Uproar! Second-hand Platform Discovers 2 Million Yuan "Shrimp Farming" Service - Has the Quant Circle's Money Become This Easy to Scam?

Brothers, lately the market hasn’t had much big movement, but some sneaky operations in the corners really opened my eyes as an old veteran. Do you know what’s the hottest thing in the quant circle right now? Not a new algorithm, but “shrimp farming”! Yeah, that OpenClaw, an open-source AI tool, has been hyped up as the “Holy Grail” in the quant world.

Just a couple of days ago, I was bored and searched “OpenClaw deployment” on a marketplace. Man, that scene was like a large IQ tax expo. From a few bucks for an “entry-level experience” to dozens for a “basic tutorial,” it looked harmless—like selling a milk tea recipe.

But scroll down further.

If you have a weak heart, skip this part.

99,000, 280,000, 300,000… those numbers are already shocking, right? But there’s more. 999,999, 1,999,999! I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn’t seeing an extra zero. 1.99999 million, brothers! That kind of money could cover a down payment on a house in many places, but now it’s packaged as a “service” and listed on a seller’s profile—who knows if it’s a person or a ghost—waiting for some sucker to “make a deal.”

What the hell are they selling? Gold-plated, diamond-encrusted “lobster”?

Honestly, those with some tech knowledge know that OpenClaw is basically just open-source software. What does open-source mean? It’s like sharing the recipe and ingredients openly. Theoretically, if you follow it, you can make something. But the problem is, not everyone has the patience and skill to study the recipe. So, two types of people emerge in the market: one is the “chef training class” teaching you how to cook, and the other is the “takeout” delivering pre-made dishes.

The former sells service and time. For example, paying 180 yuan for remote setup to fix “clumsy hands.” Or 1500 yuan, not only installing but also tuning the AI’s tone so it doesn’t sound like a clueless customer service bot. This kind of stuff, while also profiting from information asymmetry, is at least a labor fee.

But when prices soar to 30,000, 50,000, the flavor changes.

At this point, they’re not selling “installation” anymore—they’re selling “strategy.” The sales pitch starts mentioning “stock prediction AI,” “multi-agent collaboration,” “full automated trading process”—words that spike adrenaline. Delivery takes 7-10 days, with cloud deployment and after-sales support, sounding pretty convincing.

But the real magic begins when crossing the 100,000 mark.

At this price point, sellers stop installing and come clean: they’re here to sell the “Holy Grail.” Some even show “large and small cap rotation strategies,” with historical performance, and kindly tell you “it can probably avoid disasters during market crashes.” To boost credibility, they even say, “Recently, A-shares dipped, and the strategy has been in cash.”

Sounds tempting, right? Like you’ve found the secret to riding through bull and bear markets?

But just ask a bit more: “Bro, what’s the specific logic of this strategy? How’s it performing in real trading recently?”

And immediately, they become cautious, start dodging. First, they ask about your capital size, saying the strategy’s effectiveness depends on the funds. When you press for key details, they dodge, saying they “have reservations.” Another more “professional” one spouts standard financial jargon like “based on historical backtesting,” “outperforms in certain market phases,” but never mentions maximum drawdown or when the strategy might fail.

And there are even more sneaky ones—selling the strategy and then splitting profits based on your capital.

Isn’t that obvious? 100,000 yuan is just an entry fee, filtering out casual retail traders, specifically targeting those middle-class investors eager to get rich overnight with “black tech” and a bit of money.

I just laughed.

Sound familiar? Like a few years ago, when quant strategies first exploded, and all kinds of “mysterious codes” and “limit-up tactics” flooded the market, charging from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands? And in the end? The strategies that could actually make money consistently were in the hands of those quiet, wealthy institutions. The ones circulating in the market? Either long gone or scams.

Now, “lobsters” are back, just with a more sci-fi shell. But the chives are still the same, and the sickle is still the same.

So, brothers, take my advice. AI is good, and OpenClaw might really have something. But expecting to buy a “Holy Grail” that makes you rich overnight for a few tens or hundreds of thousands on a secondhand platform? Dream on.

The real “deep-sea giant lobster” has long been hiding in the depths, catching prey on its own. Who has time to chat and sell courses on Idle Fish? The loudest and most active sellers are mostly “half-knowledge” amateurs or scammers pretending to be lobsters with plastic claws.

In this world, making money with new technology is fine, but the premise is to protect your principal first. Don’t get your capital scammed away by tech scams before you even learn the tech.

It’s late at night. I look at those links priced in millions and light a cigarette. In a daze, I seem to see countless souls eager for wealth, lining up to stuff their blood and sweat into a black box called “the future,” while the other end of the box is filled with the screeching sound of a sickle rubbing.