Author: Nomos Labs
Few people have considered that the birth of Meme coins might be a 'cultural experiment' in the crypto world: how much can a joke be worth? How many waves and ripples can a humorous quip create in the financial world? From $DOGE to $SHIB, and then to this year's skyrocketing $Neiro, these seemingly 'absurd' currencies repeatedly refresh people's views on the narrative capability of Meme coins.
In 2024, the Meme coin market is still bustling with uncertainty. It is not just a symbol of entertainment in the crypto circle but has also become a paradise for speculators and a barometer of market emotions. But if we peel back the story behind the soaring prices, we will find that there are both familiar and unfamiliar logics driving this carnival: meme culture, market sentiment, and technological narratives are redefining the value boundaries of Meme coins.
1. How can Meme coins tell a good story about emotions?
On the surface, Meme coins are a continuation of internet meme culture, but their true charm lies in the ability to quickly gather emotions through storytelling, shaping short-term 'group frenzy'. However, regarding the long-term value of Meme coins, no one has yet been able to clear the fog and find the certainty and connotation composed of countless stories within that 'bubble'.
It is both a joke and a resonance of culture.
The earliest $DOGE Dogecoin can be said to be a thorough 'parody'. It had neither complex technological support nor ambitious application plans, but with a Shiba Inu meme, it became the spokesperson for internet meme culture. In 2024, this meme narrative has been further promoted, with new players not only attracting attention with 'jokes' and 'humor' but also starting to play the cultural emotional card.
For example, the sad frog of $Pepe, the frog image behind it has long been a classic in internet culture. Its popularity does not rely on technical highlights but on community dissemination and cultural identity. In a short period, the community scale of $Pepe has exploded, becoming this year's biggest dark horse in the Meme coin sector. It is not hard to see that as long as one can grasp the emotional points in internet meme culture, Meme coins can quickly tell good stories and rally consensus.
Community-driven: more like an emotional game.
The popularity of a Meme coin is certainly backed by a crazy community. Elon Musk's support for Dogecoin, the 'frog army' of $Pepe, these community members are not just investors but also active 'content creators'. They are eager to 'create memes', recruit people on social platforms, and even turn Meme coins from a 'joke' into a 'trend'.
$SHIB is a typical example. In 2024, it not only maintains its popularity through meme culture but also attempts to attract long-term users through technological narratives, such as its metaverse project Shibaverse, which is still in its early stages but has already given the community a new 'show-off point'.
From this, we can see that for Meme coins, meme culture is the base color, but their real charm lies in their community storytelling ability — telling a story that resonates emotionally with people, making them 'want to buy, dare to buy'.
2. A magnifying glass for market sentiment, a safe haven for speculators.
But regardless, the underlying logic of 'good stories' that can drive market changes requires 'profit motivation'. The reason Meme coins can remain hot is not only because they are 'fun' but also because they became a high-volatility safe haven for speculators during the downturn in the crypto market.
Soaring prices, the 'wealth myth' that speculators love to tell.
Reflecting on 2024, the most eye-catching trend is undoubtedly the surge of $Pepe. From the beginning of the year to the middle of the year, this sad yet funny frog's price achieved more than a hundredfold increase — the market is attracted to such currencies not because of their strong technology or applications but because they are easy to 'speculate'.
The threshold for issuing Meme coins is low, with a very low unit price and seemingly unlimited room for growth. This characteristic is particularly friendly to retail investors: even with just a few hundred dollars, one can chase the imagination of '10x, 100x'. For those 'entering late' investors, these high-risk, high-reward speculative products have become their best choice to catch the wealth effect.
Market fluctuations, the 'emotional outlet' in a bear market.
Interestingly, when the overall market conditions of the crypto market enter a period of fluctuation, the popularity of Meme coins rises against the trend. This is not because Meme coins have strong fundamentals but because speculative funds need a new 'emotional outlet'.
Unlike mainstream coins, Meme coins do not have complex valuation logic nor rely on strong ecological support. They rely solely on market sentiment. When other assets struggle to stimulate retail sentiment, Meme coins become the 'bridgehead' for emotional trading.
