If the rise of DOGE in 2021 was the emergence of MEME, then the explosion of MEME in 2024 heralds a shift in market investment logic. MEME has become a category of investment that is highly sought after by investment institutions and market funds, and has become a mainstream investment product.
Originating from the Internet
MEME existed before blockchain, originating from the Internet. Currently, successful MEME projects in the market are mostly generated after the popularity of Internet socialization. For example, Doge, SHIB, PEPE, etc., represent the communication and exchange generated through the Internet around the world. This is also the root of Internet culture, and more people call it "grassroots culture".
MEME is ubiquitous, and there is a story behind every MEME. Every story is spread globally through the Internet, bringing a sense of identity to people. This is also an important reason why MEME can become popular. MEME sprouted through social platforms, chat software, forums, and constantly made more people aware of it. Social networking sites such as Twitter, Reddit, and Facebook are the main battlegrounds for MEME popularity, and they are also important ways for people to express their opinions and vent their emotions, distinguishing them from mainstream stereotypical online information.
MEME expresses the thoughts of people in specific Internet scenarios in a concise manner (short texts, innovative words, images, emojis, etc.). Its wide dissemination makes people who don't understand MEME willing to understand and integrate into it, just like a virus spreading widely. The sense of identity is the value behind MEME, and it is also the main driving force for the rise in MEME prices.
When MEME Meets Blockchain: Redemption in a Chaotic Market
Blockchain can give value to many intangible things, and MEME is no exception. Strictly speaking, BTC was also a kind of MEME in the early days. After BTC became popular, the appearance of a large number of valueless altcoins caused chaos in the market, and DOGE was created to satirize this phenomenon. DOGE's first popularity was in the market after 2013, and we can regard it as the MEME 1.0 era.
The popularity of altcoins during the bull market in 2017 and the market's re-chaos (ICO chaos) laid the foundation for DOGE's second rise, which is also an important factor for DOGE's market recognition in 2021. Even without Musk's divine assistance, there may be other public figures supporting MEME. MEME projects with dog themes such as SHIB also began to emerge, and MEME entered the 2.0 era.
Similarly, in this round of rise in 2024, the chaos in the market has turned into overvalued VC coins and many "valuable" projects PUAing users. MEME has started to develop again. The sluggishness of the mainstream market actually represents the resistance of underlying investors to VC coins and the chaos of being harvested. MEME's fair distribution and price performance solve everyone's pain points and naturally attract a lot of attention. MEME enters the 3.0 era.
From the development history of MEME, it can be seen that the important reason why MEME can become popular is the inaction and misconduct of the mainstream market. As retail investors at the bottom, they do not have enough strength and funds to resist this behavior, so they can only turn to the opposite direction. Retail investors are not lacking in popularity and dissemination ability, which is also the value and the basic factor for us to choose MEME.
The Clash Between Price and Value: What Features Does MEME Have?
Not all MEME tokens have investment value. Just like the chaos of mainstream coins, there are also scams and rug pulls in the MEME track, and this phenomenon may become more obvious in the future. For ordinary investors, it is crucial to identify potential MEME projects. We can summarize this by looking at successful MEME projects in the past.
DOGE
DOGE is obtained through mining. In the early days, there were many Dogecoin, and the price was low, making it suitable for online tipping. It also supports multiple social platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, etc. It also sponsors some sports events, which fits the tipping culture abroad. The community slogan "To The Moon" was promoted by Musk, and various MEME images spread on Twitter.
SHIB
SHIB, with Shiba Inu as the theme, is another extension of Dogecoin. It adopts the Fair Launch issuance method and has a huge entertainment value. It is also constantly developing in the direction of becoming a "value coin". For example, it has launched DEX and tokens like BONE, and plans to launch its mainnet in 2023 to support the operation of its token economy, exploring the transformation of MEME to value coin.
PEPE
PEPE is a cryptocurrency issued based on the popular Internet comic frog Pepe. In addition to comics, there are also emojis, animations, etc. It has a strong user base and is widely used in Telegram, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and YouTube. In addition to being used in most liquidity pools, PEPE's token has added deflation and redistribution mechanisms, attracting the attention of many investors, as well as the support of market makers and investment companies.
