Author: Arain, ChainCatcher
Editor: Nianqing, ChainCatcher
Have you seen this person?
With a muscular physique, a wide and fleshy chin, and a toothy grin, displaying a mysterious smile.
Yes, that’s just the thing. It may not fit your definition of a 'handsome guy,' but in today's internet culture, his hardware conditions define the notion of 'handsome guy'—he is 'Gigachad.'
We all know that 'Meme Theologian' Murad became famous due to SPX. The Gigachad-named Memecoin GIGA is also one of the Memecoins Murad endorses. Recently, Murad stated on his social media, '#SPX6900 and GIGA will become this cycle's DOGE and SHIB.'
In the past week, SPX and GIGA have performed well. According to Coingecko data, SPX currently has a market cap of about $1.4 billion, ranking in the TOP 10 of Memecoins, having risen over 80% in the past week, leading the gains and even surpassing the currently popular ai16z. $GIGA's performance is slightly weaker, currently with a market cap of about $800 million, ranking 15th in Memecoins, having risen about 40% in the past week.
1. Murad's Preference for Cult Memes
As one of the top KOLs in the Memecoin space, Murad's words and actions are now closely watched by the market, and even a single statement can become news.
Murad graduated from Princeton University and worked at traditional financial institutions like Goldman Sachs and Glencore before 2016. He later resigned to focus on Bitcoin and established the Adaptive Capital fund in 2017, but unfortunately, it closed in 2020 due to the 3/12 crash, citing 'insufficient infrastructure.'
But Murad cannot be easily defeated. In 2022, he made a full comeback on social media, diving into the world of meme coins. He proposed the Memecoin Supercycle theory, believing that Memecoins are 'borrowing' attributes and speculative premiums from value coins, about to usher in a 'Meme Supercycle,' where Memecoins will not just be internet jokes but legitimate investment assets with a large number of passionate followers. This perspective prompted investors to reevaluate Memecoins.
SPX and GIGA were the first Memecoins Murad invested in. In addition, there are PEPE, SIGMA, APU, and POPCAT, among which SPX and GIGA are the pair of Memecoins frequently mentioned by Murad—drawing parallels between SPX and GIGA with the current largest Memecoin DOGE and the second largest SHIB, highlighting Murad's expectations for these two Memecoins.
So why are these two Memecoins so attractive that they caught Murad's eye?
It is well known that Murad prefers mid- to high-market-cap 'cult attribute' Memecoins. Secondly, he mainly adopts the 'price and belief index' investment strategy, which suggests that investors should look for projects with high belief but low price, meaning those that are undervalued but meet most screening criteria for Memecoins, often having only one or two metrics that fall short, making them easy to improve, and possessing extremely passionate community support.
SPX and GIGA: one is a financial meme, and the other is a 'handsome guy' meme (which can be understood as a cultural reference). They seem to be two types of memes, but share common characteristics: 1. Both are community-driven Memecoins; 2. Supported by centralized exchanges.
2. SPX6900: Fighting Finance, Satirizing the S&P 500
Murad's fondness for SPX led him to change his X profile to 'a believer in SPX.'
Let's review Murad's performance with SPX: when Murad first held SPX, its market cap was only $10 million, and it has now risen to around $1.4 billion, giving Murad a paper profit of over $14 million.
Currently, DOGE's market cap is about $57 billion; if SPX is to rise further—wow, that's quite an ambition, just like the story SPX tells. However, Murad believes SPX has a chance to surpass $100 billion.
SPX, full name SPX6900, is positioned against the renowned S&P 500 index, aiming to challenge this traditional financial 'giant.' But to challenge this giant, they have nothing but 'dreams'; even the official website is fan-operated, stating on the site: 'SPX6900 tokens are a type of Memecoin, intended for entertainment purposes only, and are not associated with any stock, equity, or security. Any similarities or associations between SPX6900 and the 'stock market' are purely coincidental and intended for satire or humor.'
Elon Musk once stated, "Mathematically, 6900 cannot be contained by 500 at all."
This sentence has puzzled people and is also displayed on the SPX6900 website. Perhaps the number 6900 embodies the essence of this meme. The story of this meme is part of a financial protest, attempting to become the third story of retail investors confronting institutions following Occupy Wall Street and Gamestop.
