The Rise of MEME Tokens: From Internet Culture to a New Landscape in the Crypto Market

The explosion of MEME Token in 2024 indicates that the investment logic in the market is changing. MEME has become a mainstream investment category favored by investment institutions and market funds.

The Continuation of Internet Culture

The origins of MEME can be traced back to the internet era. Most of the currently successful MEME projects stem from the phenomenon of social interaction on the internet. For example, Doge, SHIB, and PEPE represent the communication and interaction generated by global internet users, and they are typical embodiments of "grassroots culture" on the web.

MEME is everywhere, and behind every MEME is a story. These stories spread globally through the internet, resonating with people, which is a key reason for the popularity of MEME. Social platforms, chat software, and forums are the main battlegrounds for the emergence and dissemination of MEME, and they are also important avenues for people to express opinions and vent emotions.

MEME expresses people's thoughts in specific scenarios through concise means (such as short texts, innovative words, images, and memes). Its widespread dissemination encourages even those who do not understand MEME to learn about and integrate into it. A sense of identity is the core value of MEME and the main driving force behind the rise in MEME coin price.

The Integration of MEME and Blockchain

Blockchain technology has given value to MEME. The early Bitcoin can also be seen as a kind of MEME to some extent. The birth of DOGE was intended to satirize the phenomenon of altcoin proliferation and can be regarded as the beginning of the MEME 1.0 era.

The popularity of altcoins during the bull market in 2017 and the chaos of ICOs laid the foundation for the second rise of DOGE. In 2021, DOGE gained market recognition once again, and dog-themed MEME projects like SHIB began to emerge, marking the entry of MEME into the 2.0 era.

In the market of 2024, MEME is developing again. The stagnation of the mainstream market reflects to some extent investors' resistance to the overvaluation of VC coins and the "value" projects' behavior of cutting leeks. The fair distribution and price performance of MEME just meet the public demand, gaining widespread attention, and MEME has entered the 3.0 era.

Characteristics of Successful MEME Projects

Not all MEME have investment value. By analyzing past successful MEME projects, we can summarize some common characteristics:

1. DOGE: Obtained through mining, has a large supply and low price in the early stages, suitable for online tipping. Supports multiple social platforms, sponsors sports events, aligns with the tipping culture abroad.

2. SHIB: Themed around Shiba Inu, issued through Fair Launch. Launched DEX, BONE Token and mainnet, exploring the transition of MEME to value coin.

3. PEPE: Issued based on the popular internet meme of Pepe the Frog. It has a wide user base and attracts investors by increasing deflationary mechanisms and redistribution mechanisms.

4. WIF: A dog-themed MEME Token on the Solana chain. It features low cost and fast transfer characteristics, with the creator's balance set to zero to ensure decentralization.

5. PUFF: A MEME project on the Mantle chain aimed at the mETH community. Users obtain PUFF through minting mETH and establish AMM pools for free exchange.

The Success Factors of MEME Token

1. Distribution methods and low-threshold participation
2. Transitioning from pure online culture to the value level
3. Celebrity Effect and Financial Support
4. Price increases attract retail investors, which in turn attracts institutions and exchanges.

The development path of MEME tokens is contrary to that of high-financing VC coins, and letting institutions take over from retail investors is an important sign of MEME's success.

Future Development of MEME Coin

Successful MEME coins not only rely on hype but also need to consider economic models and application scenarios. For example, PUFF attracts a large amount of funding through mETH incentives, becoming a leading DeFi project in the Mantle ecosystem. MEME projects are beginning to focus on long-term development rather than just short-term speculation.

Conclusion

MEME has gained recognition from numerous investors, attracting users through humor and internet culture. This is a low-cost way to quickly establish project communities and is expected to become a major cold start strategy for grassroots projects.

However, projects that purely rely on the MEME concept find it difficult to sustain development. Mid-term technical follow-up is crucial for attracting institutional investment and exchanges. In this process, chips may gradually shift from retail investors to institutions, driving project transformation and growth. After making profits, retail investors' sense of identity with MEME culture is enhanced, forming a positive cycle that helps MEME gain more recognition.