"Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome," a famous quote by Charlie Munger. Incentives are equally visible in the market. Exchanges can favor specific market participants by setting particular fee models, thereby indirectly influencing spreads and liquidity. They can also provide loans of corresponding value based on the scale of liquidity to encourage market makers to offer more liquidity. The possibilities are endless, but the key is to understand which incentives are needed to attract attention and achieve goals.

After the Hiperliquid airdrop ended on a large scale, traders were reluctant to miss the opportunity, which was particularly evident in the upgrade of Binance Alpha 2.0. As the pre - listing section of the Binance exchange, this platform specializes in incubating emerging tokens that have potential but have not yet met the main site's listing standards. The launched 2.0 version innovatively introduced an auction trading model, providing early projects with an unprecedented liquidity entry point.

We are not here today to discuss the auction function of Binance Alpha or other features. What I want to talk about is a small story: how incentives, the FOMO mentality, and potential future returns have given rise to various anomalies in the market.

Binance Alpha points, the core element of this article, can be obtained by users through trading activities on the Binance Alpha platform. Users can earn points by creating trading volume or holding tokens, but it seems that trading volume points play a decisive role. These points can be used to participate in Alpha series activities (such as airdrops or TGEs). Historical data shows that tokens associated with Binance Launchpad often perform well, so the project is quite attractive. Given that the scale of potential returns is not yet clear, many traders are eager to collect points in the hope of obtaining substantial returns.

Now let's get to the point. The mechanism is simple: users need to generate trading volume to obtain points. As a result, we see a surge in trading volume for most coins related to Binance Alpha. At the same time, the market also shows abnormal fluctuation patterns that are extremely rare under normal conditions.

Take Bedrock ($BR) as an example. It is currently the hottest token on PancakeSwap, with a trading volume of more than $3 billion in the past 24 hours. Its chart shows that both buyers and sellers are actively trading simultaneously, resulting in huge transactions (as shown in the 10 - minute rolling trading volume below the figure).

Unveiling the Points Illusion of Binance Alpha: Behind the $3 Billion Trading Volume, 95% Wallets Have a Net Position of Zero?