Value investing is dead, MEME lives on?

Author: Biteye Core Contributor Dobby

Editor: Biteye Core Contributor Crush

Community: @BiteyeCN

BOME and SLERF have ended their crazy surges, and the market has once again experienced and witnessed another round of wealth "gold rush." Although the heat wave of MEME has not completely receded, the market has briefly regained some calm.

Aside from marveling at the gains and returns of "one day in the crypto world equals one year in traditional finance," many "old investors" are discussing a question: "Why did MEME coins gain momentum so early in this cycle?" According to the sector rotation of previous cycles, when a new concept and narrative reaches its peak, accompanied by the relay of MEME coins, the bloom fades, marking the prelude to the end of a bull market. However, in this cycle, the order of sector rotation seems to have been rearranged, with MEME coins playing a central role in the early to mid stages of this cycle.

In the theory of "value investing," MEME coins and shitcoins have always been marginalized, even in the bubble-filled crypto world. But in fact, many people do not understand what MEME really is, let alone the difference between MEME coins and shitcoins.

From the DogeCoin dog image to today's inscriptions, MEME has become a unique cultural symbol and communication method in the crypto world. So, how did these seemingly ridiculous and even absurd cultural elements gain such a significant status in the crypto world? This article will explore the relationship between MEME and blockchain, as well as its impact on cryptocurrency culture.

01. MEME is the Gene

1.1 Origin of the MEME Concept

Whenever the birth and origin of MEME are mentioned, Richard Dawkins is undoubtedly an unavoidable figure.

In 1976, Richard Dawkins introduced the concept of MEME in his groundbreaking work "The Selfish Gene." In the final chapter of "The Selfish Gene," Dawkins introduced the concept of "MEME," defining it as a unit of cultural transmission, similar to genes in biological inheritance. MEMEs can be melodies, ideas, fashion styles, language habits, technologies, or any other phenomena of cultural transmission. They replicate themselves in human culture by spreading from one person to another through imitation. The success and survival of MEMEs, like genes, depend on their replication accuracy, durability, and their "appeal" or utility to their hosts.

In simpler terms, a MEME can be a meme, a joke, an emoticon, etc., forming a subculture after widespread dissemination. And MEME coins are a way to monetize this subcultural value.

With the rise of the internet and social media, MEMEs have become an important part of global cultural exchange, with a speed and scope of dissemination far exceeding Richard Dawkins' original intent. Today, MEMEs, in their humorous and satirical forms, not only rapidly spread entertainment and information but also play a significant role in shaping public opinion and cultural phenomena, especially in the realm of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, where the influence of MEMEs is particularly pronounced.

It is worth mentioning that to commemorate Richard Dawkins' birthday on March 26, the community specially launched a MEME coin called "Dawkoin," which Dawkins shared on social media without showing any resistance or aversion. 1.2 Bitcoin is the Earliest MEME

"In a sense, all cryptocurrencies have a MEME content, just at different levels, with over 50% being the norm." This is a recent viewpoint published by the early blockchain media Blue Fox Notes. If we look at it on a scale of 0-100, MEMEs represented by pepe and doge have a MEME content of over 99.9%; AI has a 90% MEME content; BTC L2 has an 80% MEME content; and DeFi has a 30-50% MEME content.

So, can we say that Bitcoin is also the earliest MEME?

We all know that in January 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto invented the Bitcoin system on a small server in Helsinki, Finland, and mined the first block, known as the "genesis block," marking the birth of the first 50 bitcoins. Technically, Bitcoin is the key that opened the door to blockchain, relying on nearly half a century of gradually maturing technologies such as cryptography, distributed storage, and consensus mechanisms.

However, when people mention Bitcoin today, they do not only discuss its technical algorithms. As the first successful cryptocurrency, the philosophical implications behind Bitcoin, the anonymous founder Satoshi Nakamoto, and the spirit of resisting the traditional financial system all endow it with meaning that transcends technology.

From this perspective, Bitcoin itself is the earliest MEME, representing the pursuit of power, freedom, and systemic change. This symbolic significance transcends its function as a currency, becoming a symbol of a cultural and social movement.

