As of November 10, the data statistics for BTC, ETH, and TON on the TrendX platform are as follows:

The discussion count for BTC last week was 20.53K, an increase of 21.23% compared to the week before; the price last Sunday was $81,357, up 19.2% from the Sunday before.

The discussion count for ETH last week was 5.75K, an increase of 50.03% compared to the week before; the price last Sunday was $3,203, up 27.1% from the Sunday before.

The discussion count for TON last week was 786, a decrease of 2.48% compared to the week before; the price last Sunday was $5.42, up 0.83% from the Sunday before.

Just today, Binance launched the AI Meme projects ACT and PNUT. As soon as the news broke, the ACT token surged about 10 times, setting a new record for the increase of Meme tokens listed on exchanges, bringing a bit of Meme shock to the industry. It seems that exchanges are shifting their focus towards Meme.

This month, Binance Research released a report titled "Understanding the Rise of Meme Coins," which indicates that since 2022, the total market capitalization of Meme coins has increased from 4% to 11% in 2024. In just two years, the market share of Meme coins has nearly tripled. According to a report released by Bybit in June this year, institutional investors increased their holdings in spot Meme coins from $62.5 million to $204.8 million between February and March, peaking in April with total holdings reaching $293.7 million, an increase of nearly 500%. The wind of Meme coins is growing stronger, with DOGE, SHIB, PEPE, GOAT… suddenly popular Meme coins making many people wealthy while leaving others puzzled. This article will interpret why Meme coins are so popular and analyze the current state of this sector.

The Rise of Meme Coins

Meme coins—cryptocurrencies based on internet memes. They are usually created by developers or enthusiasts, inspired by popular memes or internet culture, and widely spread through social media and online forums.

From the definition of Meme coins, we can see that, unlike other crypto assets, Meme coins may be created for humorous and entertainment purposes. These Meme coins do not have specific uses or practical application scenarios; they inadvertently provide investment opportunities based on consensus while stimulating people's sense of humor. This foundational concept also lays the groundwork for the trend of Meme coins this year. Below are the reasons for the sustained popularity of Meme coins this year:

1. Financialization of Internet Culture

The viral spread of Meme coins and their community-driven appeal have extended into the financial realm through cryptographic technology, achieving the financialization of Meme coins. They have transitioned from a form of internet culture to being assigned value after financialization, allowing for buying and selling transactions, thus becoming a financial tool.

As one of the basic conditions for financialization, these Meme cultures have gained consensus in the "market" of the internet, which is also one of the biggest characteristics of Meme coins—lack of practicality but high attractiveness: Meme coins are based on internet culture, memes, or trends, and typically lack clear utility or intrinsic value. They represent a newer, fairer, and more accessible wealth creation opportunity, with no pre-mining, team allocation, or venture capital distribution; all tokens are equally available to all participants at the time of issuance.

2. Impact of the Global Macroeconomic Environment

This is a butterfly effect caused by the dollar. During the COVID crisis, global central banks engaged in unprecedented monetary easing, leading to a total global money supply increase from $81 trillion to $102 trillion, an increase of over 25%. This phenomenon of "massive monetary easing" has made high-risk investments more attractive, with funds beginning to flow into high-risk, high-return investment tools, including Meme coins.

The rapid expansion of global money supply has also triggered inflation and rising commodity prices worldwide. The inflation rate in the U.S. reached 7% in 2021 and 6.5% in 2022. Faced with currency devaluation, rational actors have invested funds into assets deemed to have long-term value, and Meme coins, as an emerging asset class, have attracted some excess capital.

3. "Traffic Spread Fast Strike Strategy" of Major Public Chain Meme Coins

Meme coins are seen as the "outposts" of ecological development, acting as pioneers in the development of various blockchain ecosystems by attracting market attention and funds, thus promoting subsequent ecological development. Moreover, their spread has a characteristic of cyclical high heat; Meme coins in 2024 are showing cyclical high heat, spreading like an infectious disease, often accompanied by exponential growth through social media and community dissemination.

These factors work together to drive the explosive rise of Meme coins in 2024. Their emergence is not only a reflection of changes in the financial market but also a result of the younger generation's dissatisfaction with the traditional financial system and their search for new investment opportunities. At the same time, the dissemination model and value proposition of Meme coins have attracted significant attention and participation from numerous investment institutions.

Mainstream Institutions' Views on the Meme Coin Sector

It can be said that since the beginning of this year, Meme coins have increasingly become an important focus for institutional investors. Starting in the second half of 2024, some VCs have announced investments in Meme coin infrastructure, marking a shift from previous VC opposition to gradual acceptance of Meme coins.

1. Binance

As early as 2023, Binance Labs invested in several Meme coins and continued to show enthusiasm for the Meme coin sector in 2024. In January, they invested in the native ecological token MEME of Memeland, which was included in Binance Launchpool in October 2023. Subsequently, Binance Labs supported the development of its own Whyanelephant project.

2. Coinbase

Coinbase Ventures began supporting DOGE as early as 2018, although the specific investment amount was not disclosed, the project has garnered significant community support. In 2021, Coinbase Ventures invested in SHIBA, and the parent company Coinbase announced at the end of 2023 that it would add Bonk to its list of tradable assets. Additionally, after the surge of GOAT, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong proposed setting up a crypto wallet for Truth Terminal, reflecting their ongoing focus on the Meme sector.

