Author: Revc, Golden Finance
The uniqueness of MEME tokens such as DOGE, PEPE and SHIB stems from complex speculative motives, community collaboration, meme culture dissemination and the impact of emerging technologies (such as AI) on the market. From the perspective of game theory, MEME tokens present multiple interactions of collective beliefs, coordination behavior and market speculation, which provides new ideas for the analysis of financial market behavior.
Game theory applied to the MEME token phenomenon
1. Speculation and the Prisoner’s Dilemma
The decisions facing investors often reflect the “prisoner’s dilemma”:
Maximizing short-term profits: Many investors choose to sell quickly at the peak to make profits and avoid the risk of market collapse.
Long-term Value Creation: If investors can reach a consensus and hold tokens together, their price may be maintained or grow. However, the sell-off by any single investor threatens overall stability.
Case Study: The Rise and Volatility of DOGE
The price fluctuations of DOGE are highly dependent on community trust and celebrity endorsements (such as Elon Musk's tweets). This speculative phenomenon reveals the contradiction between short-term and long-term interests in the game.
2. Coordination Games: The Self-fulfilling Nature of Value
Successful MEME tokens often rely on coordinated efforts from the community.
For example, the success of the GOAT token is attributed to the strong promotion of its narrative by the community, as well as the support of AI tools (like 'Truth Terminal') for market dynamics. This collaboration reflects the essence of coordinated games: as long as the majority act together, the value growth of the token could become a reality.
3. The Signaling Game: The Role of Authority Endorsement
When well-known institutions or individuals (such as venture capital firm a16z or its founder Marc Andreessen) support a token, they send a signal to the market. This signaling effect strengthens the market's recognition of the token's value, triggering more investment behavior.
Example: PEPE garnered significant attention in its early days through influencer support and cultural symbolism, despite its limited actual use, resulting in a price surge.
4. Common Sense and Collective Action
Many MEME tokens rely on a collectively accepted consensus: 'This is a meme token.' This shared understanding drives market behavior and value inflation. A consensus on price growth is established through viral dissemination, but this growth often detaches from its actual utility.
AI-driven MEME tokens: The interaction between technology and sentiment.
1. AI and Market Dissemination
AI technology is changing the generation and dissemination patterns of MEME tokens by optimizing meme content and sentiment monitoring.
Efficient Narrative Creation: Generative AI can quickly produce highly eye-catching content, driving viral dissemination of memes.
Sentiment Analysis and Feedback: AI tools provide real-time analysis of market sentiment, giving investors strategic adjustment suggestions, thereby influencing market behavior.
Truth Terminal is an AI chatbot created by Andy Ayrey, designed to explore AI's performance and impact in social media environments. Initially, this project operated on X and was inspired by the unsupervised dialogue between two Claude AI models, aiming to study how AI generates content without human intervention. Truth Terminal interacts with users through its X account, primarily focusing on a fictional religious concept called 'Goat Gospel', whose humorous and quirky nature has attracted significant attention.
In July 2024, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen donated $50,000 worth of Bitcoin to Truth Terminal, after which the AI showed interest in issuing tokens, leading to the birth of the $GOAT (Goatseus Maximus) token based on the Solana blockchain. Although Truth Terminal did not directly create $GOAT, its promotional activities greatly enhanced the market value of this meme token, sparking widespread discussion, particularly on how AI affects market dynamics, social media culture, and cryptocurrency investment trends.
Truth Terminal is not just an AI chatbot; it is also a unique case study on how AI presents itself in social networks, influencing followers and the market. It reveals the potential of AI at the intersection of culture, finance, and society.
2. The Combination of MEME and Life Sciences
The application of MEME tokens in the DeSci track demonstrates an innovative combination of cutting-edge scientific exploration and community finance. In the life sciences field, represented by longevity research, the attention of crypto whales has already been attracted. Through MEME tokens, experimental research like RIF (Rifampicin) and URO (Urokinase) has received direct funding from decentralized communities. These tokens not only carry the financial tool attributes of scientific research but also stimulate community emotional participation through on-chain transparency and real-time experimental data, injecting funding and social attention into areas like longevity research and mental health.
At the same time, MEME projects like SCIHUB reflect social issues of academic freedom and inequality through the combination of narrative and social sentiment. These projects have triggered FOMO in the market and achieved a significant increase in market value in a short time through decentralized platform fundraising and narrative dissemination.
Behavioral Economics and Meme Culture: The Dynamics of Irrational Exuberance
1. Market Sentiment and Irrational Exuberance
As behavioral economist Robert Shiller proposed in the theory of 'irrational exuberance', the price fluctuations of MEME tokens are driven more by market sentiment than determined by intrinsic value.
Elon Musk has repeatedly ignited price fluctuations of DOGE through social media, highlighting the role of celebrity effects in stimulating market sentiment.
2. The Deep Impact of Meme Culture
MEME tokens are often attached to memes deeply rooted in internet culture, such as the image of the PEPE frog and the SHIB Shiba Inu theme. These cultural symbols create a strong emotional resonance within the community.
Summary
From the perspective of game theory, the MEME token phenomenon showcases the complex interplay of collective beliefs, market behavior, and technological drivers.
Investors face the choice between short-term profits and long-term consensus. Community coordination and external signals play a crucial role in value growth.
The combination of AI, Biosciences, and meme culture is giving rise to new trends in MEME tokens, forming a new track that deserves attention.
As technology and culture evolve, MEME tokens are not only experimental grounds for financial speculation but may also become new tools for exploring collective behavior and social psychology.
