Author: Nomos Labs Source: mirror

Few people have thought that the birth of Meme coins may be A "cultural experiment" in the crypto world: How much is a joke worth? How many waves and ripples in the financial world can a humorous joke bring? From DOGE to SHIB, to $Neiro, which has seen explosive returns this year, these seemingly “nonsensical” coins have repeatedly refreshed people’s views on the narrative capabilities of Meme coins.

In 2024, the Meme coin market is still bustling amid uncertainty. It is not only an entertainment symbol in the encryption circle, but also a paradise for speculators and a barometer of market sentiment. But if we dig into the story behind the skyrocketing price, we will find that behind this carnival, there is a logic that is both familiar and unfamiliar: Meme culture, market sentiment, and technological narratives are redefining the value boundaries of Meme coins.

1. How can Meme coins tell a "good story" about emotions?

On the surface, Meme coins are a continuation of Internet meme culture, but its real charm lies in its ability to quickly gather emotions through storytelling and create short-term "group fanaticism." But regarding the long-term value of Meme coins, no one has yet been able to clear away the fog and find the certainty and connotation of the countless stories in that "bubble".

It is a joke, but also a cultural resonance

The earliest $DOGE Dogecoin, it can be said It's a complete "spoof". It has neither complex technical support nor ambitious application plans, but relying on a Shiba Inu emoticon, it has become the spokesperson of Internet meme culture. In 2024, this meme narrative has been further promoted, and new players not only rely on "jokes" and "humor" to attract attention, but also begun to play the cultural emotion card.

For example, Pepe’s sad frog. The frog image behind it has long been a classic in Internet culture. Its popularity does not rely on technical highlights, but on social communication. and cultural identity. In a short period of time, Pepe's community has grown explosively, becoming the biggest Meme currency dark horse this year. It is not difficult to see that as long as it can capture the "emotional points" in the Internet meme culture, Meme currency can quickly tell good stories. Build consensus.

Community-driven: more like an emotional game

The popularity of a Meme coin must be backed by a crazy community Group. Elon Musk’s support for Dogecoin, $Pepe’s “Frog Army”, these community members are not only investors, but also “content creators” who actively spread the word. They are keen on "creating memes" and attracting people on social platforms, and even turned Meme coins from a "joke" into a "trend."

The example of $SHIB is very typical. In 2024, it not only relied on meme culture to maintain its popularity, but also tried to attract long-term users through technical narratives. For example, it launched the metaverse project Shibaverse. Although it is still in its early stages, it is enough to give the community a new "showing off point."

We can see from this that for Meme coins, meme culture is the background, but its real charm is its social narrative ability— Tell a story that resonates with people's emotions and make people "want to buy and dare to buy".

2. The magnifying glass of market sentiment, a safe haven for speculators

But in any case, the underlying logic of a "good story" that can affect market changes needs to be "profit-driven." . The reason why Meme coins continue to be popular is not only because it is "fun", but also because it has become a high-volatility haven for speculators when the crypto market is down.

Skyrocketing prices, speculators’ favorite “myth of getting rich”

Looking back on 2024 , the most eye-catching trend is undoubtedly the skyrocketing price of $Pepe. From the beginning of the year to the middle of the year, the price of this sad and funny frog has increased more than a hundred times - the market is attracted to this type of currency, not because of its powerful technology or applications, but because it is easy to "speculate" ”.

Meme coins have a low issuance threshold, an extremely low unit price, and seemingly unlimited room for growth. This feature is particularly friendly to retail investors: even if you only have a few hundred dollars, you can achieve "10 times, 100 times" imagination. For those investors who "entered the market late", this high-risk, high-yield speculative variety has become their best choice to catch up with the wealth effect.

Market volatility, the "emotional exit" in the bear market

What's interesting is that when crypto marketAfter the overall market entered a period of shock, the popularity of Meme coins rose against the trend. This was not because of the strong fundamentals of Meme coins themselves, but because speculative funds needed a new "emotional outlet."

