With the development of the cryptocurrency market, Memecoin has gradually become a way to solve the market dilemma. In the case of poor liquidity, VC and retail investors unable to take over, and the intensified conflicts between the project and community users on airdrops and anti-Sybil attacks, Memecoin has shown unique appeal. Recently, as the price of Bitcoin rebounded to more than $66,000, six of the most traded tokens on the Binance platform belong to Memecoin, namely PEPE, FLOKI, WIF, DOGE, BOME and SHIB.
Thinking about those Memecoins whose market capitalization can remain high, such as the originator DOGE and the emerging PEPE, the reasons for their success are nothing more than the following five factors: cultural foundation, simplicity and recognizability, entertainment and humor, low-threshold secondary creation, and the promotion of super influencers and soul figures.
1. Cultural foundation
The images of PEPE and DOGE have long been widely popular in Internet culture and have accumulated a large number of fans. The crypto community is mainly composed of young and active Internet users who are familiar with these emoticons and are happy to incorporate them into new trends.
The origin of DOGE can be traced back to a photo of Shiba Inu Kabosu in February 2010. In December 2010, Doge Meme became popular on Reddit and combined with broken English phrases. In 2013, various Doge emoticons appeared frequently and had a huge influence. In December of the same year, Dogecoin (DOGE) was born on the basis of a joke.
PEPE has a longer and more complicated history. It can be traced back to Matt Furie's comic "Boys Club" in 2005, where the classic line "feels good man" was widely spread; in 2008, PEPE became popular on the 4chan forum and was made into various emoticons; around 2014, PEPE covered all mainstream social media. Although PEPE was later given some political metaphors and became controversial, Matt Furie and the PEPE community worked hard to restore its original image between 2017 and 2019.
In April 2023, Memecoin PEPE was launched, which was initially promoted by NFT communities such as Milady NFT holders and Chinese in Dubai. Although the token history is much later than DOGE and there are some controversies, PEPE eventually became the third largest Memecoin after DOGE and SHIB.
2. Simple and recognizable
The DOGE and PEPE meme images are highly recognizable and come to mind as soon as they are mentioned. Such high recognition and memory points make these memecoins easy to spread and can be quickly distinguished from other images visually.
3. Entertainment and Humor
The essence of meme is humor and entertainment, and Memecoin should also inherit this feature. It is not only for investment returns, but also for the fun of it. This relaxed atmosphere can more easily attract outsiders, novices and young investors. In the first two rounds of bull markets, it was often Memecoins such as DOGE and SHIB that attracted a large number of users into the circle, rather than value coins or applications.
Choosing a meme should be based on intuitive impressions. You should be able to be attracted by the fun and community spirit and feel happy without having to think too much about it.
4. Low threshold for secondary creation
The distinctive feature of Meme is that the threshold for making emoticons or secondary creations is very low, allowing users to spread quickly and attract a large number of participants. Most memes have a fixed image or template, and users only need to change part of the content. Many free online tools and apps simplify the meme creation process. Secondary creation is not only a form of entertainment, but also conveys personal views and emotions, reflecting the living conditions of people in different eras.
Every secondary creation gives Meme a new core. The reason why Meme becomes Memecoin is that it continuously absorbs new culture during its development, integrates elements of Crypto and blockchain, and makes culture a cultural asset at the financial level.
5. Super influencers and key figures drive the industry
Social influencers play an important role in promoting and spreading memes. Any memecoin related to it will be driven by it, especially when celebrities and public figures mention or promote these memes on social media, which will quickly attract market attention and hype. For example, Musk mentioned Dogecoin on Twitter many times, which directly affected its market price and popularity, and was even labeled as a market manipulator; Musk posted a photo of a dog wearing a hat on Twitter, which caused WIF to soar.
In addition, the spread and success of memes are sometimes driven by individual key figures or so-called soul figures. Such soul figures are similar to the leaders of certain sects, such as Roaring Kitty, the soul figure of "Retail Investors vs. Wall Street", whose activeness on social media caused GameStop to soar; Matt Furie, the creator of PEPE, played an indelible role in maintaining and reshaping the image of PEPE in the "Save PEPE" campaign; and Ansem's continuous marketing and output of WIF.
Summarize
The combination of Internet pop culture and Crypto has given Meme a significant impact on the financial level. Meme culture brings entertainment into investment behavior, allowing more users who resonate with Meme culture to enter Crypto at a low cost. However, Memecoin has high risks and huge fluctuations, so investment needs to be treated rationally. Although a sense of identity is a prerequisite for investment, it is not a guarantee. We hope that all investors will remain rational when participating in Memecoin.
