Author: Nomos Labs
Few people have thought that the birth of Meme Coin may be a "cultural experiment" in the crypto world: How much is a joke worth? How much can a humorous joke bring about waves and ripples in the financial world? From $DOGE to $SHIB, and to $Neiro, which has a huge yield this year, these seemingly "nonsense" currencies have repeatedly refreshed people's views on the narrative ability of Meme Coins.
In 2024, the Meme coin market is still very lively amid uncertainty. It is not only an entertainment symbol in the crypto circle, but also a paradise for speculators and a barometer of market sentiment. But if we dig into the story behind the skyrocketing prices, we will find that behind this carnival, there is a familiar yet unfamiliar logic driving it: Meme culture, market sentiment and technical narratives are redefining the value boundaries of Meme coins.
1. How does Meme Coin tell a “good story” about emotions?
On the surface, Meme coin is a continuation of Internet meme culture, but its real charm lies in its ability to quickly gather emotions through storytelling and create a short-term "group frenzy". However, as for the long-term value of Meme coin, no one has yet been able to clear the fog and find the certainty and connotation of the countless stories in that "bubble".
It’s a joke, but also a cultural resonance
The earliest $DOGE Dogecoin can be said to be a complete "parody". It has neither complex technical support nor ambitious application plans, but relying on a Shiba Inu emoticon, it has become the spokesperson for Internet meme culture. In 2024, this meme narrative was further developed, and new players not only attracted attention with "jokes" and "humor", but also began to play the cultural and emotional card.
For example, the sad frog of $Pepe, 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, the community size of $Pepe has exploded, and it has become the biggest meme coin dark horse this year. It is not difficult to see that as long as the "emotional point" in Internet meme culture can be captured, Meme coins can quickly tell good stories and win consensus.
Community-driven: More like an emotional game
Behind the popularity of a Meme coin, there must be a crazy community. 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 "making memes" and attracting people on social platforms, and even turned Meme coins from a "joke" into a "trend".
The example of $SHIB is a typical one. 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, its metaverse project Shibaverse, although still in its early stages, is enough to give the community a new "show-off point".
From this we can see that for Meme Coin, meme culture is the underlying color, but its real charm lies in its social narrative ability - telling a story that resonates with people's emotions and makes everyone "want to buy and dare to buy."
2. A magnifying glass for market sentiment and 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 coin continues to be popular is not only because it is "fun", but also because it has become a high-volatility safe haven for speculators when the crypto market is down.
The price surge is the favorite "get-rich-myth" of speculators
Looking back at 2024, the most eye-catching market is undoubtedly the surge in $Pepe. From the beginning of the year to the middle of the year, the price of this sad and funny frog has increased by more than a hundred times. The market is attracted to this type of currency not because of its strong technology or application, but because it is easy to "hype up".
Meme coins have a low issuance threshold, a very low unit price, and seemingly unlimited room for growth. This feature is particularly friendly to retail investors: even if they only have a few hundred dollars, they can still make a "10x, 100x" profit. For those investors who "enter the market late", this high-risk, high-return speculative product has become their best choice to catch up with the wealth effect.
Market volatility, "emotional outlet" in bear market
Interestingly, when the overall crypto market entered a period of volatility, the popularity of Meme coins rose against the trend. This is not because of the solid fundamentals of Meme coins themselves, but because speculative funds need a new "emotional outlet."
Unlike mainstream currencies, Meme coin does not have complex valuation logic and does not rely on strong ecological support. It relies on market sentiment. When other assets find it difficult to leverage retail investor sentiment, Meme coin becomes a "bridgehead" for emotional trading .
Therefore, the market clearly indicates that the price fluctuations of Meme coins are the amplification and reflection of market sentiment: for speculators, it is the first choice of low cost and high volatility; for the market, it is a real "emotional mirror". Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why everyone likes to listen to their stories and even more likes them to create "wealth creation stories" that are close at hand and full of fantasy.
3. Can Meme Coin use technology to increase its score?
We understand the changes in market sentiment, but we must also clearly recognize that cultural narratives and speculative sentiment can be popular for a while, but if Meme Coin wants to go further and find the underlying logic that can support long-term value compounding, it must rely on technological innovation to create new narratives and application scenarios.
AI "new meme" creates technology narrative empowerment
This year, AI technology has become a hot topic in the crypto community. 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 quickly and cost-effectively provide continuous interactive and entertainment experiences for investors and community members. Another example is AI trading strategies. With the advantages of AI algorithms, project parties can more accurately predict market trends, analyze trading data, optimize investment decisions, etc. Although early performance may not have achieved the expected results, it is undeniable that the introduction of AI technology has injected new vitality and new narrative clues into Meme coins.
NFT linkage, the continuation of cultural narrative
At the same time, NFT remains an important "partner" of Memecoin, and continues to show its unique charm and potential in 2024. Especially in projects like $Pepe, investors can not only make profits by buying and holding Pepe coins, but also show their identity and status by obtaining unique NFTs.
The combination of NFT and Meme coin is not just a simple digital asset exchange, but also a reflection of a profound identity and community culture. Through the NFT binding gameplay, these projects provide 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 be an important "accelerator" for the development of Meme coin projects.
The attempt to combine payment scenarios with DeFi increases the value of tokens
Of course, in the cryptocurrency market, which is not short of imagination, some meme coins are also trying to expand their payment functions. At the end of the year, DogWifCoin officially announced its cooperation with Oobit to launch a new payment function "Wif Pay", allowing users to use $WIF for consumption and enjoy a 3% cashback reward.
Projects like $SHIB, by combining DeFi protocols, allow coin holders to obtain more actual benefits. For example, $BONE, the governance token of the $SHIB ecosystem, is widely used in liquidity mining in ShibaSwap. Investors can earn income through staking (BURYing) and providing liquidity (DIGging).
Such technological narratives are still continuing, and technological empowerment will be an important highlight of Meme Coin in the next stage. Although it seems to be "storytelling" in the short term, in the long run, only when the technological narrative is implemented, Meme Coin may finally be able to escape the fate of "short-term speculation."
In conclusion: Will the next stop for Meme coin be the rise of meme economy and culture or the bursting of the bubble cycle?
When we look back at the market in 2024, we can see that there are three key driving forces behind the rise of Memecoin:
Culture: Meme culture and community consensus are the foundation of Meme Coin, which can continue to tell an attractive story;
Sentiment: 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 coin more valuable in the future.
However, these three also have obvious risks: 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 Coin.
But when we start to look forward to the future imagination of 2025, it is certain that Meme coin has changed from a "joke" to a unique phenomenon in the crypto market. In the increasingly restless and continuously explosive "golden cycle" of cryptocurrencies ushered in after the US election, its vitality is far from over, but whether it can get out of the carnival and enter the real "value era":
2025, please let Meme Coin answer.
