I see many friends I know playing US stocks and A-shares.

Actually, for people in the crypto world, if you're just getting started, it's all about cryptocurrencies. These stocks are considered low-risk, low-volatility products. A 20% fluctuation is common in the crypto space, 50% is just a splash, and some even play meme coins where one minute is paradise and the next is hell. Now even small traders are trading by the second. Since the fake projects were exposed, long-termism has become rare.
The crypto world is a place of high leverage, and for speculation rather than investment, that's all there is.