A (short) framework for clarity

BASE LAYER // Issue #2
Clarity for long-term crypto holders.

GM everyone.

Let’s start with a truth you already feel in your bones:

Crypto isn’t hard because it’s complex.

It’s hard because it’s noisy.

The second you enter the space, you’re hit with a firehose of information:

• Telegram groups full of charts and vibes

• Twitter influencers dropping “alpha” from five-year-old accounts with anime avatars

• YouTube thumbnails screaming “1000x GEM (URGENT)” next to a guy who looks like he hasn’t touched sunlight since 2021

And in the beginning, it feels thrilling.

You think: “This is what edge feels like. I’m early. I’m learning. I’m plugged in.”

But give it a few months—and that signal turns into static.

Suddenly, you’ve joined 12 Discords. You’re tracking 40 wallets. You’ve got a Notion page of “promising” coins you can’t even remember buying.

And worst of all?

You’re still unsure about your next move.

That’s because the problem isn’t a lack of information. It’s a lack of clarity.

Ok - so what does clarity actually look like?

Clarity is knowing:

• What your allocation framework is

• What kind of investor you are (trader, accumulator, yield farmer, long-term, etc.)

• Which narratives you believe in—and which ones you’ll ignore, even if they 10x

In other words, clarity lets you say “no” without FOMO.

It lets you log off. It lets you go outside. It lets you miss a pump and feel nothing.

But here’s the problem: alpha is addictive.

I know that all too well from personal experience.

The reason people chase alpha is simple:

Alpha feels exciting. Clarity feels boring.

No one brags at parties about their capital preservation plan.

They brag about flipping $PEPE into a Rolex (but quietly forget the ten other bags they’re still underwater on).

But alpha without clarity is just exposure.

And in crypto, exposure without clarity gets punished hard:

• You don’t know when to sell

• You don’t know what to hold

• You don’t know which risk you’re actually managing

And maybe this is how you’ve felt these last few months.

So you do what everyone does when they’re uncertain:

You seek more input.

More news. More Discord. More threads. More noise.

It feels productive, but it’s a trap.

Because the only real edge is knowing exactly what not to touch—no matter how tempting it looks.

With that said, here’s a tip on how to shift into clarity mode:

Write down the answers to these three questions:

1. Why are you in crypto?
   Give yourself a real answer. Sovereignty? Financial leverage? Tech curiosity? Lifestyle design?

2. What are you optimizing for?
   Fast gains? Long-term wealth? Monthly yield? Emotional freedom?
   You can’t optimize for all of them. Pick one.

3. What are your hard “no’s”?
   Coins, categories, behaviors, platforms—draw your red lines.
   Your sanity depends on them.

These questions aren’t theoretical. They’re filters. 

Without them, your crypto life becomes one long tab-switching frenzy with nothing to show for it but decision fatigue.

(I know, I’ve been there)

So today’s challenge is simple:
Forget alpha. Get clear.

Write a 1-paragraph personal crypto philosophy. Put it somewhere visible. Revisit it every 30 days.

Because once you get clear on what matters to you, you stop being pulled by what matters to everyone else.

TL;DR: You don’t need more alerts. You need fewer decisions.
You don’t need more inputs. You need stronger filters.
You don’t need alpha. You need clarity.

– Alex
Founder, Base Layer