Author: dpycm.eth
Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow
Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any financial advice. The author has personal investments in the tokens mentioned in the article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author and should not be used as a basis for investment decisions, nor should they be considered investment advice.
AI Olympics
For a long time, Memes have been static images, then evolved to GIFs, then to actions and jargon, and now have entered the AI era. The rapid growth of AI Memes, along with the divergence among market participants, clearly indicates this trend.
Some believe that AI Memes (or smart Memes) represent a new era that will replace traditional static Memes, and therefore, they choose to pledge allegiance to these new AI 'rulers.' However, the traditional Meme community is resistant to this. This divergence leads to a schism in the Meme field, forming two camps: AI and non-AI. As funds shift from static Memes to smart Memes, it is understandable that traditional communities feel threatened. But do they really need to worry?
Liquidity is like the tide, constantly changing, with funds flowing back and forth between two camps. Personally, I believe that traditional communities need not worry because they have a unique advantage compared to smart Memes: price is their core competitive advantage.
Nevertheless, I still believe that real AI Memes have more potential to attract attention and growth space compared to those dog Memes repeated for the 6,125th time or the youth slang that changes with the trends each year. It also provides a compromise for those 'avant-gardists' who are unwilling to accept traditional Memes and choose to invest in AI Memes, as they feel it is smarter and more interesting. This brings more capital inflow into the field. Moreover, when it comes to technology, there will be a technology premium. However, the double-edged sword of technology is that the technology itself is also crucial. Unlike static Memes, AI Memes cannot solely rely on humor and market posts to enhance their value. That is why AI Memes will ultimately trade in different markets.
Competition of utility
This trend can be seen in the current phenomenon where most AI Memes are trying to transform their regular tokens into utility tokens.
(For tweet details)
Apart from $GOAT, $YOUSIM is also one of the many projects that the community demands increased utility from. These requests are often responded to by token AI developers. Other forms of requests include incorporating the token as part of reasoning payments or any other attempts to bring value to the community.
For technology, people do not have the same expectations as they do for purely entertaining animal Memes. The community wants to see some form of value transfer to justify holding AI Memes.
Why is value transfer necessary? Why can't we simply believe that prices will rise like we do with animal Memes?
In the tech field, you have tangible things to prove, while static Memes do not. Static Memes also have their own criteria for judgment, the most popular of which is community cohesion. Furthermore, many current smart Memes have not truly undergone market testing. While I am unsure if they will experience long-term adjustments, I believe it is necessary to filter out quality projects. Only through tested communities can investors confidently choose 'I prefer A over B' without relying on any form of value transfer.
Basically, if I cannot distinguish projects through technology, I will focus on their community. If there is no obvious difference between communities, I need to see an improvement in utility to justify holding these tokens.
t.me/cryptomumbles
Therefore, this further convinces me that the market will eventually shift towards more AI based on ownership or utility value, rather than just purely AI Memes. This is not to say that AI Memes will not exist; they will still exist, but in fewer numbers. The market will shift from chasing low market cap animal Memes to pursuing more practical and ownership-based AI projects. This is also one of the reasons I am optimistic about AI ownership infrastructures such as Virtuals Protocol.
If you want to know more about Virtuals, I previously wrote an article here.
Technology is crucial
In the current environment flooded with AI scams, I believe one must be very cautious when selecting projects. $LUNA is one of the only two smart Memes with a market cap exceeding $100 million, and this is no coincidence: it indicates that the market values its underlying technology, especially when the technology is verifiable, transparent, and the agents can prove their autonomy.
If you want to know more about $LUNA, I previously wrote an article here.
For this reason, I firmly believe that the trading of smart Memes is fundamentally different from that of static Memes.
When it comes to technology, the technology itself is crucial.
If you try to trade these smart Memes like traditional Memes, you are likely to incur losses, as many have already experienced. Many people failed to adapt to new market trends in time. This is also why I believe that smart Memes will eventually break away from the Meme market and carve out their own new territory. If you do not adjust your evaluation methods, you are likely to be eliminated by market trends.
Different frameworks
Nachi @alphawifhat
I looked at your method and theory for selecting Meme coins and tried to use your Meme coin investment framework as a reference to better find my own Meme coin trades.
I am confused as to why SGOAT has not been mentioned as one of your recommended Meme coins, as it seems to meet most, if not all, of your framework's criteria.