WIF
WIF is a MEME token on Solana with a dog theme. It is also the third most successful dog-related token to date. WIF has the characteristics of low cost and fast transfer speed. The creator's balance is set to 0 to ensure the decentralization of the token. It is endorsed by celebrities like Hsaka and stands out among many dog coins. WIF has a relatively stronger speculative attribute, and the skyrocketing price has further increased investor attention.
PUFF
PUFF (PUFF The Dragon) is a MEME project on the Mantle chain mainly targeting the mETH (Ethereum re-staking token) community. It features a black and gold dragon theme. PUFF redefines meme narratives, allowing users to obtain PUFF by using mETH to forge mysterious potions, and then establish AMM pools to achieve free exchange. The action of well-known trader DCF GOD spending $1.5 million to purchase PUFF has made PUFF the focus of attention.
Common Features of Popular MEME Tokens
From DOGE to PUFF, we can see that the distribution and low threshold of MEME are among the main factors for success. From mining to fair distribution, it allows community users to participate at a low cost. Of course, absolute fairness is impossible, but it also reserves many opportunities for users to participate. The benefit of doing this is that it accumulates a large number of user bases, which is also the mainstay of MEME dissemination.
In addition, MEME projects have gradually shifted from early Internet cultural uses (such as tipping) to more value-oriented aspects. For example, SHIB's Swap, PEPE's deflation, WIF's low cost and decentralization, and PUFF's mETH-centered value representation indicate that pure price speculation may not necessarily make a popular MEME token successful. It also needs to have certain application scenarios, and investors still have certain expectations.
Furthermore, behind every MEME, there are celebrities/KOLs/public figures "endorsing" and supporting them with funds. For example, Musk frequently mentions Doge, WIF has endorsements from community celebrities, PEPE is listed on top-tier exchanges like Binance, and has the support of investment institutions. PUFF has also received a large number of purchases from celebrity traders. The celebrity effect plays a crucial role in the success of MEME projects.
Of course, in addition to these factors, price is also a key factor in the success of MEME tokens. The rise in price allows many retail investors to profit from it, and the increase in retail investor base further enhances the influence of MEME tokens, attracting institutions and exchanges to lay out.
Its development path is exactly the opposite of highly financed VC coins. Taking over from retail investors is an important sign of MEME's success. VC coins focus on the profits of project teams and investment institutions, and end with retail investors taking over. After retail investors take over, without new funds entering, they become the last straw, which is why VC coins are unpopular now and MEME is booming.
Development Goals of MEME Tokens
No high-market-cap MEME token can only rely on pure speculation to gain attention. For investors, the economic model and application scenarios are necessary considerations for long-term development.
For example, DOGE's tipping and POW, SHIB team's development of Swap, and so on. Starting from this year, this trend has been further strengthened. For example, PUFF has further increased its application scenarios and token economy. The project has a tendency to approach ordinary "value coins". MEME attributes have become the main distinguishing factor.
PUFF's mETH incentives attracted $300 million in funds, making it the number one DeFi project in the Mantle ecosystem, which greatly promoted the development of the Mantle ecosystem. In addition, PUFF also added elements of GameFi in its project planning. Staking and gaming gameplay have become important factors attracting large investors and institutions. This also indicates that MEME project teams have begun to focus on the long-term development of projects, rather than short-term pumping and mindless rushing.
If investment goes to extremes, it will inevitably backfire. The development path of PUFF tells us that as an early publicity method, MEME can quickly gather crowds and funds, but to achieve long-term development, empowerment and planning are indispensable factors. And for some technical analysis investors, it is also easier to accept. Similar projects, such as the skyrocketing of AIDoge, have brought huge traffic and trading data to Arbitrum.
Conclusion
From the development paths of the five MEME tokens mentioned above, MEME has gained recognition from many investors. With the help of absurd humor and Internet culture as a user base, it can easily arouse users' sense of identity. This is a low-cost and fast way to enter the user market and establish project communities, and it is expected to become the main cold start strategy for grassroots projects in the future.
However, projects that rely solely on the MEME concept often struggle to sustain development. Therefore, mid-term technical follow-up is crucial to attract the attention of investment institutions, exchanges, and other "mainstream forces". In this process, chips may gradually transfer from retail investors to institutions, thereby promoting the transformation and growth of projects. After retail investors have made profits, they usually have a greater sense of identity with MEME culture, forming a positive flywheel effect to help MEME gain more attention.
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