Whistleblower of the New Narrative 2024 Memecoin Super Cycle Review

Author: faye Source: X, shaofaye 123

Memecoin is an unavoidable theme in 2024. Classic meme coins such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu have an average increase of more than 5 times in 2024, while the investment returns of emerging meme coins such as MooDeng and PNUT are as high as 100 times. The overproduction of tokens and high-circulation and high-valuation VC coins have made this round of bull market a bull market where no one takes over. Therefore, Memecoin has been extremely active in this round. It has become an indicator of on-chain liquidity, a whistleblower of new narratives, and a thermometer of market sentiment.

This year, we have witnessed the process of Memecoin from fanatical speculation to gradually moving towards mainstream culture and consensus effect, and the great wealth transfer has taken place. In this process, the issuance method is constantly innovating, the asset type is changing rapidly, and the mainstream acceptance and adoption have promoted its vigorous development. Every transformation hides a hundred times or a thousand times the opportunity to get rich. Looking back at the 2024 Memecoin super cycle, let us witness the changes and opportunities of this year together.

Infrastructure is improving

The prosperity of this round of Memecoin super cycle is inseparable from the continuous improvement of infrastructure. Whether it is the innovation of the underlying issuance method of the B-end or the optimization of the user experience of the C-end, it provides conditions for Memecoin to flow in funds and expand users rapidly.

Innovation of issuance method

The traditional Memecoin issuance method is similar to that of ordinary tokens, and Memecoin, as an attention economy, has rapidly changing market hotspots, but the current asset issuance cycle is long and complex; user preferences and hype rhythms on major public chains are not the same. These make it difficult to concentrate market attention and liquidity, and it is difficult to push up asset prices quickly and multiple times in the short term.

PUMP.FUN: The core engine of the super cycle

The money-making craze triggered by BOME and SLERF this year, although its pre-sale model has changed its issuance method to a certain extent, has attracted market attention. However, money-making RUGs frequently appear, and the above problems have not been effectively solved. The emergence of PUMP.FUN has effectively solved this situation. The Memecoin issuance cycle has begun to shorten, funds have been continuously circulated, and users have gradually concentrated, laying the foundation for the opening of the Memecoin super cycle.

PUMP.FUN was created by founder Alon in January 2024, but there were few followers at the time, and it was not until April that it gradually entered the public eye. At present, it has issued nearly 5 million Memecoins, accounting for nearly 70% of Solana's daily token issuance, becoming the highest-earning protocol on Solana. As the engine of the Memecoin super cycle, the optimization of asset issuance methods is its core advantage. It allows users to create tokens without any technology (after the August update, there is no need to pay a $2 creation fee). Fair intra-plate fundraising + reasonable price curve (Bonding Curve) successfully reduces the cost of asset issuance and increases the speed of asset issuance. This is an effective solution to the problem that Memecoin hot spots are rapidly changing and funds are difficult to concentrate in the current market.

In addition, PUMP.FUN's success is not only due to the innovation of the mechanism. Its user positioning and product design are also quite excellent. From the user side, it solves the real problem of most people in the Web3 market, "users want to get higher multiples of returns in a simpler, faster and lower-cost way." From the product side, it is one of the few projects with a complete business closed loop, and the source of profit is clear and traceable. (1% of the platform transaction fee before Raydium is launched, and the "currency listing fee" during the packaging and launching of Raydium is 6 SOL.)

Currently, according to Dune data, as of December 23, PUMP.FUN has deployed nearly 5 million Memecoins since its launch, with 300,000 active users per day and 170,000 new addresses per day. According to DefiLlama data, PUMP.FUN's protocol revenue in the past 30 days has reached as high as US$94 million, and the cumulative protocol revenue is nearly US$300 million.

PUMP.FUN imitations frequently appear, and micro-innovations continue

PUMP.FUN opened this round of Memecoin super cycle, and the continuous imitations made the super cycle more prosperous.

Sun.pump: Memecoin Launchpad becomes the fifth set of public chains

A large amount of capital inflow and market attention have led to the launch of PUMP.FUN imitations on various public chains, and for a time Memecoin Launchpad became the fifth set of public chain standard.

