Applications are king, and in this round of bull market, Meme and DePIN may share the spotlight equally

Author: BitPush Asher Zhang

Since the beginning of this bull market, aside from Bitcoin and a few mainstream tokens performing strongly, the overall market has been rather flat. While new sectors have emerged in the crypto market, it has been difficult for them to create a significant trend, leading many to question whether the crypto market has truly entered a bull phase. However, with the Federal Reserve about to enter a rate-cutting cycle, optimistic sentiment in the market is rising, and expectations for a major bull market are also increasing. So, what distinguishes this bull market from previous ones? What are the truly noteworthy sectors?

Meme Breaks Out, DeFi Rebuilds High Rises

Since the start of this bull market, several hot topics have emerged, such as AI, full-chain gaming, abstract concepts, DePIN, Layer 2, re-staking, and Bitcoin Layer 2, among others. These sectors possess certain technical capabilities, but their popularity and duration have been quite limited. In contrast, MEME has continued to thrive, evolving from the initial inscriptions and runes in the Bitcoin ecosystem to WIF, BONK, and other projects on Solana, as well as the recently popular Pump.fun and SunPump. The MEME sector has sustained itself for a long time and has broken out of its niche. Notably, the current MEME boom is different from the past, as it is not merely a simple MEME concept.

Since the launch of Pump.fun, the MEME craze has been breaking out, attracting numerous Web2 users and celebrities into Web3. According to data compiled by Subin Alon, a data analyst at crypto venture capital firm Hashed, over 1 million Meme coin projects have been created on the Pump.fun platform, which is based on the Solana and Blast blockchains, since its launch in January. Pump.fun has become the preferred venue for retail investors to create and trade Meme coins, gaining popularity and generating an estimated revenue of over $50 million in just six months. This year, Pump.fun has also attracted the attention of celebrities, including rapper Iggy Azalea, who launched a token called MOTHER on Pump.fun.

Recently, after the launch of SunPump, the market sparked some discussion; its mechanism is similar to that of Pump.fun, while leveraging Sun Yuchen's Tron ecosystem to further connect DEX and CEX, essentially representing a further advancement of DeFi rather than simple MEME speculation. Taking SunPump as an example, its core functions include: one-click token issuance, binding curve mechanisms, instant market access, liquidity injection, and token burning. The realization of these functions essentially marks a further maturation of DeFi. Although it may seem like just a MEME token, it involves many aspects such as token issuance, token circulation, and token supply-demand mechanism design. Therefore, platforms like SunPump and Pump.fun are essentially an upgrade of DeFi and a breakthrough application of DeFi + Meme.

Application is King, DePIN Expected to Ride the AI Wave

The crypto market has recently been weak, with only occasional hot projects in the Meme sector, while other mainstream sectors have performed moderately. I believe this is an excellent opportunity to seek out quality assets. Overall, the DePIN (Decentralized Infrastructure) sector, especially those closely related to AI, is particularly worth paying attention to.

The reason DePIN related to AI is worth noting comes from two main aspects: 1) AI is a major sector for global development in the future, a primary investment direction for capital, and a trend for a considerable period; 2) DePIN and AI have complementary aspects, as many crypto projects already possess substantial computing power, and some projects are dedicated to providing GPU resource integration for AI and ML companies, offering low-cost, high-efficiency cloud computing services, such as io.net. At this year's WWDC, Apple launched Apple Intelligence, a new suite of AI features for all devices. Among them, the latest iPad Pro showcased OctaneX, a 3D design software supported by Render Network.

As a long-term development trend, crypto giants are also making early moves. Grayscale's decentralized AI fund is the first fund to invest solely in native tokens of decentralized AI protocols. Currently, this fund includes Filecoin, Near, Render, Livepeer, and Bittensor. Grayscale points out that there are concerns that the future will be dominated by centralized AI, while crypto technology is expected to create a fairer and more transparent ecosystem. Although the combination of crypto and AI is still in its early stages, the prospects are broad. By harnessing the power of crypto, a fairer, more transparent, and trustworthy AI ecosystem can be built.

Meme and DePIN Share the Spotlight, New Development Model in the Crypto Market

From the perspective of blockchain development stages, blockchain technology has now reached a preliminary level of maturity, urgently needing a breakthrough to challenge the moat of Web2. We have now entered an application-centric phase. Many projects, while appearing impressive from a technical standpoint, are increasingly failing to attract users, and investors are becoming less willing to engage. Although the hype around Meme is looked down upon by many tech geeks and VCs, it does not prevent projects like Pump.fun and SunPump from becoming some of the most profitable crypto projects. Besides MEME, as mentioned earlier, crypto giants are actively laying out the DePIN sector.

This round of MEME is different from the past; it essentially integrates and innovates further on the existing DeFi, significantly lowering the entry barrier for DeFi. In the long run, as more sectors and applications enter the crypto market, it will become increasingly reliant on platforms like Pump.fun and SunPump, and more customized platforms are likely to emerge. If the development of MEME platforms is seen as a further step on the existing foundation, then the combination of DePIN and AI represents a trend-based integration. The decentralized nature of the blockchain industry, along with mining and decentralized storage, has potential advantages when combined with AI.

Essentially, DePIN represents an important direction for the future development of the blockchain industry. On this basis, more applications are needed on the blockchain to prosper the on-chain economy, and only under such circumstances can DeFi create greater value.

Conclusion

Although the blockchain industry has conducted application experiments from various dimensions, such as social networking and blockchain gaming, it has been difficult to shake the traditional Web2 giants in terms of scale. Since the beginning of this bull market, the MEME craze has continued to be favored by the market, gradually becoming the first stop for many Web2 users to enter Web3. While the hype around MEME is criticized, it has indeed brought new users to the industry. Currently, there is still a lack of truly innovative and breakout applications in the industry; relying solely on DeFi remains limited in scale. Looking ahead, the combination of AI and the blockchain industry will undoubtedly be the next important breakthrough point. The AI industry is also in the early stages of practical application, and the combination with blockchain's technological advantages is expected to usher in a new horizon.