Different from mainstream currencies, Meme currency does not have complex valuation logic, nor does it rely on strong ecological support. It relies on market sentiment. When other assets When it is difficult to leverage the sentiment of retail investors, Meme currency has become a "bridgehead" for emotional trading.

So the clear market direction is that behind the price fluctuations of Meme coins is the amplification and reflection of market sentiment: for speculators, it is a low-cost The first choice for high volatility; it is a true "emotional mirror" for the market. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that everyone starts to like listening to them tell stories, and even more likes them to start creating "wealth creation stories" that are close to their eyes and full of fantasy.

3. Can Meme coins still use technology to add points to themselves?

We understand the changes in market sentiment, but we must also clearly realize that relying on cultural narratives and speculative sentiment can make people popular for a while, but Meme coins want to go further and find ways to The underlying logic that supports long-term value compound interest must rely on technological innovation to create new narratives and application scenarios.

AI "new stalk" creates technological narrative empowerment

This year, AI technology has become As a hot topic in the crypto circle, some Meme coin projects have seized the opportunity and launched AI-enabled gameplay, such as AI-generated content. In this way, Meme coin projects can provide continuous interaction for investors and community members quickly and at low cost. and entertainment experience, such as AI trading strategies, with the help of AI With the advantages of algorithms, the project team can more accurately predict market trends, analyze transaction data, optimize investment decisions, etc. Although the early performance may not have achieved the expected results, it is undeniable that the introduction of AI technology has injected new ideas into Meme coins. vitality and new narrative threads.

NFT linkage, continuation of cultural narrative

At the same time, NFT is still an important part of Meme coins "Partner" will continue to show its unique charm and potential in 2024. Especially in a project like $Pepe, which allows investors to not only profit by buying and holding Pepe coins, but also to demonstrate their identity and status by obtaining unique NFTs.

The combination of NFT and Meme coins is not just a simple digital asset exchange, but also a reflection of profound identity and community culture. Through the gameplay of NFT binding, these The project provides investors with a more personalized and emotional way of participation, making holding these Meme coins not only an investment behavior, but also an expression of community belonging. It is not difficult to imagine that as more similar innovative gameplay continues to emerge, NFT will continue to become an important "accelerator" for the development of Meme currency projects.

Attempts to combine payment scenarios with DeFi, the increase in token value

Of course , in the cryptocurrency market that is not lacking in imagination, some Meme coins are also trying to expand payment functions. At the end of the year, DogWifCoin officially announced a cooperation with Oobit to launch a new payment function "Wif Pay", allowing users to use $ WIF consumption and enjoy 3% cash back bonus.

Projects like SHIB, by combining the DeFi protocol, allow currency holders to obtain more actual benefits from it, just like the governance proxy of the SHIB ecosystem. The currency $BONE is widely used in liquidity mining in ShibaSwap. Investors can earn income by staking (BURYing) and providing liquidity (DIGging).

Such technological narratives continue, and technological empowerment will be an important aspect of the next stage of Meme coins, although in the short term it seems to be "storytelling" , but in the long run, as long as the technical narrative is implemented, Meme currency may finally be able to escape the fate of "short-term speculation".

Written at the end: The next stop for Meme coins, will it be the rise of the meme economy and culture or the bursting of the bubble cycle?

When we look back at the market in 2024, we can find that there are three key driving forces behind the rise of Meme coins:

Culture: Meme culture and community consensus are the foundation of Meme coins, which can continue to tell an attractive story;

Emotion: The fluctuation of market sentiment and the promotion of speculators make it the most "explosive" asset;

Technology: New concepts and new application scenarios are the key to making Meme coins more "valuable" in the future.

However, there are obvious risks with all three: How long can the story be told? How long can the emotions last? Can the technology really be implemented? The answers to these questions will determine the future direction of Meme coins.

But as we begin to envision the future of 2025, it is certain that Meme coins have gone from a "joke" to a unique phenomenon in the crypto market. In the "golden cycle" of cryptocurrencies that has become increasingly restless and continues to explode after the US election, its vitality is far from over, but can it escape from the carnival and enter the real "era of value":

2025, please use Meme coins to answer.