Major public chain ecosystems have begun to support Memecoin in the upstream, midstream and downstream. On BSC, platforms such as Four.meme and Flap have continuously launched activities and joint names to attract market attention; on the Base chain, issuing platforms such as Ape.Store, Rug.fun, and Trugly.meme have attracted user participation through various gameplays; on BTC Layer 2, many imitations have also emerged, such as LnPUMP.FUN, SatsPUMP.FUN, and CPUMP.FUN. And Sun.pump on the Tron chain has driven the "re-prosperity" of the entire Tron chain by "its own strength". For a time, hot money surged in the Tron chain, and the gas on its chain soared, and the price of TRX, which had been silent for a long time, also hit a three-year high. But since then, TRX has been falling all the way, and the current price has fallen back to 0.24 USDT.

See him build a high building, and see his building collapse. Memecoin, as a traffic portal that quickly attracts users, can bring a wave of dividends to the public chain, but how to undertake ecological construction is worth thinking about.

MakeNow.Meme: Optimization of the market-making model

MakeNow.Meme is no longer popular, but it attracted widespread attention when it was first launched. It issued more than 2,600 Memecoins in the previous day, with a profit of more than 230+ SOL. Compared with PUMP.FUN, its issuance mechanism is not only a simplification of the asset issuance method, but also provides a new direction for the market-making model.

• Simplify the asset issuance method - On Twitter, post a tweet in a fixed format (the tweet starts with a $ symbol and a stock code, plus a token description/video/picture, etc.) and @ the official account, and wait for the official account to reply to the token contract address in the comment area.

• Optimization of market-making model - fair launch method On the surface, everyone needs to scan the chain to obtain the contract in the first time. But in fact, KOLs and project parties may reach an agreement with the platform privately to snipe and buy low-priced chips in advance.

According to Dune data, MakeNow.Meme gradually died out just one week after its creation, and ended up with no one paying attention. This may confirm that the core narrative and main logic of Memecoin is still the pursuit of fairness.

Moonshot: Backed by DEX Screener's natural traffic

Moonshot was developed by DEX Screener around June this year. Although it is backed by DEX Screener and even embedded in the platform, its data is still very few compared to PUMP.FUN. Although it has the blessing of natural traffic, it does not seem to have done a good job in accepting and converting traffic. MetaData is not displayed before launch, and the launch history cannot be easily checked, and the function lacks transparency.

The data performance after its launch is also relatively mediocre. This may indicate that the traffic entrance has always existed, and how to convert users is the key.

Recommended reading: "Inventory of "PUMP.FUN" on various chains, where to play to make money?"

Optimization of user experience

In addition to the innovation in asset issuance and capital diversion, the optimization of user experience is also the reason for the large-scale outbreak of Memecoin in this round.

TG Bot: Optimization for Web3 users

Behind this round of Memecoin super cycle, it is inseparable from the development of tools and on-chain robots, and their functions are rapidly updated in continuous iterations. From sniping, fixed investment to security checks and then to correlation analysis. Super tools and robots escort users to dig gold on the chain, and promote Memecoin to the public from the demand side. During this period, for Memecoin transactions, tools were expanded from mobile to web. For different segmented needs, there were multi-chain compatible professional trading websites, such as gmgn.ai, Bullx, and Photon, as well as convenient and fast TG bots such as Banana Gun, Tojan, and Bonkbot. These service tools specifically for Memecoin transactions have gradually transitioned from comprehensive to in-depth with the help of the Memecoin gold rush. Tools such as wallet analysis, Twitter monitoring, and security testing have been increasingly improved, and the product business model has been verified. In this process, the number of TG Bot users has also been increasing, with a maximum of more than 140,000 daily active users and a maximum daily average transaction volume of nearly US$500 million. Although there is still a long way to go compared to on-chain DEX, this segment is still a blue ocean under the influence of the Memecoin super cycle.

Recommended reading: "Don't take over anymore! Memecoin tool advanced guide"

MoonShot: Optimization for Web2 users

In addition to Web3 users, Memecoin is also the most direct way for Web2 users to enter and understand Web3. However, Memecoin transactions still have many problems such as high security risks, multi-dispersed platforms, and difficulty in obtaining Gas. MoonShot, in which the PUMP.FUN incubation team Alliance DAO participated, has solved this problem to a certain extent.

It is a mobile application built on the Solana network that focuses on Meme transactions. It supports users to directly purchase Memecoin through legal currency deposit methods such as Apple Pay, credit cards, and PayPal. This simplification of the social login and legal currency deposit process brings more new users and new funds to the Solana ecosystem, and connects the Memecoin on the chain with funds outside the circle. However, at present, as the wealth effect weakens, the activity of MoonShot users is gradually decreasing. How to effectively convert Web2 users is a problem that has always existed in the encryption field.

