Author: Nomos Labs Source: mirror
Few people have thought that the birth of Meme coin may be a "cultural experiment" in the crypto world: How much is a joke worth? How many waves and ripples in the financial world can a humorous joke drive? From DOGE to SHIB, and to $Neiro, which has a high yield this year, these seemingly "nonsense" currencies have repeatedly refreshed people's views on the narrative ability of Meme coins.
In 2024, the Meme coin market is still very lively in uncertainty. It is not only an entertainment symbol in the crypto circle, but also a paradise for speculators and a barometer of market sentiment. But if we dig out the story behind the skyrocketing prices, we will find that behind this carnival, there is a familiar and unfamiliar logic driving it: Meme culture, market sentiment and technical narratives are redefining the value boundaries of Meme coins.
1. How does Meme coin tell a "good story" about emotions?
On the surface, Meme coin is a continuation of Internet meme culture, but its real charm lies in its ability to quickly gather emotions through storytelling and shape short-term "group frenzy". However, for the long-term value of Meme coin, no one has yet been able to clear the fog and find the certainty and connotation of countless stories in that "bubble".
It's a joke, but also a cultural resonance
The earliest $DOGE Dogecoin can be said to be a complete "spoof". It has neither complex technical support nor ambitious application plans, but relying on a Shiba Inu emoticon package, it has become the spokesperson for Internet meme culture. In 2024, this meme narrative was further developed. New players not only attracted attention with "jokes" and "humor", but also began to play the cultural and emotional card. For example, Pepe's sad frog, the frog image behind it has long been a classic in Internet culture. Its popularity does not rely on technical highlights, but on community communication and cultural identity. In a short period of time, Pepe's community size has exploded and has become the biggest Meme coin dark horse this year. It is not difficult to see that as long as the "emotional point" in the Internet meme culture can be grasped, Meme coins can quickly tell good stories and win consensus. Community-driven: More like an emotional game Behind the popularity of a Meme coin, there must be a crazy community. Elon Musk's support for Dogecoin, $Pepe's "Frog Army", these community members are not only investors, but also "content creators" who actively spread the word. They are keen on "making memes" and pulling people on social platforms, and even turning Meme coins from a "joke" into a "trend".
The example of $SHIB is very typical. In 2024, it not only relies on meme culture to maintain its popularity, but also tries to attract long-term users through technical narratives, such as its Metaverse project Shibaverse, which is still in its early stages, but is enough to give the community a new "show-off point".
We can see from this that for Meme coins, meme culture is the background, but its real charm is the ability of community narrative - telling a story that resonates with people's emotions, so that everyone "wants to buy and dares to buy".
2. A magnifying glass for market sentiment, a safe haven for speculators
But in any case, the underlying logic of a "good story" that can affect market changes requires "interest drive". The reason why Meme coin can continue to be popular is not only because it is "fun", but also because it has become a high-volatility safe haven for speculators when the crypto market is down.
The price surge, the "myth of getting rich" that speculators love to tell
Looking back on 2024, the most eye-catching market is undoubtedly the surge in $Pepe. From the beginning of the year to the middle of the year, the price of this sad and funny frog has increased by more than a hundred times - the market is attracted to this type of currency, not because of its strong technology or application, but because it is easy to "hype up".
The issuance threshold of Meme coin is low, the unit price is extremely low, and the room for growth seems infinite. This feature is particularly friendly to retail investors: even if there are only a few hundred dollars, you can fight for a "10 times, 100 times" imagination space. For those investors who "enter the market late", this high-risk and high-return speculative variety has become their best choice to catch up with the wealth effect.
Market volatility, "emotional outlet" in the bear market
Interestingly, when the overall market of the crypto market entered a period of volatility, the popularity of Meme coin rose against the trend. This is not because of how strong the fundamentals of Meme coin itself are, but because speculative funds need a new "emotional outlet".
