The Rise of the MEME Market: From Internet Culture to Mainstream Investment

The rise of DOGE in 2021 marked the beginning of MEME coins coming into the spotlight, while the explosion of MEME in 2024 heralds a shift in market investment logic. Today, MEME has become a mainstream investment category favored by investment institutions and market capital.

The Origin and Development of MEME

The concept of MEME originates from internet culture, predating the emergence of blockchain technology. Currently successful MEME projects mostly stem from popular culture on internet social platforms, such as Doge, SHIB, and PEPE. These projects represent the communication and interaction generated by internet users worldwide, and are products of "grassroots culture" on the web.

MEME expresses people's thoughts in specific scenarios through concise means such as brief texts, innovative words, images, and memes. Its widespread dissemination encourages even those who do not understand MEME to explore and participate. A sense of belonging is the core value of MEME and is also the main driving force behind the price increase of MEME coins.

The Combination of MEME and Blockchain

Blockchain technology has given new value to MEME. In a sense, early Bitcoin can also be seen as a type of MEME. The birth of DOGE was meant to satirize the phenomenon of altcoin proliferation, marking the beginning of the MEME 1.0 era.

The proliferation of altcoins during the bull market in 2017 laid the foundation for the second rise of DOGE, which contributed to DOGE's market recognition again in 2021, marking the entry of MEME into the 2.0 era. In 2024, faced with the high valuation of VC coins and the PUA of certain "value" projects on users, MEME rises again, entering the 3.0 era.

The popularity of MEME reflects to some extent the resistance of ordinary investors to the chaotic phenomena in the mainstream market. The fair distribution and price performance of MEME projects precisely address the pain points of investors, thus gaining widespread attention.

Characteristics of a Successful MEME Project

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

1. Low-threshold participation: From computational power mining to fair distribution, allowing community users to participate at a low cost.
2. Value-oriented: Gradually shifting from pure internet culture to more value aspects, such as the Swap of SHIB, the deflationary mechanism of PEPE, etc.
3. Celebrity Effect: Supported and promoted by well-known individuals or institutions.
4. Price Performance: Price increases attract retail investors, thereby enhancing the project's influence.

The Future Development of MEME Coin

As the market matures, the MEME project has begun to focus on long-term development. For example, the PUFF project has attracted a large amount of funding through mETH incentives, becoming a leading DeFi project in the Mantle ecosystem. This indicates that MEME is moving towards "value coins" while maintaining its unique cultural attributes.

In the future, MEME may become an effective strategy for projects to quickly attract users and build communities. However, projects that rely solely on the MEME concept are difficult to sustain. Mid-term technological innovation and the expansion of application scenarios are crucial for attracting institutional investors and exchanges.

Overall, MEME has gained widespread recognition, and its low cost and rapid dissemination characteristics make it an effective way to build project communities. However, to achieve long-term development, projects still need to continuously innovate in technology and applications to attract more institutional investors' attention. As retail investors take profits and exit, the chips may gradually shift to institutions, promoting further development and growth of the project. This positive cycle is expected to help MEME culture gain broader recognition and influence in the cryptocurrency market.