Some also say that MEME coins are "attention economy," where the MEME coin that can attract more attention is the better MEME. After 15 years of development, following a price breakthrough of $71,000, Bitcoin's market capitalization has surged to $1.398 trillion, surpassing silver ($1.379 trillion) and ranking as the eighth-largest asset globally. The percentage of total market capitalization represented by Bitcoin has reached 49.8%, solidifying Bitcoin's dominant position in the crypto industry.

With the approval of Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year and the rise of the Bitcoin ecosystem, more and more traders and investors are "returning to basics," refocusing their attention and liquidity on the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Bitcoin is the most attention-grabbing token in the crypto industry; from this perspective, isn't Bitcoin also a MEME? 1.3 Inscriptions and NFTs: The "Derivatives" of MEME

Since MEME can be seen as a manifestation of genes, it is bound to have differentiation. This can also be found in the theoretical basis of MEME's origin in Richard Dawkins' "The Selfish Gene": the similarity between MEMEs and genes in their transmission and evolution mechanisms, both of which pass through replication processes, undergo selective pressure, and can mutate under certain conditions.

Looking back at the leading MEME coin in the crypto world, DogeCoin was initially created as a lighthearted version of Bitcoin, symbolized by the popular "Doge" MEME (an image of a Shiba Inu dog with inner monologue-style text). Its founder did not expect that this joke-based currency would be "favored" by Elon Musk and ultimately become the largest MEME coin by market capitalization today.

After twelve years of development in the crypto industry, there is now a set of established logic. Project teams that create new concepts and narratives embrace and bind with VC institutions, "shearing wool" to hype airdrops, and then orchestrating various schemes for secondary market takeovers. In this bull market, only TIA and SOL seem to meet the criteria of good projects in the minds of old investors—having a team, good VCs, being listed on Binance, and having speculative expectations in the track.

While all of this should continue according to common sense, the MEME track has undergone a series of mutations and derivatives, with "inscriptions" emerging as "disruptors." The emergence and popularity of all "inscriptions" in the Bitcoin ecosystem were completely unexpected.

From the moment of their birth, "inscriptions" naturally carried the community spirit of "fair launch" and "first is first," which happens to be the slogan of MEME. Since their inception in March, biases have closely accompanied the Bitcoin ecosystem, yet it seems that it has never given up on persuading everyone: "If you have biases, let the Bitcoin ecosystem rise until you no longer have biases."

The cost of minting one ORDI (1 ORDI includes 1000 coins) is between $2 and $3, and at the current price of $60 per ORDI, the price of one minting is now $60,000. A year has passed, and if it has not been sold yet, at the current price, this is an investment with a return of over 20,000 times.

Inscriptions are not the first mutation and derivative of MEME; the diversity of MEME can also be reflected in the NFT track. As the largest new narrative of the previous cycle, NFTs have also gone through a bull and bear market. The leading NFT BAYC once fell below 13 ETH, not to mention the current plight of many NFT artists without capital support, as they seek various ways out.

From the recent surges of BOME and SLERF, it can also be seen that the cultural value brought to holders by MEME coins can, to some extent, feed back into the liquidity of NFTs. Although presented in different forms, the cultural attributes propagated by NFTs and MEME coins are essentially the same.

In addition to this broader form of derivatives, we can also see a series of cultural derivatives in some more specific MEMEs, such as Pepe the Frog.

This image was initially just a character in an online comic by cartoonist Matt Furie in 2005, but it later evolved into a widely recognized MEME symbol on the internet. Unlike those MEMEs with clear creator backgrounds, Pepe the Frog has gathered a community of countless anonymous artists who create various Pepe images, playing diverse roles in different cultural contexts and social media platforms.

The evolution of Pepe the Frog showcases a unique phenomenon in MEME culture: how a single image can give rise to a vast and diverse cultural ecosystem. This cultural derivative is not merely a simple act of replicating the original image but involves a process of creative reconstruction and cultural reinterpretation.

