
Author: Samuel QIN
Recently, the Web3 project Pump.Fun has attracted industry attention again: it has shifted more than $22.74 million worth of SOL to Kraken and has shown a steep upward growth trend since September.So far, the project has accumulated revenue of more than 1.5 million SOLs (calculated based on the current SOL price, the profit exceeds US$300 million).The Meme market is booming, and a large number of stories about the deviations of wealth survivors are flooded in different channels. Pump.Fun is a microcosm of this “attention battle”.
Pump.fun’s success can be said to be an attention economy to some extentContinuous manifestation in the Web3 industry.
In the world of Web3, Meme is no longer just a symbol of online culture, but is combined with the token economy and becomes a powerful economic tool.
Especially with the support of Pump.fun, all deployments can be completed by paying a small platform fee by just one picture and a name. Currently, more than 4 million tokens have been deployed.The ideas in the minds of users can become a token within 5 minutes. Any popular topic, label, or cultural symbol can undoubtedly enhance the communication effect.
Photo Source: OKG Research, https://dune.com/hashed_official/pumpdotfun
In this way, the binding relationship between hot spots and user attention is enhanced, and market sentiment can change with the heat of the event itself.To this end, Pump.Fun launched a live broadcast feature in an attempt to further attract attention through real-time interaction.But in order to gain more attention, various live broadcast content that has attracted controversy, and the live broadcast function has to be temporarily removed from the shelves.Similar to traditional Web2, various events of pro-profit may follow live streaming sales.Pump.fun further compresses this process and successfully converts attention into economic value directly through Crypto..
In addition, the fair launch model has no pre-sale or team retains shares. This “candid way” that is revealed without VC support and is fully revealed, and also has insight into the conflicts between ordinary investors and institutions since this year.
At the same time, the threshold for issuing coins in Web3 is also further lowered.Take Clanker as an example, this is a Base-based AI Agent where users can generate Meme tokens in Farcaster with just simple text interaction.This gameplay greatly lowers the threshold for participation, allowing more people to easily enter Meme’s “rich-making track”.The lowering of the threshold also brings another significant problem:The fading of cultural attributes and the strengthening of commercialization.
The hidden worries of PVP game mode – strengthen narrative or amplify risks?
This extreme of attention economy is also reflected in the strengthening of the PVP game mode.Through the narrative of “conquering people with growth”, Meme tokens have shown amazing effectiveness in attracting users.The hidden concern is that thisAttention-driven model will invisibly amplify risks, and market volatility and manipulation possibility will significantly increase..In this environment, users may be trapped in high-risk speculation, and once the popularity dissipates, they are left with a mess.
Metamask’s Co-founder Dan Finlay recently conducted Memecoin launch experiments on Sol and Base, and also stated: The concept of personal issuance or Meme tokens may be useful under the correct implementation, but the current lack of consensus has hindered the Memecoin empowerment ecosystem.The utility ofHe called for clearer mechanisms and better systems to enhance user experience and community trust.
Meme Ecological empowerment outside of business
Meme’s economy is so money-making, but can this business serve the subsequent Web 3 ecosystem?
Just like the Nuggets boom that has set off in the western United States, people who end up making money are often the ones who sell water and shovels.The Meme token boom is perhaps just a carnival of a few projects and tool platforms, and the real ordinary participants are likely to become the harvesters in this economic game.
To make the Meme economy surpass short-term traffic gameplay and become an ecological force that is truly beneficial to the development of Web3, what the industry needs is not only the ability to attract attention, but also the thinking about how to convert attention into long-term value.Attention economy is just a tool, not an end.What really determines the future of Web3 is not the Memes that attract fans, but whether they can build a healthier and more sustainable ecosystem through the Meme business.The next wave of craze is coming. Should you choose to nuggets or sell shovels?