Crypto bros with stagnating portfolios have turned to so-called “dopamine shopping” — pretending to buy luxury goods online — to get their kicks.
Emerging in South Korea earlier this year, dopamine shopping involves going through the process of browsing and paying for high ticket items like luxury watches, designer clothes, and fancy meals, but without actually spending any real money.
The idea is to experience the rush of spending big without the financial hit. After all, budgets for authentic luxury goods are still tight after crypto’s market cap dropped 30% from its all-time high a year ago.
A Singapore-based lawyer and crypto influencer has poked fun at the trend, proposing a startup that introduces real giveaways into fake shopping apps as a way to introduce variable rewards.
A company that could convert users into paying customers by combining a dopamine purchase with a lottery entry for a real item could be worth “multi billions” he joked.
Read more: NHS exec warns that crypto trading could fuel problem gambling
Crypto hops onto dopamine shopping
Already, the aptly titled Dopamine Shop stocks a fake jewelry aisle, including a $10,950 Rolex Submariner and a $56,000 Audemars Piguet.
The site’s slogan: “Shop freely. Buy nothing.”
The BBC recently counted more than 2.7 million visitors to FoodNeverComes since June 2026. The website is a so-called “dopamine kitchen” that reproduces an UberEats ordering experience.
Crypto jumped onto the bandwagon this week when a commentator posted screenshots of fake storefronts to nearly two million views. He shouted out his own audience in a reply, “Degens would love it.”
Commenters kept the joke going, “I love checking TripNeverLeaves right after a 45-minute session with FoodNeverComes.”
A fintech worker asked appropriately, “Why do we keep coming up with new and creative ways to gamble?”
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