02. The Flowing Narratives of the Crypto World, the Unchanging MEME Culture

In exploring the essence of MEME and its relationship with blockchain, we find that the two together construct a unique cultural and emotional ecosystem in the crypto world. Blockchain is not only a technological innovation but has also become a vast emotional field. MEME is not just an entertaining joke; it plays an important role in shaping market narratives, attracting community participation, and driving the value of cryptocurrencies upward in the blockchain industry. 2.1 The Crypto World is a Magnifying Glass for Emotions and Narratives

Wherever there are people, there is a community; wherever there is a community, there are emotions.

The crypto world is filled with crazy bubbles and fluctuating price charts; it is not only a gathering place for capital but also a high-pressure cooker of amplified emotions.

From investors' passion for future technologies to their fears and greed regarding market fluctuations, blockchain, as an emerging technology and financial field, amplifies the influence of these basic human emotions, thereby affecting market dynamics and investment decisions.

MEMEs inherently have the function of conveying emotions, from fervor to panic, in humorous, satirical, or even exaggerated forms. MEMEs can quickly spread among communities, triggering emotional resonance and, in turn, subtly influencing market direction.

In a short period, a successful MEME can attract a large amount of attention and discussion, subsequently driving investors' buying behavior and leading to short-term price increases. This phenomenon is particularly common in the crypto market, where market sentiment often significantly influences price fluctuations.

Yuval Noah Harari once said in "Sapiens" that early humans initially communicated interpersonal information through "gossip," establishing stable and close interpersonal organizations by commenting on others.

Later, people formed shared imaginations through "storytelling" to build more universal trust, such as religion, nations, currencies, companies, etc. Similarly, individuals in the crypto community can form strong group identities and goals through shared MEMEs and narratives.

This trust based on shared imagination is the key factor that allows MEMEs to generate prices in the crypto world and is also the reason they can attract a large number of crypto investors and users to participate. 2.2 MEME Does Not Need Public Chains; Public Chains Need MEME

From BTC to the Solana chain, and then to the TON chain and Base chain, every popular public chain needs MEME coins to encourage or even create MEME culture.

The most representative example is Solana co-founder Anatoly, who appeared at last year's Solana community annual summit dressed as a green dinosaur on Halloween. Anatoly stood in front of the audience and introduced himself, saying, "I'm Anatoly, and I'm a silly dragon." After saying this, Anatoly shyly smiled, and the entire audience burst into laughter.

And the story that followed is well-known; "silly" became the hottest MEME coin of that time, and the community rediscovered that trading on Solana was indeed very smooth, with the "Ethereum killer" returning to the community's attention as "SBF's selection."

After Solana, it became evident that public chains could build brand identity and community cohesion through MEMEs. A strong community built around a specific MEME can effectively promote projects, attract new users, and enhance the project's market position.

Now we can also see that the TON chain and Base chain are eager to get a piece of the MEME coin trading liquidity, with TVL reaching new highs and on-chain activity and trading volume experiencing exponential growth. The TON Foundation has also publicly announced the recruitment of a MEMECOIN ecosystem leader. 2.3 Have We Finally Demystified Various Concepts?

A recent joke goes: "Seeing zk+DEPIN+rollup+ai concepts overlapping, the VCs in the crypto world couldn't contain their excitement." This joke makes us ponder: Have we truly gained a deep understanding and demystified the various concepts in the cryptocurrency field?

The continued popularity of MEMEs seems to mock the so-called core circles that have formed. This irony not only questions the technology itself but also critiques the entire cryptocurrency market's blind enthusiasm for new technologies and neglect of their substantive applications.

"Since we can't understand it anyway, we might as well trade MEMEs," the old investors in the community seem overwhelmed, and the new investors are even more confused. Amidst the rapidly iterating narratives in the crypto world, the MEME culture remains ever-vibrant. The rapid listing of BOME on Binance has left many crypto projects "defenseless," as they have struggled for years without being listed, while BOME achieved it in just three days.

Returning to the questions frequently raised in the community: "Is the endpoint of blockchain MEME?" or "Value investing is dead, MEME lives forever?" Although these questions may seem absolute and even extreme, it must be acknowledged that the greatest role of blockchain in the next decade may still be speculative trading, which might be a harsh truth.