The ceiling fan’s constant, repetitive whirring used to fade into the background. But I notice it more these days, like everything else that is going on around me. I have noticed that the price of raw food at the wet market has increased slightly, goods everywhere have also become more expensive, and my Ringgit seems to disappear faster than it used to. I sit here on my desk staring at my screen. The familiar Web3 blogging interface is staring back at me. This site has been my digital home for the past 10 years. This platform rewarded my thoughts and ideas with cryptocurrency. However, the value of the reward has declined steadily lately.

I’ve been trying to make sense of it by connecting the news about happenings across the world with the worry I feel when I look at my bank account. The news articles I read today helped me understand the situation better. It explained that the volatility I’m sensing in both the global oil market and the cryptocurrency space isn’t a coincidence. It is part of a larger change.

The war between the US and Iran has disrupted the global oil supply. Markets respond to current events and what they anticipate could happen in the future as tensions increase in the Strait of Hormuz, where 25% of global daily oil consumption passes through. I can see the Strait of Hormuz on the map. It’s a tight chokepoint half the world away, but I can feel its impacts here on my desk. This uncertainty pushes oil prices up. In Malaysia, the effects are both softened and more complicated. We earn revenue from crude petroleum through PETRONAS, but we also import a significant amount of refined petroleum products from other countries. Higher import costs partly offset the increased revenue, while subsidies exert additional pressure on national spending. The result shows up in groceries, in transport, in daily life.

This environment also has an effect on another aspect of life. As global instability rises and inflation stays elevated, central banks keep interest rates high. When interest rates go up, borrowing becomes more expensive, and money moves toward safer assets. In this environment, riskier markets like cryptocurrencies become less appealing. Cryptocurrency prices go down as money flows out.

I remember when I believed cryptocurrency was a means to insulate myself from economic instability and generate value outside of the traditional economy. Now it becomes a risky asset. It rises with confidence and falls with caution. Geopolitical tensions, rising oil costs, inflation that won’t go away, and tight monetary conditions are all to blame for the present crisis. These conditions tighten the flow of money into the crypto market. I feel it in my income.

I feel the impact of this decline more keenly here on Web3. Unlike bigger cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Ethereum) that are backed by institutional investors, the token I earned is mostly run by its community. Changes in sentiment and liquidity have a bigger effect on its value. When the market as a whole gets weaker, it declines more quickly. I have seen it drop from stable levels to much lower ones, and I see why the decline feels so severe.

The experience on the Web3 site is different for everyone. Despite the decline in token prices, the ecosystem remains structured to reward those who consistently produce high-quality content. The system seems unstable, although certain aspects of it keep working behind the scenes. This is what keeps my income stable for now. Even if its value has declined, my high-quality writing and art, engagement, comments, and curation still bring in a little bit of money.

This situation has been a daily worry for me. I am a Malaysian woman, a mother, and a creator. As fuel costs go up, my expenses go up too. At the same time, my earnings that come from cryptocurrencies become less stable. Both sides are shifting at the same time.

In this situation, writing, creating artwork, posting, and engaging with the Web3 site community has become a way to adapt. I focus on keeping things moving steadily instead of hoping for quick growth. To cover my daily expenses, I have started converting my tokens into USDT and some into Ringgit even when the value is low. I am also looking for other streams of income, like turning old writing and artwork into physical products that I sell on various local and international markets. It is my way of connecting an uncertain digital economy with a more stable one.

This leads to a process of adjustment. Global events are changing the way economies and people work. Prices for oil go up, inflation follows, interest rates stay high, and risk markets shrink. As this contraction goes on, smaller Web3 systems grow weaker, yet they continue to function at a lower value.

This moment is a transition for me and the pressure is real. I keep going even if I don’t know what will happen, since if I quit, I will be more exposed to the same forces that are currently at work. What looks like a simple thing, just a woman typing at her computer, is actually a purposeful attempt to adapt to a world that is getting more expensive and less predictable. I keep writing and creating because it’s what I rely on the most in the middle of all this chaos. 

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I write about Iban culture, ancestral rituals, creative life, emotional truths, and the quiet transformations of love, motherhood, and identity. If this speaks to you, subscribe and journey with me.