Thus, the clear market indication is that behind the price fluctuations of Meme coins lies the amplification and reflection of market sentiment: for speculators, it is the preferred choice for low-cost, high-volatility; for the market, it is a true 'emotional mirror'. So it is not hard to understand why everyone is starting to enjoy hearing them tell stories, and even more so, they are beginning to create one dreamlike 'wealth creation story' after another.
3. Can Meme coins use technological upgrades to score points for themselves?
We understand the changes in market sentiment, but we must also clearly recognize that relying on cultural narratives and speculative emotions can create a temporary boom. However, for Meme coins to go further and find the underlying logic that can support long-term compound value, they must rely on technological innovation to create new narratives and application scenarios.
AI 'new memes', creating technological narratives for empowerment.
This year, AI technology has become a hotspot in the crypto circle, and some Meme coin projects have seized the opportunity to launch AI-enabled gameplay, such as AI-generated content. Through this approach, Meme coin projects can quickly and cost-effectively provide ongoing interaction and entertainment experiences for a wide range of investors and community members. Additionally, AI trading strategies leverage the advantages of AI algorithms to more accurately predict market trends, analyze trading data, and optimize investment decisions. Although early performance may not have met expectations, it is undeniable that the introduction of AI technology has injected new vitality and narrative threads into Meme coins.
NFT linkage, continuation of cultural narratives.
At the same time, NFTs remain an important 'partner' of Meme coins, continuing to showcase their unique charm and potential in 2024. Especially in projects like $Pepe, allowing investors to profit not only by buying and holding Pepe coins but also by acquiring unique NFTs to showcase their identity and status.
The combination of NFTs and Meme coins is no longer just a simple exchange of digital assets, but a profound reflection of identity recognition and community culture. Through NFT-bound gameplay, these projects provide investors with more personalized and emotional ways to participate, making holding these Meme coins not just an investment behavior but also an expression of community belonging. It is easy to imagine that as more similar innovative gameplay continues to emerge, NFTs will remain an important 'accelerator' for the development of Meme coin projects.
Attempts to combine payment scenarios with DeFi increase the value leverage of tokens.
Of course, in the imaginative crypto market, some Meme coins are also trying to expand payment functions. Just before the end of the year, DogWifCoin officially announced a partnership with Oobit to launch a new payment function 'Wif Pay', allowing users to use $WIF for consumption and enjoy a 3% cashback reward.
Projects like $SHIB, through the integration of DeFi protocols, allow token holders to gain more actual benefits. For example, the governance token $BONE of the $SHIB ecosystem is widely used in liquidity mining on ShibaSwap, where investors can earn returns through staking (BURYing) and providing liquidity (DIGging).
Such technological narratives continue, and technological empowerment will be an important highlight in the next phase of Meme coins. Although it may seem like 'telling stories' in the short term, in the long run, only when technological narratives are realized can Meme coins possibly escape the fate of 'short-term speculation'.
In conclusion: Is the next stop for Meme coins the rise of meme economic culture or the collapse of a bubble cycle?
Looking back at the market in 2024, we can find three key driving forces behind the rise of Meme coins.
Culture: Meme culture and community consensus are the foundation of Meme coins, allowing them to continuously tell an engaging story.
Emotion: The fluctuations of market sentiment and the push of speculators make it the most 'explosive' asset.
Technology: New concepts and new application scenarios are key to making Meme coins 'worth more' in the future.
However, these three also have obvious risks: how long can the story be told? How long can the emotions last? Can technology really be implemented? The answers to these questions will determine the future direction of Meme coins.
However, as we begin to envision the future of 2025, it is certain that Meme coins have transformed from a 'joke' into a unique phenomenon in the crypto market. Amid the increasingly restless and continuously erupting 'golden cycle' of crypto coins following the US elections, their vitality is far from over. But whether they can break free from the revelry and enter a true 'value era' is yet to be seen.
2025, let's invite Meme coins to answer.
