The evolution of Meme from DOGE: From "joking about the Internet" to Web3 trend

On November 12, 2024, Trump, who won the US presidential election, announced that he would set up the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) after taking office. The department will be managed by Elon Musk and Indian entrepreneur and former Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. It aims to provide advice and guidance from outside the government, promote large-scale structural reforms, and create unprecedented government entrepreneurship.

Although this news has no direct connection with encryption, the abbreviation "DOGE" of the department has the same name as a digital asset supported by Elon Musk, which has pushed the market price of this digital asset (Dogecoin) to its highest level in 2024. On November 23, 2024, the market value reached a recent high, an increase of about 56% compared to the market value the day before the announcement of the "Establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency".

About Dogecoin

Dogecoin (DOGE) was developed and created by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer in December 2013. It was originally just a product to make fun of the BTC market. Its name comes from the English word "dog" misspelled on the Internet, and its image is based on the popular Shiba Inu emoticon Kabosu at the time.

In 2021, thanks to Elon Musk's promotion on social platforms, the price of Dogecoin reached a historic peak. It once became a representative of Internet culture on social media platforms such as Reddit and Twitter, and led to the birth of many similar products. Therefore, they are also given a common and interesting name, called Meme Coins.

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Review of the development history of Meme Coins

1. Origin

• 2013: Dogecoin became the first Meme Coin.

• 2014 ~ 2019: Meme Coins began to be active in the crypto community and are often used for rewards, donations and other scenarios.

2.Detonation

• After 2020: With the growing influence of social media, Meme Coins have been supported and promoted by many opinion leaders on social media.

• 2021: Elon Musk frequently publicly expressed his support for Dogecoin on Twitter, causing its price to soar, and finally officially detonated the trend of Meme Coins. At the same time, Meme Coins such as Shiba Inu also rose rapidly and competed with Dogecoin.

3. Prosperity

• From 2022 to 2023, themed Meme Coins will appear faster (such as Baby Doge, Floki Inu, etc.) and begin to merge with DeFi projects.

• Since 2024, with the launch of Layer2 project Base, Meme Coins have ushered in an era of prosperity. The market value of new Meme Coins has grown very fast, and the increase has exceeded 100 times in less than half a year.

• Today, among the top ten Meme Coins by market value, three were newly launched in 2024, such as Brett (BRETT), BOOK OF MEME (BOME), and DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON (Runes) DOG. Among them, BRETT on the Base chain has performed particularly well, with a market value increase of more than 177 times since its release, becoming a new highlight in the Meme Coins market.

△ Popular Meme Coins

Image source: coingecko.com / Screenshot on December 19, 2024

Cultural identity of Meme Coins

Meme is a trend culture. Its essence emphasizes equal participation, self-expression, and wide dissemination. It is usually spread together with cultural symbols such as interesting, imitative or ironic pictures, videos or emoticons. When Meme culture was introduced to the Web3 world, it resonated with the decentralized model and community enthusiasm of the Web3 world, giving birth to a large number of personalized and interesting Meme Coins, and formed a unique Meme Coins decentralized cultural identity, which was therefore sought after by users. This cultural identity includes:

●  Creativity and entertainment: For example, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu use cute images such as Shiba Inu, and lower the psychological threshold through humorous packaging, making more people willing to try.

●  Decentralization and community creation: Meme Coins are usually combined with popular Internet culture, with strong originality, which can make holders feel more interesting and belonging than traditional digital assets.

●  Low threshold participation and collective resonance: Meme Coins have a low threshold for holding, but thanks to their frequent association with specific events or cultural symbols, they can quickly trigger group resonance, so their market value has soared rapidly and their community promotion power is strong.

The other side of Meme culture that needs to be vigilant

The essence of Meme culture is its creativity, personality, and humorous display, but at the same time, as a kind of trend culture, Meme culture also has the common problems of trend culture, such as being superficial, amplifying prejudice, creating discrimination or misinformation.

Meme Coins, because they need to rely on trend culture to release value, have a deeper reliance on market sentiment, and their market value is more volatile, and there is a greater risk of speculation. If the popularity of the trend culture they rely on fades, Meme Coins are very likely to experience large ups and downs. For example, in 2021, the Meme Coins SQUID, which was based on the popular Korean drama "Squid Game", saw its price soar thousands of times in just a few days, but then the price instantly dropped to zero, causing heavy losses to the holders.