Original author: Jerome
Original translation: Block unicorn
What is a meme?
A meme is a unit of cultural ideas and symbols that spreads and propagates through peoples consciousness. Like genes, memes vary in their ability to spread. Those that resonate strongly tend to last, while those with less influence are quickly forgotten.
The Internet introduced the concept of internet memes, which facilitate the rapid spread of memes and cultural ideas through images, videos, GIFs, jokes, etc. One study likened the spread of internet memes to a disease, stating that memes spread in a manner similar to diseases spread by the SIR model, infecting individuals.
The spread of internet memes is similar to the spread of infectious diseases.
Memecoins are cryptocurrencies whose value is derived entirely from the associated meme. Essentially, they bring economic value to the concept of the meme.
With the advent of memecoins, cultural ideas, symbols, and their spread can be traded and speculated on. Their value is based on the relevance of the meme and its ability to capture public opinion, creating a new market that can quantify cultural resonance and have financial value.
A brief history of Meme coin
The table and chart below provide a brief overview of cryptocurrency cycles and the memecoins that have risen during these cycles:
POW Meme Coin
Proof-of-Work (POW) memecoins are primarily designed for miners to allocate resources to mine and sell new tokens. Many of these memecoins first appeared on the Alternative Cryptocurrencies subforum of Bitcointalk. While many memecoins failed to make it to exchanges, those that did succeed were traded on now-defunct platforms such as Cryptsy and BTC-E. Each memecoin is typically distinguished by factors such as name and brand, hashing algorithm, block time, and supply, all of which contribute to its overall narrative (or meme).
The first wave of post-Bitcoin tokens were “meme coins” that offered little intrinsic value other than a new idea. The chart above shows some examples:
With the exception of Litecoin, all of these coins died (due to low volume and market cap, lack of exchange support, susceptibility to 51% attacks, etc.). This can be attributed to several factors: weak meme stickiness (lack of cultural permanence) and participation cost issues (each memecoin is an entire blockchain).
Litecoin’s enduring popularity may be attributed to its meme value derived from Bitcoin (digital silver), its earlier emergence compared to other memecoins, and its continued support from numerous exchanges.
Dogecoin: The First Meme Coin
The original Dogecoin (Wow, Applause) began circulating on 4chan and Reddit in the summer of 2013. Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus capitalized on this cultural trend and launched Dogecoin on Bitcointalk on December 8, 2013. It was the first cryptocurrency based on an internet meme.
The success of Dogecoin has spawned a new category of cryptocurrencies that are fun, humorous, ironic, use celebrities (e.g. Kanye West, Max Keiser), animals (e.g. Pandacoin), or are designed to appeal to a specific community. These were launched as proof-of-work coins on the “Alternative Cryptocurrencies” subforum of Bitcointalk. The “technical details” became less important; everything was centered around the “meme”. The image below shows some examples:
The ICO boom and the rise of Ethereum
The rise of Ethereum has unleashed a wave of innovation, resulting in new use cases, better user experiences, and new users.
Some specific improvements include:
Easier token issuance (ERC 20 standard)
Attracted new user groups (non-miners)
Token creators can make more money (unlike PoW tokens which have zero pre-mine, ERC 20 is sold directly through ICO)
Introducing interoperability/unified ecosystem/unified wallet (via ERC 20)
The ICO era spawned a wave of more “serious” projects like theDAO, Filecoin, Tezos, EOS, Cardano, Tron, and Bancor that aimed to have utility or purpose beyond meme value. During this period, there were a few memecoins that weren’t particularly notable but still attracted some attention.
One example is the Useless Ethereum Token, which was launched in June 2017 and mocked the concept of ICOs, raising 310 ETH in its ICO.
Despite Dentacoin ’s original goal to be a “cryptocurrency for dentists,” it was still considered a memecoin and reached a peak market cap of $2 billion in January 2018.