Rapid change of major narratives

Memecoin, as the most representative target of the attention economy phenomenon in the crypto market, has a diversified development trend of narrative procedures under the market boom in 2024. Looking back at various past God disks, the subject matter types of Memecoin narratives are not the same. But behind each type is a specific market trend, community trend and capital operation model. According to past rules and characteristics, we can roughly divide them into four types: derivative Memecoin triggered by events, community-driven IP Memecoin, concept Memecoin dominated by celebrity effect, and emerging Memecoin across fields and dimensions. Various types of cross-influence each other and are not completely independent.

Derivative Memecoins triggered by emergencies

Memecoins triggered by emergencies often attract a high level of attention at the beginning. Traffic and funds will quickly drive up the price of Memecoin assets during the process of attention. The rise from the occurrence to the rise is often sudden and difficult to replicate. Its core characteristics are rapid outbreak, high short-term multiples but insufficient sustainability, and other motivations need to be found after attention fades. Similar targets such as BOME, SLERF, FIGHT, BAN, etc. can all be Memecoins driven by event speculation.

BOME (BOOK OF MEME) is a pre-sale project initiated by Pepe Meme artist Darkfarm. The pre-sale raised more than 10,000 SOL. Due to the widespread attention, the trading volume of the token exceeded 200 million US dollars after listing. After three days of listing on Binance, the market value reached more than 1 billion US dollars. SLERF, which subsequently adopted the same pre-sale mechanism, accidentally destroyed LP and airdrop reserved tokens due to DEV. The sudden incident and subsequent spread caused the price of Meme tokens to spiral upward.

However, if the Meme caused by the sudden incident does not receive continuous attention from the market, the price will converge and decrease. Fight Token, which was derived from the slogan after Trump's assassination, once had a market value of more than 80 million US dollars. Now it lacks attention and its market value has fallen by more than 90%; Michael Bouhanna, vice president of Sotheby's, issued the art concept Meme coin BAN on PUMP.FUN, and it fell by 85% at its highest point after listing on Binance.

Community-driven IP Memecoin

IP-type Memecoins tend to have a strong consensus, a long formation cycle and a long fermentation time. After a long period of time, a community can be formed. This type of community-driven IP Meme has shown strong resilience in the fluctuations in 2024. It may take a long time to wash from its appearance to a new high. Its core feature is a high community consensus, a strong CULT temperament, or strong resilience in repeated declines and rises. Similar targets include Cult series POPCAT, SPX, APU and other MEW, NEIRO, MANEKI, etc., which have already formed IP targets.

MEW (cat in a dogs world) is a cat that bravely fights against dogs. After the token was launched in March this year, as a pioneer in the "cat track", its market value reached 1 billion. Later, another IP Maneki (Japanese lucky cat) also referred to its 90% liquidity pool and 10% community allocation mechanism, which caused a short Fomo. Another Memecoin that reflects the community IP is Neiro. Neiro is the name of the rescue dog recently adopted by the owner of Kabosu, the deceased Shiba Inu internet celebrity who was the prototype of Dogecoin. The token has a market value of nearly 50 million US dollars in two days after its launch. The token price fluctuates repeatedly around the public chain problem and the capitalization problem. The speculation of assets continues from the chain to the exchange. Ethereum lowercase Neiro finally won with the help of the community, with a market value of up to 1.2 billion US dollars. In addition, Murad, as a new star in the super cycle, has a token screening standard that has existed for at least six months and has experienced at least two 70% plunges. Therefore, although the short-term rise of SPX benefits from its influence, the importance of community IP is the reason why it has been reborn in repeated declines.

Concept Memecoin dominated by celebrity effect

The performance of Memecoin often forms a binding relationship with key figures. Celebrities can promote related concepts through specific Memecoins, and tokens will also be further popular because of the celebrity effect. Its core feature is that the fluctuation of the coin price is correlated with the influence of the celebrity and the strength of the binding relationship. DOGE, PNUT, TERMINUS, etc. led by Musk, and others such as JENNER, MOTHER, etc. belong to this type.

The behavior and influence of celebrities issuing coins in this round of Memecoin super cycle are also different because of the emergence of Pump.fun. Its rhythm is faster and the multiples are higher, which has attracted many Web 2 celebrities to participate. The JENNER token developed by Caitlyn Jenner, a member of the Kardashian family, rose 160 times overnight; the Meme coin MOTHER contract included in the tweet of the famous American female rapper Iggy Azalea on X rose 30 times in 2 minutes, and the market value reached 200 million US dollars. Musk's concept coin is the focus of Memecoin players. Whenever he posts on social media about topics he is concerned about, such as the Mars concept (TERMINUS), the government efficiency department (D.O.G.E), and the political concept (PNUT), the related tokens on the chain will usher in a short-term rise.