3. a16z

As a well-known mainstream venture capital firm, a16z was initially unfriendly towards the Meme coins that captured the market. Several leaders at a16z have tweeted harsh criticisms of Meme coins, claiming they undermine the long-term vision of cryptocurrencies, bluntly stating that it is a casino in the crypto world.

However, recently a16z has changed its critical stance from earlier this year, frequently participating in Meme events. First, a16z co-founder Andreessen Horowitz tipped $50,000 in BTC to the bot account Truth Terminal on X, which led to the recent surge of the goat coin GOAT, propelling it from an obscure project to a shocking historical market cap of $850 million, while Truth Terminal became the first AI millionaire, further promoting the development trend of AI + Meme.

Strong Performing Meme Coin Projects This Year

Meme coins are the "get-rich-quick concept" we hear about every day. Compared to other sectors in the crypto market, the Meme coin sector clearly exhibits a strong wealth effect, such as SHIB rising 500,000 times and DOGE rising 400 times. These wealth creation myths have attracted countless flows and funds into the cryptocurrency industry. However, the Meme coin sector is not just a flash in the pan; the wealth creation myths of this wave are still continuing.

1. DOGE (Dogecoin)

As one of the pioneers of Meme coins, DOGE has always been known for its community support and market performance. In 2021, DOGE gained mainstream popularity, with its market cap growing from $700 million on January 1 to $88 billion in early May, an increase of over 100 times in just four months.

Currently, DOGE's market cap is around $36 billion. Of course, when mentioning DOGE tokens, one cannot overlook the huge traffic and influence brought by Elon Musk, who has repeatedly expressed his fondness for DOGE on Twitter. Recently, due to his support for Trump winning the U.S. election, the price of DOGE tokens surged 140% in three months, with a 70% increase in seven days. The influence of such a world-class tech celebrity has a significant impact on the development of DOGE.

2. PEPE

The PEPE token was launched in April this year, and in less than a month, the number of token holder addresses reached 100,000, an unprecedented rapid growth at the time. Looking at the token price, the increase on the 22nd reached 120,000 times, with the price rising from ten zeros before the decimal point to five zeros. This not only attracted significant market attention but was simply explosive.

The success of PEPE is naturally a combination of multiple factors. After witnessing the massive wealth effect brought by the crazy surges of Dogecoin and SHIB, people have been searching for the next MEME coin. The emergence of PEPE and its rapid growth ignited people's FOMO emotions, fearing to miss out on another opportunity for a hundredfold or thousandfold MEME coin. Thus, the faster the initial growth, the more buyers there are, creating a self-reinforcing process.

In addition, exchanges have played a significant role in the development of PEPE. For example, the PEPE token was listed on the MEXC exchange in just six days and on Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, in 22 days, a privilege not afforded to many other mainstream tokens.

3. Degen

Degen is a representative Meme project on the Base chain, which was very popular before the incident with PEPE in February-March of this year. Degen started as a community Meme project with 100% Meme attributes. As the characteristics of the Degen high-hat gentleman became more prominent, Degen was later assigned utility by the official app, serving as a tip token for the Farcaster social platform, but it still retained its Meme attributes, equating to 80% Meme attributes and 20% utility attributes. The subsequent support from Farcaster and various ecosystems on Base propelled Degen forward and contributed to the development of the Meme market, also laying the groundwork for PEPE.

4. GOAT

AI Meme coin, its emergence is even more creative. The fundamental reason for the rise of GOAT coin is the combination of AI and Meme coins, which creates a novel concept of AI autonomously issuing tokens, something that had not been attempted in the past, making GOAT coin appear coherent and native under the backdrop of a market cap in the tens of millions. Of course, without a certain level of traffic support, it would be hard to gain visibility. GOAT initially entered the public eye thanks to the influence of a16z, with founding partner Marc Andreessen tipping it with $50,000 worth of Bitcoin, which brought initial attention and trust to GOAT coin. The launch of Moonshot provided convenience for fiat purchases, causing its price to skyrocket and completely enter the FOMO rhythm. Subsequently, GOAT's market cap soared, reaching a high of $600 million on October 20, with crypto influencer Arthur Hayes even stating that GOAT would reach a market cap of $1 billion.

5. ACT

ACT Meme is a cryptocurrency that combines AI technology with blockchain, aiming to create an ecosystem themed around "AI and Meme." The project is named "Act I: The AI Prophecy," built on the Solana blockchain, providing users with an equal and collaborative digital interaction experience through its innovative AI-driven mechanism.

Conclusion

The phenomenon of Meme coins not only showcases the integration of internet culture and the financial sector but also marks a new trend in the combination of Meme and AI. As an indispensable part of the cryptocurrency sector, Meme coins continue to attract the attention of global investors with their unique community-driven and cultural symbolism. With the involvement of AI technology, the innovative potential and market influence of Meme coins will further expand, bringing new vitality and possibilities to the cryptocurrency market. In the future, Meme coins will continue to play an important role in the cryptocurrency field, driving industry development and transformation.

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