HAYCOIN is the first ERC 20 token to be listed on Uniswap and one of the memecoins created in this era (2018). It was created by Uniswap founder Hayden Adams to test the Uniswap protocol and did not initially attract much attention or trading volume, but re-emerged in 2023 due to its historical significance.
Collectible Memes and Early NFTs
In addition to the cryptocurrency, a subset of Pepe the Frog memes called “ Rare Pepes ” has also emerged, which has not been released publicly and, if leaked, would be watermarked with “RARE PEPE DO NOT SAVE”.
Between 2016 and 2018, a group of Counterparty developers and Pepe meme enthusiasts created the Rare Pepe wallet (Pepe Cash) and planned to trade Rare Pepé memes on the Counterparty protocol.
Rare Pepes are often considered the second-most-created NFT ever created and still hold value today, with some selling for over $500,000.
With the release of CryptoPunks, MoonCats, and CryptoKitties , NFTs entered the Ethereum era, representing unique tokens pointing to images and media. EtherRocks, which started as a joke on Reddit in 2017 and is themed to collect 100 colorful clipart rocks, became popular in 2021, reaching a floor price of 305 ETH (worth $1 million) in August.
Another example is Unisocks (SOCKS), launched by Hayden Adams in May 2019, which offered 500 pairs of physical socks that were interchangeable with SOCKs (ERC 20). The price of each pair of socks has soared to $53,000, potentially making them the most expensive socks in the world.
DeFi Summer
In June 2020, Compound Finance launched a new token distribution method called liquidity mining or yield farming, in which users provide liquidity and earn token rewards by locking up assets.
This innovation kicked off the “DeFi summer,” which reached its peak when “foodcoin” yield farms offered to lock tokens in Yam or Pickle contracts for 10,000% annualized returns (in memecoin).
Meme stocks and Dogecoin
In 2021, stimulus measures, interest rate cuts, cheap capital, and COVID-19 lockdowns created a high-risk environment around the world.
Retail traders on Reddit popularized the “ Gamestock ” meme in early 2021, fueled by Robinhood’s user-friendly experience and zero-commission trades, causing its stock price to surge rapidly.
The “GME” craze has sparked speculation in other assets, especially those available on Robinhood. DOGE was listed on Robinhood in 2018 at $0.008, and gained attention in 2021 due to Elon Musk’s tweets, reaching a peak market value of $90 billion in May 2021.
DOGE’s popularity spawned more dog-themed memecoins, such as Shiba Inu, Floki, and Safemoon , which reached high valuations within a few months.
NFT craze: “Memecoins with pictures”
The ERC 721 standard and platforms like OpenSea have given rise to NFTs, unique crypto assets that represent expressions of “culture” or “memes.”
Famous NFTs include CryptoPunks, Bored Apes, Squiggles , and Pudgy Penguins , which are used as profile pictures on Twitter and Discord, symbolizing status and “club membership.”
Recent Trends (2023+)
As cryptocurrencies rebound from the bear market, new memes, cultures, ideas, and ecosystems continue to emerge, with memes attracting more and more interest and attention.
Common Patterns
Some form of memecoin emerges in every cycle, in various technical forms such as PoW coins, ERC 20 tokens and NFTs, leveraging attention, narrative and hype to survive and spread.
Memes come before tokens; the most successful memecoins leverage the popularity of existing memes.
Crypto-native memes are just beginning to spread outside of crypto circles, such as Pudgy Penguins.
Low prices attract speculation; the price itself becomes a meme.
A strong community and marketing are crucial to the success of a memecoin.
From crazy growth to professional operation, memecoin is also constantly evolving.
Images and slogans drive the spread of memes.
opportunity
With a market capitalization of over $600 billion and a daily trading volume of $13 billion, Memecoin has enormous financial value.
Catching the next meme early can generate profits for creators and investors, expanding influence and becoming an early believer, whether as a ticket to wealth or the choice to follow a specific KOL.