Emerging Memecoins across fields and dimensions

This round of Memecoin super cycle hype is no longer limited to native Web3 content, but spans multiple fields, covering a wider range of topics and themes. In each sector, there are many types of hype targets, and they are quickly circled, attracting attention from multiple fields. From TikTok traffic to new AI technologies, to cutting-edge disciplines such as DeSci (decentralized science) and physics, the hype of Memecoin has spread rapidly, and the fields involved have continued to expand, showing a trend of cross-border integration. Memecoin seems to have become a test field for emerging technologies and a test field for unverified tracks. The core characteristics of this type of Memecoin are novel narratives and a wide range of out-of-circle. Similar to MOODENG, PESTO, CHILLGUY, GOAT, ACT, VIRTUAL, AIXBT, RIF, URO, etc. all belong to this type.

Moo Deng is a little hippo born in a Thai zoo. With its own meme expressions, it has become a favorite on social media such as TikTok and Instagram, and eventually became the annual emoji package selected by Twitter. The market value of the Moo Deng token on Solana once reached US$700 million. As the smallest Memecoin by market value, it successfully landed on Coinbase, which triggered the demand for Meme hype in the Web 2 sector. After that, PESTO and CHILLGUY tokens also attracted widespread attention due to their own strong Web 2 traffic, and their market value once exceeded US$500 million.

Then the hype for AI agents was also hot. GOAT comes from the AI ​​Bot Truth Terminal (@truth_terminal) that was launched in June this year. Its market value soared by more than $1 billion in the short term. Subsequently, AI Memecoins such as ACT and ELIZA quickly occupied the minds of players on the chain, and AI Agent-related application coins such as ai16z, zerebro, virtual, and aixbt gradually developed into an ecosystem. After that, Binance announced its investment in BIO, and DeSci (decentralized science) entered the public eye. The tokens RIF and URO on the Pump.Science platform, which were combined with experiments, began a new round of speculation, with a market value of more than $200 million.

Recommended reading: "Deconstructing Memes, Why Do MEMEs Perform So Well in This Cycle? 》

Mainstream acceptance and adoption

From the initial marginalized assets to the current widespread attention of institutions and investors, Memecoin has continued to grow in user scale and capital inflows, and is gradually gaining recognition and adoption in the mainstream market.

From the perspective of capital inflows, the liquidity of the market is clear and traceable. Many institutions have begun to configure Memecoin; major exchanges have launched Memecoin; market makers have actively hoarded Memecoin. As of December 23, 2024, the overall market value of Memecoin has climbed to US$230 billion, and it is showing a growing trend. According to a report released by Bybit in June, institutional investors increased their spot holdings by nearly US$300 million in the first half of the year. Almost all crypto exchanges have listed multiple Memecoins. Binance has listed more than 20 Memecoins (including futures and spot) since 2024, and 80% of the tokens have seen significant growth in market value after listing on Binance. Five crypto market makers, including Wintermute, GSR Markets, Auros Global, B2C2 Group and Cumberland DRW, all hold Memecoin, with holdings worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

From the perspective of user growth, the first is a significant change in attitude. A16Z, which was still arguing about value coins in the first half of the year, began to participate in the hype and unexpectedly gave birth to the first AI Memecoin GOAT. V God also made a prospect for the future of Memecoin and participated in MooDeng's publicity and charity work. Pantera partners also publicly expressed their recognition of Memecoin, believing that it is the easiest way for the next generation to experience the latest DeFi applications and introduce them to Web3. Not only that, more and more Web2 users have begun to recognize the value of Memecoin. DeSci's scientific aid experiment, Dogecoin's marine garbage cleaning plan, and NOT's social reward and red envelope functions have created soil for Web2 users to understand and accept Memecoin. According to statistics, from the beginning of 2024 to the end of the year, the number of Memecoin users worldwide has exceeded 50 million and is still growing.

Conclusion

BTC, as the largest meme coin in Web2, has exceeded $100,000 and has been proven by the market. As an early participant in Memecoin, are you a gambler seeking to get rich or a forward-looking investor? Where will Memecoin go in the end? Will it die out after marginalization or gradually develop and enter the mainstream?

The cycle rotates alternately, time tests the truth, and the answer is written in the future.