The market has been buzzing recently. The Federal Reserve made some big moves at the end of the year—first actively repurchasing $6.8 billion for the first time in five years, followed by a monthly reserve management purchase plan of about $40 billion starting in December. For a moment, the headlines were filled with cheers of "easing is back" and "massive liquidity injection."

It sounds like good news, but it might be a misunderstanding.

Many people equate the current operations with past quantitative easing (QE), but in reality, the differences are significant. Analyses from multiple industry institutions point to the same conclusion: this is not QE2.0; rather, it marks the official end of the QE era.

What’s the difference? Let’s look at the purpose—past QE was aimed at stimulating the economy and lowering long-term interest rates. Today’s reserve management is purely technical maintenance to ensure the banking system doesn’t run out of money. And the background—traditional QE was usually launched when interest rates had already fallen to zero. Now, with the Fed’s rates still well above zero, it’s more like maintaining an operational system rather than opening the floodgates.

So, what does this mean?

It means don’t expect a full-blown bull market driven by liquidity like in 2017 or 2021. Future markets will be more rational. The Fed is building a new normal of "just right" liquidity—neither too much nor too little.

In this environment, excess returns (alpha) are no longer a gift from the sky. They will come more from the genuine fundamentals of projects—whether they are truly solving problems, generating cash flow, and providing real user value. Projects that rely on macro liquidity premiums will find life increasingly difficult.

Conversely, this is empowering for projects rooted in real development. A project focused on education and other fields, continuously creating real social value, will see its value remain stable regardless of liquidity policies, and will become more solid over time. When the tide goes out, only those who can swim will surface.