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In May 2021, a “joke coin” born in 2013 suddenly broke into the top ten cryptocurrency market capitalization.The skyrocketing price of Dogecoin has left countless people dumbfounded and even more people confused: Why is this token with a Shiba Inu head worth billions of dollars?
The answer is hidden in every reposted meme, in every “To the Moon” comment, and in the spontaneous cultural identity formed by millions of holders.
Today we will reveal the true value logic of Meme Coin and tell you why spreading culture is more important than urging project parties to “pull the market”.
unexpected rise
In 2013, programmers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer casually created Dogecoin to mock the speculative craze for cryptocurrency at the time.They used the popular Shiba Inu emoticon as their logo and set the circulation to be unlimited – which was seen as an “anti-cryptocurrency” joke at the time.
But no one expected that this “joke” would attract the first batch of loyal fans.Reddit users began to use Dogecoin to reward interesting posts, the community spontaneously organized charity events, and even crowdfunded to sponsor NASCAR drivers and the Jamaican bobsled team.There is no white paper and no technological innovation. Dogecoin relies on pure community enthusiasm, reaching a peak of $0.74 in 2021, and its market value once exceeded $85 billion.
Elon Musk’s tweets certainly sent Dogecoin’s popularity skyrocketing, but it’s the community that really keeps it alive.When other altcoins disappeared, Dogecoin holders were still creating memes and holding online events. This cultural stickiness has allowed it to survive the ten-year bear market.
PEPE & SHIB｜The liquidity of cultural symbols
If Dogecoin is an unexpected success, then Shiba Inu (SHIB), which was born in 2020, is an intentional cultural experiment.It calls itself the “Dogecoin Killer”, but it has copied the same successful logic – using the cute Shiba Inu image to unite the community and shouting the slogan “SHIB Army”, making every holder feel that he is part of this cultural movement.
In 2021, the price of SHIB has skyrocketed 120,000 times, with its market value reaching a maximum of US$36 billion.What is even more exaggerated is the PEPE coin in 2023. This token based on the “Sad Frog” emoticon package was spread spontaneously by netizens without any endorsement, and its market value exceeded US$7 billion within 2 weeks.
These cases prove that the price of Meme Coin does not come from the code, but from the spread of cultural symbols.Just like Disney makes money from Mickey Mouse, Meme Coin turns emoticons into tradable cultural assets.When a symbol is known, used and spread by more people, it becomes more valuable.
Have you spoken out for your beloved Meme Coin?
After many novices bought Meme Coin, they urged the project team to “pull the market” in the community every day.But if you understand the essence of Meme Coin, you will find that this is completely wrong.
Meme Coin is different from stocks and traditional cryptocurrencies.Behind stocks are company performance, behind Bitcoin there is blockchain technology, and the only “fundamentals” of Meme Coin are community consensus and cultural spread.The project party can only be a starter at most, and the real “bookmaker” is actually every holder.
Look at the example of PEPE: it has no founder and no team, and relies entirely on netizens to spontaneously create memes and spread memes on Twitter and Telegram.When you forward PEPE’s emoticons, when you discuss with your friends how interesting this frog is, you are actually “empowering” it—every time you spread it, you increase the value of this cultural symbol.
On the contrary, if the community only waits for the project party to pull the plug, it will be like a group of people guarding a fish pond that cannot reproduce on its own, and sooner or later it will come to nothing.Recently, hundreds of new Meme Coins are born every day on Pump.fun, but 99% of them do not survive a week because they only have code but no culture, and no community willing to spread the word.
Beginner survival rules
In the era of information explosion, attention is the scarcest resource.Meme Coin is essentially “attention securitization” – turning netizens’ attention, discussions, and forwarding into tradable assets.
Platform algorithms favor interesting content, and Meme Coin was born for social media.A funny meme is easier to spread than a white paper, and the phrase “To the Moon” can inspire FOMO more than technical parameters.When you post SHIB emoticons in your circle of friends, you are actually helping it grab other people’s attention, and this attention will eventually be converted into buying.
Meme Coin on Solana and Base chains are particularly active because these platforms have fast transaction speeds and low handling fees, and are more suitable for high-frequency trading and communication by retail investors.Technology is just infrastructure, and the real engine is the “social currency” created by the community.
If you decide to participate in this cultural game, it is more important to remember these three points than to stare at the K-line:
Choose the cultural symbols you truly identify with
Don’t buy Meme Coin you don’t understand.If you think a meme is boring, don’t expect others to spread it.PEPE holders are mostly Generation Z who grew up with this frog emoticon. They spread it out of genuine love, not just to make money.
Be a communicator rather than a speculator
Instead of asking “when to pull the market” every day, it is better to think about how to let more people know about this Meme.Make a funny emoticon, write a joke, or leave a message on a related topic.Every time you spread your creativity, you are adding value to the tokens you hold.
Treat investment with an entertainment mentality
Meme Coin is essentially a “cultural lottery”. Although it has more cultural value than pure gambling, it is still highly speculative.Never invest more than you can afford to lose, think of it like buying a ticket to an amusement park – having fun is the most important thing, making money is just an added bonus.
Meme Coin is the IPO of internet culture
When we turn emoticons into cryptocurrencies, we are actually doing an “IPO” for Internet culture.Every Meme Coin’s surge is a grassroots cultural “raid” on the traditional financial system.
But remember: there is no value without communication.The cakes drawn by the project team and the orders shouted by KOL are not as powerful as the Meme on your mobile phone that is ready to be posted to Moments.Instead of waiting for others to “pull the market”, it is better to open the drawing software now and create financial and cultural symbols that belong to this era.
After all, in the age of the attention economy, everyone is their own banker.
