When the top 100 by market capitalization already includes 9 MEME, embracing it has become an irreversible trend
The project has been meme-ified, and the effect is limitless.Author: Shenchao TechFlow
Does Meme have value? This question has probably become a hot topic.
But whether a Meme is good or bad, as long as it skyrockets, everyone loves it.
In the crypto world where everything can be a Meme, any joke or event can potentially turn into a wealth-making machine, naturally attracting a steady stream of dreamers to gamble on a small Meme.
And one little-known fact is:
Among the current TOP 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap, there are already 9 Meme coins.
Big Dog, Second Dog, Hat Dog, Blue Frog, Green Frog, Mouth Cat… Cats, Dogs, and Frogs are gradually moving towards the spotlight in the cryptocurrency landscape.
With the recent market rebound, if you take a look at the top 500 by market cap, you'll also find that many Memes are among the ones that have risen the most.
Born in the wild, strong in pumping, skilled in spreading, but trapped by risk.
Memes mix charming yet dangerous traits, similar to the 108 heroes of Liangshan; once seated, they are heroes. As for whether the heroes were once weavers or murderers, it doesn't matter under the logic of winners and losers.
More important than debating "who is the value coin" is embracing change.
Barbell Strategy: Attention Investment on Both Ends
In this round of the crypto cycle, one increasingly recognized strategy is the "Barbell Strategy."
One end of the barbell holds major coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum, along with other relatively stable large-cap tokens like SOL, while the other end holds various Meme coins that follow trends.
One side stabilizes the lower limit, while the other bets on the upper limit; one side holds steadily, while the other turns quickly.
As for the VC coins and so-called value coins in the middle of the barbell, they are relatively reduced in position or simply abandoned altogether.
Based on the materialist principle that material conditions determine consciousness, you can view this as the shrewd thinking result of investors facing the current market structure changes.
Moreover, in this barbell strategy, the consensus on both ends is growing stronger.
Infrastructure has value, applications have value, narratives have value… but nothing is as valuable as attention.
The left side of the barbell condenses lasting attention, while the right side represents fleeting attention. Crypto investment itself is a form of attention investment; capturing the pulse of attention provides liquidity and lays the foundation for price pumps (and possibly dumps).
If you think this way, the savvy institutions are thinking the same.
Since December last year, the hedge fund Stratos, supported by a16z, has been operating a liquid fund holding WIF, which was priced at $0.01 at the time, and Stratos once achieved a 300-fold profit.
Coincidentally, top VC Pantera has also publicly stated that they hold Meme coins. Its partner, Paul Veradittakit, once wrote that Memes are Trojan horses disguised as toys, using this analogy to prove that Memes will attract more people into crypto.
When you're struggling with high FDV and low circulation VC coins, the VCs themselves are also playing with Memes on one side of the barbell.
Attention equals value; this is a principle that every participant in the crypto world must respect.
Project Meme-ification: Unlimited Effects
Born in the wild, skilled in spreading. These two characteristics of Memes have also caught the attention of project teams.
Thus, you will increasingly see projects embracing Memes from launch to operation, trying to use more relatable expressions to bridge the gap with the crypto community.
For example, the highly anticipated top-tier project Monad, which is backed by EVM narratives, even created a "Meme Generator" on its official website to facilitate the community in creating Memes themed around Monad.
And you will increasingly see that in posts and articles introducing Monad, there is always a sad frog image corresponding to Monad's purple logo.
Similarly, Berachain, the L1 that resembles a Meme the most, even positioned itself as a cute bear from the very beginning of its brand concept. The term "Bear Chain" naturally spread from there.
In the subsequent detailed product design, you can also see the bear eating honey motif applied to its token and liquidity design.
This actually reflects the value of Memes in the current crypto market environment with limited attention, as they are easier to remember and spread.
If you closely observe the attention marketing of crypto projects, you'll find that nothing has really changed:
In the early years, crypto projects preferred to promote themselves using hardcore geek terminology, such as million TPS, directed acyclic graphs, high concurrency, EVM compatibility… Capital and retail investors would inevitably feel a sense of "even though I don't understand anything, I think it's impressive."
As the crypto space has developed to today, market participants have gradually fallen into a state of "impressive fatigue," where hearing too many terms has lost its novelty.
Instead, the easily spread frog heads are more interesting.
Whether it's a dissemination strategy or a trading strategy, embracing Memes has become an irreversible trend.
Don't get caught up in the debate over whether Memes have value; investing precious time in metaphysical mental exhaustion is pointless.
Question Memes, understand Memes, and then embrace them or distance yourself from them; it's that simple.
