5%, the largest single-week increase in 20 years; U.S. stocks fluctuated violently, once approaching a circuit breaker; the U.S. dollar index continued to fall and hit the largest daily decline in several years. Although the United States subsequently announced that it would suspend the imposition of new tariffs on some allied countries in exchange for a respite, investors are still full of worries about future uncertainties, and the global financial system seems to have entered a “chaotic era.”

The old international economic system centered on the United States established after World War II (such as the Bretton Woods system and the WTO framework) is facing the risk of collapse: the rise of emerging economies has weakened the relative advantages of the United States, the huge debts and fiscal deficits accumulated by the United States over a long period of time have continuously eroded the credibility of the US dollar, and the proportion of the US dollar in global foreign exchange reserves has declined. In particular, China's rapid development since joining the WTO has gradually approached or even surpassed the United States in many scientific and technological fields, causing deep anxiety among the American elite. The breakthroughs made by Chinese companies such as Huawei in key technologies such as 5G chip design and communication base stations are a signal that alerts the United States: the once high-tech generation gap has been rapidly narrowed, and the traditional advantages of the United States in the manufacturing field are in jeopardy, while the younger generation of Americans are more engaged in finance and art and are no longer willing to engage in manufacturing. This series of changes means that the old order on which the United States relies for hegemony is loosening.

Against this backdrop, U.S. decision-makers have begun to plan to build a new trade and financial order to maintain its global dominance. The Trump administration’s strategic goal is not only to negotiate better terms in trade negotiations, but also to try to “start anew” – to re-establish the central position of the United States by formulating a new rules system. This has two intentions: one is to strike major competitors and weaken the momentum of China and other countries to rise rapidly by taking advantage of the existing globalization dividends; the other is to seek new value anchors to provide new support for the shaken dollar credit and global trade. Under this idea, the traditional dollar credit needs to introduce stronger endorsements, and the United States has begun to turn its attention to assets such as gold and Bitcoin, hoping to rebuild the trust foundation of the global financial system.

It is worth noting that since Trump took office, the US government's attitude toward the field of cryptocurrency has undergone a major change. Soon after taking office, Trump publicly expressed his concern about the development of virtual currencies, reversing his previous critical stance on Bitcoin. Some forces within the Republican Party and some state governments have also gradually embraced Bitcoin in recent years, viewing it as “digital gold” to hedge against the risk of the US dollar. It can be said that the United States is making pre-planning for a potential new financial order and incorporating Bitcoin into its national strategic vision.

1.1 Finance Begins to Enter an Era of Chaos

Since Trump returned to the White House, a series of unexpected economic and political measures have continued to turmoil the global market. Among them, one of the measures that caused the greatest shock was the escalation of tariff policies: from April 5, 2025, the United States will impose a unified 10% “base tariff” on all imported goods, and impose higher “reciprocal tariffs” on 60 countries including China and Vietnam (the tariff on China was once raised to 125%). In the short term, Trump’s tariff stick caused