Why are your internet memes worth more than the project party? Revealing the true logic of Meme Coin.

In May 2021, a Token with a dog head expression suddenly surged into the top ten of the market capitalization of Crypto Assets.

Many people are confused: why is this thing worth hundreds of billions?

The answer is actually hidden in the memes you forward every day.

How a joke has survived to this day

In 2013, two programmers, looking for something to do, wanted to satirize the crazy speculative atmosphere in the crypto asset circle at the time. They found a popular Shiba Inu meme online and created Dogecoin, setting its supply to infinite—this was practically mocking the “scarcity narrative” at that time.

What is the result?

People on Reddit started using it to tip interesting posts. Some initiated charitable activities, crowdfunding to sponsor a NASCAR driver, and helped the Jamaican bobsled team raise money to participate in the Winter Olympics. There was no white paper, no so-called “technological innovation”; this coin relied purely on community enthusiasm, peaking at $0.74 in 2021, with a market capitalization exceeding 85 billion.

A certain tech mogul's tweet has indeed increased the hype, but what has truly kept Dogecoin alive to this day are the holders who have been continuously creating memes and organizing online events. Other altcoins have long fizzled out, but it has survived ten years of bear markets.

Cultural stickiness can sometimes be more hardcore than code.

When Memes Become Tradable Cultural Assets

If Dogecoin was an unexpected hit, then Shiba Inu (SHIB), born in 2020, is a cultural experiment that was well-prepared.

It shouts the slogan “a certain head dog coin killer” and uses the same cute Shiba Inu image to unite the community, giving holders the name “SHIB Army.” Everyone feels like they are participating in a cultural movement.

In 2021, the price of SHIB surged 120,000 times, with a market capitalization of up to 36 billion dollars.

Even more exaggerated is PEPE in 2023. This Token based on “Sad Frog” has no institutional endorsement and relies on spontaneous dissemination by netizens, achieving a market capitalization of 7 billion USD within two weeks.

What do these cases illustrate?

The price of Meme Coin does not come from the code, but from the breadth of the dissemination of cultural symbols.

Just like certain entertainment giants make money from cartoon characters, Meme Coins have turned memes into tradable cultural assets. The more a symbol is recognized, used, and spread by people, the more valuable it becomes.

Are you trying to urge the project team to pump? You might have it the other way around.

Many newcomers bought Meme Coin and keep asking in the group: “When will it pump?”

But if you understand the essence of Meme Coin, you will find that this is completely off track.

Meme Coins are different from stocks and traditional Crypto Assets. Stocks are backed by company performance, Bitcoin is backed by technological narratives, while the only “fundamentals” of Meme Coins are community consensus and cultural dissemination.

The project team can only act as a launcher at most. The real “big players” are each holder.

Look at PEPE: no founder, no team, completely relying on netizens to spontaneously create memes and spread emoticons on social platforms. When you share PEPE, when you discuss with friends how funny this frog is, you are actually “empowering” it—every time you spread it, you are increasing the value of this cultural symbol.

Conversely, if the community just waits for the project team to pump the price, it's like a group of people guarding a pond that won't grow fish on its own; they will eventually run out of resources.

Recently, hundreds of new Meme Coins are born on a certain blockchain every day, but 99% do not survive a week. Why? Because they only have code, no culture, and even less of a community willing to spread them.

Attention is the most scarce resource

In the age of information explosion, Meme Coin is essentially “attention securitization” – turning the attention, discussions, and shares of netizens into tradable assets.

The platform's algorithm favors engaging content. A funny meme spreads more easily than a white paper, and a phrase like “To the Moon” ignites FOMO emotions more than technical parameters. When you post a SHIB meme in your social circle, you are actually helping it capture others' attention—attention that ultimately converts into buying pressure.

Some Meme Coins are particularly active on certain public chains because these platforms have fast transaction speeds and low fees, making them more suitable for retail investors engaging in high-frequency trading and dissemination. Technology is just the infrastructure; the real engine is the “social currency” created by the community.

Three Survival Rules

If you decide to participate in this cultural game, remember that these three points are more important than staring at the K-line:

1. Choose the cultural symbols that you truly resonate with.

Do not buy Meme Coins that you do not understand. If you think a certain meme is boring, do not expect others to spread it. Most holders of PEPE grew up with this frog meme and are from Generation Z; they spread it out of genuine affection, not just to make money.

2. Be a communicator, not a speculator.

Instead of asking “when will the market pump” every day, why not think about how to let more people know about this Meme? Create an interesting meme, write a joke, or leave a comment under relevant topics.

Every time you spread your creativity, you are adding value to the Token you hold.

3. Treat investment with an entertainment mindset

Meme Coin is essentially a “cultural lottery”. Although it has more cultural value than pure gambling, it is still highly speculative.

Never invest more than you can afford to lose. Think of it like buying a ticket to an amusement park – having fun is the most important thing, and making money is just an added bonus.

Everyone is their own banker

When we turn memes into Crypto Assets, we are essentially doing an “IPO” for internet culture. Every surge of a Meme Coin is a “raid” by grassroots culture on the traditional financial system.

But remember: there is no value without dissemination.

The promises made by the project team and the calls from KOLs are not as powerful as that Meme you are about to post on your social media.

Instead of waiting for others to “pump the price,” why not open your drawing software now and create a financial cultural symbol that belongs to this era.

After all, in the era of attention economy, everyone is their own dealer.