Unlike mainstream currencies, Meme coins do not have complex valuation logic, nor do they rely on strong ecological support. They rely on market sentiment. When other assets are difficult to pry retail investors' emotions, Meme coins have become the "bridgehead" for emotional trading.
So the market clearly points to the fact that the price fluctuations of Meme coins are the amplification and reflection of market sentiment: for speculators, it is the first choice for low cost and high volatility; for the market, it is a real "emotional mirror". So it is not difficult to understand that everyone begins to like listening to their stories, and even more likes them to start creating "wealth-making stories" that are close at hand and full of dreams.
Third, can Meme coins still use technology to add points to themselves?
We understand the changes in market sentiment, but we must also clearly recognize that cultural narratives and speculative sentiment can be popular for a while, but if Meme Coin wants to go further and find the underlying logic that can support long-term value compounding, it must rely on technological innovation to create new narratives and application scenarios.
AI "new stalks" create technological narrative empowerment
This year, AI technology has become a hot topic in the crypto circle. Some Meme coin projects have seized the opportunity and launched AI-enabled gameplay, such as AI-generated content. In this way, Meme coin projects can quickly and cost-effectively provide continuous interactive and entertainment experiences for investors and community members. Another example is AI trading strategies. With the advantages of AI algorithms, project parties can more accurately predict market trends, analyze trading data, optimize investment decisions, etc. Although early performance may not have achieved the expected results, it is undeniable that the introduction of AI technology has injected new vitality and new narrative clues into Meme coins.
NFT linkage, the continuation of cultural narrative
At the same time, NFT is still an important "partner" of Meme coins, and will continue to show its unique charm and potential in 2024. Especially in projects like $Pepe, investors can not only make profits by buying and holding Pepe coins, but also show their identity and status by obtaining unique NFTs.
The combination of NFT and Meme coins is not just a simple exchange of digital assets, but also a manifestation of profound identity and community culture. Through the gameplay of NFT binding, these projects provide investors with a more personalized and emotional way of participation, making holding these Meme coins not only an investment behavior, but also an expression of community belonging. It is not difficult to imagine that as more similar innovative gameplay continues to emerge, NFT will continue to be an important "accelerator" for the development of Meme coin projects.
The attempt to combine payment scenarios with DeFi, the increase in the value of tokens
Of course, in the cryptocurrency market, which is not short of imagination, some Meme coins are also trying to expand payment functions. At 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.
And projects like SHIB, by combining DeFi protocols, allow coin holders to obtain more actual benefits from it, just like the governance token $BONE of the SHIB ecosystem, which is widely used in liquidity mining in ShibaSwap. Investors can earn income through staking (BURYing) and providing liquidity (DIGging).
Such technological narratives are still continuing, and technological empowerment will be an important highlight of Meme Coin in the next stage. Although it may seem to be "storytelling" in the short term, in the long run, only when the technological narrative is implemented, Meme Coin may eventually be able to escape the fate of "short-term speculation".
Written in the end: The next stop for Meme Coin, will it be the rise of the meme economy and culture or the bursting of the bubble cycle?
When we look back at the market in 2024, we can find that there are three key driving forces behind the rise of Meme Coin:
Culture: Meme culture and community consensus are the foundation of Meme Coin, which can continue to tell an attractive story;
Emotion: The fluctuation of market sentiment and the promotion of speculators make it the most "explosive" asset;
Technology: New concepts and new application scenarios are the key to making Meme Coin more "valuable" in the future.
However, there are also obvious risks in these three: How long can the story be told? How long can the emotion last? Can the technology really be implemented? The answers to these questions will determine the future direction of Meme Coin.
But when we start to look forward to the future imagination of 2025, it is certain that Meme coin has changed from a "joke" to a unique phenomenon in the crypto market. In the increasingly restless and continuously explosive "golden cycle" of cryptocurrencies ushered in after the US election, its vitality is far from over, but whether it can get out of the carnival and enter the real "value era":
2025, please let Meme coin answer.
Clement
Hui Xin
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