The Development History and Investment Logic of the MEME Project

The rise of DOGE in 2021 marked the beginning of the MEME project coming to prominence, while the explosion of MEME in 2024 heralds a shift in market investment logic. MEME has become a mainstream investment category sought after by investment institutions and market funds.

The Internet Origin of MEME

The concept of MEME existed before blockchain; it originated from internet culture. Most successful MEME projects in the current market emerged after the popularity of social media on the internet. For example, Doge, SHIB, PEPE, etc., these projects represent the communication and interaction generated globally through the internet, which is the root of internet culture, referred to as "grassroots culture."

MEME is everywhere, and behind every MEME there is a story. These stories spread globally through the internet, bringing a sense of belonging to people, which is an important reason for the popularity of MEME. MEME primarily germinates and spreads through channels such as social platforms, chat applications, and forums, becoming an important way for people to express opinions and vent emotions.

MEME expresses people's thoughts in specific scenarios in a concise manner (such as short texts, innovative words, images, memes, etc.). Its widespread dissemination encourages even those who are unfamiliar with MEME to learn about and integrate into it. A sense of belonging is the value behind MEME, and it is also the main driving force supporting the price increase of MEME.

The Combination of MEME and Blockchain

Blockchain technology has endowed many intangible things with value, and MEME is no exception. The early BTC can also be regarded as a type of MEME to some extent. After the popularity of BTC, a large number of worthless altcoins emerged, causing market chaos, and DOGE was created to satirize this phenomenon. The first wave of DOGE's popularity came after 2013 in the market, which can be seen as the MEME 1.0 era.

The proliferation of altcoins and the resurgence of market chaos (ICO chaos) during the bull market in 2017 laid the foundation for the second rise of DOGE. This was also an important factor for DOGE's re-recognition in the market in 2021. Dog-themed MEME projects like SHIB also began to emerge, and MEME entered the 2.0 era.

In this round of the bull market in 2024, the chaos in the market has transformed into the overvaluation of certain projects and PUA towards users, and MEME has begun to develop again. The sluggishness of the mainstream market to some extent represents the resistance of underlying investors to certain projects and the phenomenon of being exploited. The fair distribution and price performance of MEME just address everyone's pain points, naturally gaining a lot of attention, and MEME has entered the 3.0 era.

Characteristics of Successful MEME Projects

Not all MEME have investment value. By analyzing successful MEME projects, we can summarize some characteristics of potential MEME:

1. DOGE: Obtained through mining, abundant in early stages with a low price, suitable for online tipping, and supports multiple social platforms.

2. SHIB: Themed around Shiba Inu, it adopts a fair distribution method, has a huge entertainment property, and is continuously developing its direction.

3. PEPE: Issued based on the internet-famous comic frog Pepe, it has a strong user base and has added deflationary and redistribution mechanisms.

4. WIF: A dog-themed MEME token on a certain blockchain, characterized by low cost and fast transfer speed, with the creator's balance set to 0 to ensure decentralization.

5. PUFF: A MEME project primarily aimed at the Ethereum re-staking token community on a certain blockchain, which has redefined meme narratives.

Common Points of Explosive MEME

1. The distribution method is fair, with low thresholds, allowing community users to participate at a low cost.
2. Gradually shifting from purely internet culture uses to more value-oriented aspects, such as launching trading platforms, deflation mechanisms, etc.
3. There is support from celebrities, KOLs, or public figures for "bringing goods" as well as financial backing.
4. The rise in prices allows retail investors to profit, thereby enhancing the influence of MEME tokens.

The Development Goals of MEME Coin

Successful MEME coins do not rely solely on speculation. For investors, the economic model and application scenarios are essential factors to consider for long-term development. For example, some projects have developed trading platforms, increased application scenarios and token economic cycles, and even introduced gaming elements. This indicates that the MEME project teams have begun to focus on the long-term development of the project, rather than just short-term price speculation.

Conclusion

MEME has gained recognition from numerous investors, using humor and internet culture as its user base, making it easier to resonate with users. This is a low-cost and quick way to enter the user market and establish project communities, and it is expected to become a major grassroots project's cold start strategy in the future.

However, projects that purely rely on the MEME concept often struggle to sustain development. Mid-term technological follow-up is crucial for attracting the attention of "mainstream" investors and exchanges. In this process, chips may gradually shift from retail investors to institutions, driving the transformation and growth of the project. After making profits, retail investors usually develop a greater sense of identification with MEME culture, thereby creating a positive flywheel effect that helps MEME gain more recognition.