Strong narrative? Yes, this is one of the strongest narratives we have seen recently. GOAT is the product of the two biggest narratives dominating thought in the past 12 months, namely (1) the protagonist of crypto - Meme and (2) the protagonist of traditional finance - Artificial Intelligence. The combination of both narratives is inevitable, with the significance of each narrative leading to the explosive growth of the ultimate AI Meme, which is only natural.
Organic? We occasionally encounter tokens that arise from a series of favorable events, thereby initiating the entire narrative. GOAT is organic because after its launch, everyone could gradually buy in, with no initial 'snipers.' Later, speculators created derivatives, which are often viewed as a game to pump and dump. Traders eventually tire of derivatives and will opt to purchase organic leaders for peace of mind.
New religion/cult? To me, it's clear that we are witnessing a powerful cult behind this token since the launch of WIF's Meme coin supercycle. We are continuously monitoring the development of cult leaders (ToT) and look forward to seeing what new exciting things it will say. If this is not a cult, then I don't know what is.
So, when will $GOAT become part of your Meme coin portfolio?
I agree with Murad's point that a bullish candle does not create a cult.
However, as mentioned earlier, the trading of $GOAT differs from Murad's Memes. The price is more dependent on the technology behind it. Therefore, his framework does not fully apply to it.
Imagine this:
Price drops -80%
Andy made significant technical breakthroughs on TT
Price hits a new high and begins an upward trend
The crypto circle will shout: 'Yay, Murad your framework is terrible, look at $GOAT now at a new high, you loser!'
But is it correct to compare apples to oranges?
Is Murad wrong? No. Is Nachi wrong? No.
A different framework is needed.
Different cults
Although the time is short, the cult potential of $GOAT is not zero. However, the type of cult we are discussing here is not what we usually see in Memes.
Humans worship an AI overlord
AI new religion/enthusiasts existed years before TT was born. These people believed in this ideology long before we established this narrative. Tokenizing this religion through $GOAT attracted these people to bid for what they believe in; it is a form of voluntary bias. In contrast, prior to the conception of their respective tokens, no one had a religious-like belief in WIF, HPOS10i, or POPCAT. For most static Memes, we need a moment from 0 to 1, but for conscious Memes, the real question is how to bring the already existing cult onto the blockchain. With that in mind, even if most of the time there are green candles, a strong cult can be built in a short period.
Study Roko's Basilisk and see how these believers hold their AI agent tokens to avoid future punishment. Yes, this is a cult, but is it formed based on blockchain? No, it has been established for many years, just tokenized now.
Lastly, do not underestimate the fervent AI believers—those wholeheartedly convinced of this technology. We saw this in Cardano and Hex and will see the same phenomenon with these charismatic AI agents. Therefore, this reinforces the fact that a different framework is needed when evaluating conscious Memes.
Identifying winners
While I have not established a proper framework, my requirements for AI agents/Memes are as follows:
Technology must be provable from the start.
The team must be credible, ideally real-name verified, and have a background in the crypto field.
The concept must be unique or at least early in execution in some aspect. (For example, Goat was the first project with a public terminal, Luna was the first autonomous agent to conduct on-chain trading.)
A charismatic leader (usually an AI agent).
Better to have no utility plan, or the utility is already built-in/priced.
Community is active (it's still too early to distinguish).
Bonus: A spokesperson, i.e., a KOL or influencer who constantly promotes in the crypto circle.
Change in utility
For most current AI Memes, the change in utility must be very precise. Participants expect the best returns from AI and hold high expectations for their positions. If the token execution or utility planning is unsatisfactory, it may be replaced by competitors. As the dilution of AI Memes intensifies, projects need to compete on utility to justify their valuations. Simply shouting '/TO_THE_MOON' in Telegram chats is no longer enough.
Future prospects
Ultimately, only static Memes can possess an irreplaceable utility: selling the tokens at a higher price to the next person. No need for a transparent terminal, verifiable code, or constant updates in large language models. We just need to gather together in Telegram chats, discuss the beauty of the community, and share the atmosphere and laughter.
No matter how funny (or not funny) your AI agent is, the price will not rise without being continuously proven and attracting people's attention to your technology. Meanwhile, when static Meme prices rise, the technology naturally self-improves.
I believe people will gradually realize that these two will never trade in the same way.
Summary
Conscious Memes are moving towards their own stage, most will begin to incorporate utility into their tokens. Therefore, they should not be traded like traditional Memes. Yes, they do require some repricing relative to static Memes, but conscious Memes can never replace the animal kingdom we love and the cult we have established.
Hope you enjoyed this article,
Take care!