Therefore, SPX6900 shouts: '6400 points above the S&P 500 index. It is the stock market that serves the people. SPX6900 has sown the seeds for tomorrow's forest. SPX6900 nourishes the souls and bodies of millions. SPX6900 serves you, your children, and countless generations to come.'
In this sense, SPX6900 and GIGA are similar, embodying a somewhat mischievous spirit and culture.
In this culture, the usage of memes in satirical contexts includes the following:
6900 traders symbolically 'storm' the New York Stock Exchange, advocating for SPX6900 to surpass the S&P 500 index.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is described as considering using SPX6900 tokens to replace dollar bills, capturing the speculative nature of cryptocurrency discussions at times.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's 'support' for SPX6900 is a fictional portrayal depicting a hypothetical shift in financial policy.
Fans of SPX6900 jokingly suggested establishing a 'National Mary Rose Day' to celebrate the token's popularity.
Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, humorously expressed his 'regret' at not investing in SPX6900, while former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen enjoyed hypothetical gains.
However, on the other hand, SPX6900 initially had a development team. It was fairly launched in August 2023, but the developers quickly exited the project by abandoning the contract, locking liquidity for an extended period, and deleting social media, which caused panic in the community. Eventually, the community spontaneously took over SPX6900, transforming it in 2024 into a fully decentralized Memecoin project where all social activities are created and operated by the community, including meme creation and promotional activities; all initiatives are also driven by the community, such as trading strategy formulation and ecosystem development.
BitMart was the first exchange to list SPX6900, followed by Bybit and other exchanges extending 'olive branches.' Currently, there are expectations for SPX6900 to be listed on Binance.
3. GIGA: Committed to Fitness and Health Culture of Handsome Guys
Chad, the term originally described boys who are strong yet not very bright. Gigachad is an upgraded version of Chad, simply put, it discards the downsides of simplistic thinking while retaining physical purity. Therefore, the goal of Gigachad is perfection; it is a summary term for a handsome guy and should have no flaws.
The Gigachad culture originated in 2017 when someone posted related images online, claiming 'Bogdanov's genetic research has made significant progress,' explicitly comparing Gigachad to Bogdanov with exaggerated jawlines. It was also added that the 'perfect Gigachad' is destined to lead us in the fight against reptilians.
In 2020, the meme 'Average Fan vs. Average Enjoyer' began to circulate, and Gigachad became the representative of the 'enjoyers' due to his image advantage, widely spreading through meme videos. His image is derived from the art photography project of Lithuanian photographer Krista Sudmalis, with deep edits of model Ernest Khalimov's (the 'Gigachad' himself) photos showcasing exaggerated muscles and unique aesthetics, attracting a large number of internet users and forming a unique internet cultural phenomenon.
As Gigachad's popularity continues to rise, artists and models launched the gigachad.army clothing brand and Gigachad NFT in collaboration in 2021, realizing traffic monetization. Subsequently, the GIGA coin emerged based on 'Gigachad' culture, aiming to leverage the power of memes and 'Chad' energy to attract community members to participate.
GIGA is a community-operated project with no centralized ownership, emphasizing ideals of personal growth and self-discipline, resonating with the powerful confident image presented in 'Gigachad' culture. Community members participate in decision-making through governance functions, jointly promoting project development to ensure that the project’s direction aligns with the values and goals of community members.
The GIGA community has achieved some success in fitness and health. The community launched Giga Motion and Giga Fitness programs, focusing on fitness and health, providing fitness challenges and merchandise, aimed at supporting community members in participating in physical and mental resilience exercises, enhancing community cohesion and sense of belonging. Community members actively responded to these programs, improving their health levels through participation in fitness challenges and purchasing related merchandise.
GIGA has received recognition from figures like Ernest Khalimov himself, Mike O'Hearn, and UFC fighter Paulo Costa.
Currently, GIGA can be traded on some centralized exchanges, most notably having been listed by well-known exchanges like Coinbase (but not yet on Binance).
Murad believes that in the future, GIGA will become the largest Memecoin on Solana, and expects its market value to exceed $5 billion by 2025.
However, according to Murad's expectations, SPX can push to the forefront. No wonder he calls himself a believer in SPX, but it might be a bit challenging for GIGA to replace SHIB. If we talk about expected returns, maybe GIGA is the next SHIB—can you appreciate GIGA's aesthetics?
