Exiting from zero-sum games: Why is a "market-neutral strategy" with an annualized 15% the last safe haven for encryption?

As competition in the encryption field intensifies, professional risk manager Santisa pointed out that the entire crypto market, apart from Bitcoin, is becoming a PvP battleground: "Constantly transferring among the same group of people, paying transaction fees, ultimately becoming an ATM for exchanges and insiders." In contrast, market neutral strategies may be one of the few areas that can still steadily generate alpha.

I believe that market neutral is one of the last places in which to consistently extract alpha in the crypto industry.

The state of crypto ( excluding BTC ) is pure PvP, with money shuffling around between the same group of people over and over. No new inflows, just rotations.… pic.twitter.com/LgGKRhyVHZ

— Santisa (@Tiza4ThePeople) May 28, 2025

Battlefield Reality: The Harsh Truth of PvP Mode in the Crypto Market

Santisa said mercilessly: "The crypto market has long ceased to see new money flowing in, only funds rotating among old players."

People continuously pay transaction fees with each trade, while also being diluted by insiders or "whales" whose costs are almost zero. What could have been a 50-50 chance of profit becomes 49:51 after paying fees. With each rotation, the chance of losing money increases a bit more.

(Introduction to the New Era of Gamblers: The Rise of the PVP Generation, How to Understand, Adapt, and Embrace Challenges? )

He emphasized that Binance can pay a $4 billion fine, and ByBit can instantly fill a $1.5 billion gap, which has fully illustrated the enormous scale of this game of "capital extraction" that is borne by the users participating in the market:

The people who ultimately "succeed" in the crypto market are often those who know how to withdraw in time; while others who stay in the market for a long time will eventually lose everything.

( value extraction, heavy blow to retail investors? Pump.fun is the culprit of the altcoin season not coming? )

Why can "market neutral strategies" survive against the trend?

Therefore, instead of entering the battlefield to fight, Santisa chooses to play the role of providing funds and leverage. He emphasizes that "market neutral strategy (market neutral)" allows rational investors to lend capital to those speculators who are willing to pay excessively for a "chance of success," while they themselves hardly incur any costs.

The core advantage of this model lies in the distinction between subject and object in the capital structure:

People with capital (Maker) are already in a favorable position, while those who must predict price direction or bet on meme coins to gain rewards (Taker) are at a relative disadvantage.

(Stablecoin Yield Strategies Fully Explained: An On-Chain Steady Investment Guide Across Bull and Bear Markets)

This is not only a rational financial choice, but also a way of life that promotes mental health: "Steering clear of emotional price fluctuations and market noise, and instead focusing on low volatility, high stability sources of income."

8 Years of Experience on Low-Key Wealth: Is an Annualized 15% Attractive?

Although an annualized 15% may not sound as eye-catching as those "hundredfold coins," Santisa reminds us that this data is achieved under extremely low risk with almost no drawdowns. He uses actual figures as an example:

If you had invested 1 million dollars 8 years ago, your assets would have grown to about 3.05 million dollars today, which converts to 2.41 million in current purchasing power, achieving a real return of 141%.

But he also admitted that the cost behind all this is the long-term investment of time and infrastructure expenses, such as the monthly cost of about 200 USD for equipment and analytical tools, as well as the weekly evaluation and adjustment of strategies for dozens of hours.

Risk and Reflection: Market Neutrality is Not a Get Out of Jail Free Card

Even though Santisa holds a high opinion of market-neutral strategies, the respondent @shant1deva raises an important reflection:

As high-yield market-neutral farms gradually disappear and high-volatility profit opportunities in the crypto market also shrink, investors may ultimately only be able to obtain returns similar to "junk bonds," while bearing higher risks.

(Let data tell the truth: How self-deception affects your portfolio performance?)

He suggested a more flexible barbell (Barbell) strategy: "On one hand, allocate a conservative market neutral position, while on the other hand, participate in high-risk speculation with a small amount to capture explosive returns, balancing overall risk and reward."

Alpha will not be forever, but discipline and rationality can.

Santisa finally pointed out that, although he does not believe that this kind of alpha can exist forever, opportunities in the crypto market always appear in unexpected places:

When everyone is still chasing hundredfold coins, those rational players who choose to provide liquidity at the bottom and manage risk and leverage boundaries can steadily earn a 15% annualized "silent wealth."

The crypto market is ultimately a type of investment market. Rather than joining a wealth game where you compete with others and face imbalanced risks, it is better to receive the long-term rewards of maintaining discipline and calmness. Perhaps the real alpha is the ability to remain rational when others are being crazy.

This article "Exiting from Zero-Sum Games: Why an Annualized 15% 'Market Neutral Strategy' is the Last Haven in Crypto?" first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.