The truth about Meme Coin: cultural dissemination is the real value, don't be foolishly waiting for a "pump".

In the deep night of May 2021, when Dogecoin surged into the top ten of the Crypto Assets market capitalization, the entire crypto world exploded.

A “joke coin” featuring a Shiba Inu avatar that was born in 2013, why can it be worth hundreds of billions of dollars? Technological breakthroughs? Team background? None of that. The answer is actually hidden in the memes we scroll through every day, in those “To the Moon” comments, and even more so in the cultural identity formed spontaneously by millions of holders.

Today, let's break it down and chat about why the value logic of Meme Coins is completely different from what you might imagine.

From Parody to Wealth, a Shiba Inu's Rise to Success

The story begins in 2013. Two programmers, Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, feeling bored, decided to mock the crazy speculation frenzy surrounding Crypto Assets at the time. They casually used the most popular Shiba Inu meme as a logo and set the issuance to be unlimited—this was an outright provocation of the “digital gold” concept at that time.

But a miraculous thing happened.

People on Reddit started tipping fun posts with Dogecoin, and the community organized charity events and even crowdfunded sponsorships for NASCAR drivers and the Jamaican bobsled team to compete. There was no white paper, no roadmap; this thing just survived on the enthusiasm of a group of people until 2021, reaching a peak price of $0.74 and a market capitalization exceeding 85 billion.

Elon Musk's tweets certainly added fuel to the fire, but what really helped Dogecoin survive a decade of bear markets are the community members who have been consistently creating memes and organizing online events. While countless altcoins have vanished into the annals of history, this “joke” is still alive and thriving.

How SHIB and PEPE Turn Cultural Symbols into Profit?

Dogecoin is considered an unexpected success, but later entrants are well-prepared.

In 2020, Shiba Inu (SHIB) directly shouted the slogan “Dogecoin killer,” replicating the same approach—using the cute Shiba Inu image to unite the community and creating a sense of collective identity with the “SHIB Army,” making every holder feel like they are participating in a revolution. In 2021, the price of SHIB skyrocketed 120,000 times, with a market capitalization peaking at 36 billion dollars.

Even more outrageous is the PEPE coin of 2023. This token, based on the “Sad Frog” meme, has no backing whatsoever and relies entirely on spontaneous promotion by internet users, with a market capitalization surpassing 7 billion dollars within two weeks.

What do these cases illustrate? The price of Meme Coins does not come from the quality of the code, but rather from the breadth of the dissemination of cultural symbols. Just as Disney profits from the Mickey Mouse IP, Meme Coins have turned memes into tradable cultural assets. The more people recognize, use, and spread a symbol, the more valuable it becomes. It's simple and straightforward, but that's how it works.

Stop urging for a “pump”, you are the real market maker.

Many newcomers ask in the group all day long, “When will the project team pump the price” after buying Meme Coin. Brother, you're getting it wrong.

Meme Coin is completely different from stocks and Bitcoin. Stocks are supported by company performance, Bitcoin is backed by blockchain technology, while the only “fundamentals” of Meme Coin are community consensus and cultural influence. The project team is at most just a catalyst; the real “whales” are actually every coin holder.

Look at the example of PEPE: no founder, no team, completely relying on netizens to spontaneously create meme images and spread memes on Twitter and Telegram. When you retweet PEPE memes, when you tell your friends how interesting this frog is, you are “empowering” it—each act of sharing adds value to this cultural symbol.

On the contrary, if the community just waits for the project team to pump it up, it's like guarding a fish pond that won't breed on its own; sooner or later, they'll eat through their resources. Recently, hundreds of new Meme Coins have been popping up on Pump.fun every day, but 99% of them don't survive a week. Why? Because they only have code and no culture, and even less of a community willing to spread the word.

Attention is the hard currency

In this era of information explosion, attention is the most scarce resource. Meme Coin is essentially “attention securitization” - turning the attention, discussions, and shares of internet users into tradable assets.

The platform's algorithms favor interesting content, and Meme Coins are inherently designed for social media. A funny meme spreads more easily than ten pages of a white paper, and a phrase like “To the Moon” can trigger FOMO emotions more effectively than complex technical parameters. When you share SHIB memes in your social circle, you are actually helping it capture others' attention, and this attention will ultimately convert into buying pressure.

Meme Coins on Solana and Base chains are particularly active because these platforms offer fast transactions and low fees, making them more suitable for retail high-frequency trading and dissemination. Technology is just the infrastructure; the real engine is the “social currency” created by the community.

Three Newbie Survival Rules

If you decide to play this cultural game, remember that these three points are a thousand times more important than staring at the K-line:

First, choose the cultural symbols that you truly identify with Don't buy Meme Coins that you don't understand. If a meme seems boring to you, don't expect others to spread it wildly. Most holders of PEPE grew up with this frog meme as part of Generation Z, and they share it out of genuine affection, not just to make money.

Second, be a communicator rather than a speculator Instead of asking “when will the market rally” every day, why not think about how to let more people know about this Meme? Create an interesting meme, write a funny story, or leave a gag under a related topic. Every time you spread your creativity, you are adding value to the tokens you hold.

Third, treat investments with an entertainment mindset Meme Coins are essentially “cultural lotteries”. Although they have more cultural value than pure gambling, they remain highly speculative. Never invest more money than you can afford to lose; think of it as buying a ticket to an amusement park — having fun is the most important thing, while making money is just a bonus.

IPO of Internet Culture

When we turn memes into Crypto Assets, we are actually giving Internet culture an “IPO”. Every surge of a Meme Coin is a “raid” by grassroots culture on the traditional financial system.

But remember: without dissemination, there is no value. The promises made by project teams and the calls from KOLs are not as powerful as the Meme you are about to post on your social media. Instead of waiting for others to “pump the price,” why not open a drawing software now and create a financial cultural symbol that belongs to this era.

After all, in the era of attention economy, everyone is their own banker. Every meme you post and every tweet you retweet is pricing those little icons you hold.

The rules of this game are so simple and straightforward, and also so fair.